Weight yo-yoing for years

[hanaguchi]

My best friend keeps gaining and losing weight. He controls what he eats and loses 60lbs in about 3 months and once he gets there he starts slowly gaining weight and gains it all back in 6 months. He has been going through this cycle for 7 years. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what he can do and how I can help support him?
Thanks

[live4fitness]

after he reaches his goal weight does he still eat clean, exersice? If he goes back to eating unhealthy and not exer. it will come back. Some people like myself will always have to work out and eat right or the fat will come back:(

[jenb35]

You’re friend has a problem that extends far beyond yo-yo dieting.  Most of us that are heavy are heavy because we have an eating disorder.  I realize that isn’t always a popular thing to say, but I do know that I have a problem with food and that is why losing the weight is very difficult.  

Unfortunately I do not know more about your friend’s situation but on the surface I believe he or she needs help that extends beyond dieting.  For a lot of us we think that if we lose the weight life will be GREAT and all our problems will vanish.  We believe the root source of all our problems stems from the fact that we have love handles and flabby legs, back fat and a double chin and once it is gone….POOF…we will be loved, accepted, never made fun of again and all will be great.  

Yet once we lose the weight we are still left to deal with whatever made us eat in the first place and without the skills to deal we eat again.  It is a cycle that has to be broken and sometimes we can’t break it alone.  Diet pills, shots, weight loss shakes and fad diets do not stop the pain that makes you eat.

How do you help??  Just be there and encourage him or her to get to the bottom of what is really going on and then work on changing the behavior.  Sounds terribly easy doesn’t it…ugh…I feel thier pain :)

[hanaguchi]

Thanks for your comments. My friend does a great job watching what he eats when he is losing weight.  However, once he gets to his desired weight there is always one vice that creaps back in (first time it was coke, the second chocolate, the third frech fries, etc.). He tells himself this is his reward for working so hard and inevitably that vice puts him on the slow road back to gaining weight. I know it is hard to cut out everything forever and treating yourself ever now and then is necessary but as soon as he allows himself to indulge it becomes more and more frequent. I know it is very hard to give up things for life but finding the right balance is very hard.
Thanks

[snowfairy]

You know I have a cousin who goes through the same thing. I keep telling him that this is unhealthy but he just cannot quit eating bad carbs. Once he loses weight he starts slowly gaining it back due to bad eating habits. He is sneaky. Perhaps your friend does not want to admit that he has some kind of eating disorder. I used to sneak a lot and grab somehing to eat every five minutes and that's how I put on like 35 lbs and I'm only 5'3 (I used to weight at 175 lbs). Look if your friend has in fact  some kind of eating disorder, there is no way you will be able to change him unless he sets his mind to it. It took me many years to finally realize that I had to change my lifestyle. Now I don't say I am on a diet. I just say I eat healthy because that is just my style. Hope this helps a bit. It's all about will power and moderation. Even moderation should be taken in moderation.( haha)  Good Luck to your friend