I’ve written a post elsewhere on the personal toll of weight cycling, and created an infographic that I think might interest the r/loseit community. It’s about the experience of weight cycling. It shows the stages of weight change and accompanying changes in the emotions and motivations. I based this on interviews with several people with long histories of weight cycling.
I created the infographic to:
1) see where things go wrong when we try to lose weight so that we can see how sustainers break the cycle.
2) show in a concrete visual way the personal toll weight cycling takes well beyond the effects of being overweight or obese, so that it’s easier to focus on it.
Either link works:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqQG5yYhKJ-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Did I get this right? Does it resonate with you? Where did I get it wrong? Feedback welcome.
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If you’re interested, here is an excerpt from the post where I describe the story of one weight cycler:
“I Feel Trapped on an Emotional Rollercoaster”
Weight cycling exacts an enormous emotional toll. Depressive symptoms are associated with weight cycling, but this doesn’t paint a full psychological picture. The experience is best shared in a story.
I interviewed numerous weight cyclers who shared their experiences. They often began by describing previous weight loss attempts and lessons they learned. Eventually, however, they all described the emotional rollercoaster that accompanied their weight cycling.
One interviewee in her early 30’s - let’s call her Jane - discussed the rollercoaster-weight cycle experience in extraordinary detail. Each cycle began with a trigger, such as looking in the mirror or having difficulty sitting in an airplane seat. The pain of the trigger drove her through a progression of very sophisticated, stage-based diet and exercise regimens she developed over years of weight cycling. She spoke of the rush or high she would feel during the weight loss phase of her cycle. Then inevitably, she would slide down the “punishing loop” phase, caused by the need for increasingly rigorous diet and exercise to reach and then simply maintain her weight goals. During this phase, she would also experience the pressure, fear, and sense of vulnerability of not being able to “keep it up.” This “punishing loop” is a horrible place to be. After exerting tremendous willpower and effort, she would eventually become overwhelmed. All it would take to relapse were common disruptions in her life, such as increased stress at work. This would always be accompanied by a sense of guilt, shame, and failure. Having relapsed, she would begin to regain her weight, until the cycle repeated with another painful trigger. She had already completed several weight cycles in her life.
Jane is a highly educated and successful business woman who has always been extremely motivated to lose weight. Over the years, she put in the time and effort. She tried medically supervised weight loss. She used personal trainers, nutritionists, and naturopaths. She tracked everything and tried many weight loss apps. She studied weight loss extensively on her own, learned things that seemed to work for her during each cycle and applied them to the next. Yet she couldn’t break the weight cycling.
Nearly all weight cyclers I interviewed said they felt trapped in repeating weight cycles and on the emotional rollercoaster. They tried to get off but couldn’t.
Note: This story differs dramatically from the stories shared with me by successful weight loss sustainers.
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