Saw this blog by Meghan and thought that I should answer:
How do you get off the yo-yo? What inspires you to sustain the changes?
My weigh loss nutritionist calls it the Nike swoosh...
Been doing the yo-yo and swoosh for 7 years (found an old google spreadsheet). Six to eight weeks of losing weight followed by ignoring the scale. This does not work.
How have I started to break it (I hope)?
Finally getting tired of losing the same 40 pounds and making a change. I said that the a year ago, and gained it back. So for me it has been recognizing I can't do without long term help. Started with a Doctor supervised plan, since I was higher than I had been in seven years. This got me down to where I usually ended all the other times. Life events happened, so I've switched to a non-supervised phase (slower loss/maintainance). This program has weekly prepaid maintenance meetings with a group. I've committed to six months, with a plan to commit to another year, and I'm using Diet Bet 10's.
For the short term, I'm working on strategic stacking of dietbet 10's. Dietbet weigh in every two weeks. I slacked a bit on the first dietbet 10. I'll stack on one more about month 5 or six to kick off another round of loss. Bascially, plan. No more swoosh. Just weight loss steps (2.5 months at 3%), and flats (1-2% loss).
So it's really committing to a lifetime change, and not just a short term change. It recognizing you can't do it alone. For some, Jenny Craig/Weight watchers works. But it's finding what works. I'm have a 240 day streak of recording on MyFitnessPal, I've stated group exercise at the Y, and I make an effort to walk I've it' less than 30 minutes way, walk (unless you are carrying cat litter).