Are You Ever Too Old for Results? And Why Yo-Yo Dieting is NOT a Bad Thing!

I turned 50 in 2025. My lovely grandmother turned 100. We're both still going strong, but adjusting expectations is a part of life. That said, you gotta keep hustling and grinding!!! You may have to change your expectations in regard to your aesthetics, but you can never give up on your health. You're never too old!

A patient of mine named Lyria recently asked me a question via email that I think a lot of people wonder about:

“I’m now 78, and I don’t get the same results from the program that I used to. Am I too old?” ~Lyria

It’s such a real question. It even stirs up emotion - and concern.

A better place for questions and discussion is our private Facebook group. Click the image to join...

Afterall, If all goes well, I will be the one repeating it in just a short 28 years. I put a lot of time and consideration into my answer so I thought I'd share it to my blog—because it touches on something we all face eventually: adjusting our expectations while still pushing forward.

Results vs. Expectations

When it comes to health and weight loss, “results” can mean different things. Pounds on the scale are concrete, sometimes even heavier, right? But results? Those are often tied to expectations.

I turned 50 about six months ago. It wasn’t as hard as turning 40—40 felt like an age my parents should be, not me. That's also when I had my little melt-down and moved abroad for the first time. My son had just started university, I was single, so why not see the world, right? It worked out great. I'm writing this blog from Warsaw, Poland. Poland def doesn't sounds as sexy as Paris or Italy, but it has all the charm of Europe for 1/3 of the cost.

Anyway, fifty wasn't so bad, but it still came with a shift. Psychologically, I felt fine in between the ears. Physically, not so much.

Let's be honest, there are things I used to do that I don’t anymore—or at least not with the same intensity. I don’t play full-court basketball. I don't feel like I compete at anything anymore, which used to be a foundational part of my life. I do different things. I play more golf. I’ve taken up guitar—something I can do forever without beating up my body. My goals have changed, and I think that’s the key: adjusting what we expect from our physical selves as we get older. I can't speak for everyone, but I've found that it is a lot easier said than done. Why? Because it requires to admit mortality.

The Same Goes for Diet

No matter what I do, I’m not going to look the way I did in my 20s or early 30s. But that doesn’t mean I stop trying. It means my goals are different now. Instead of chasing perfection (yes, that's how arrogant I was back in my 20s), I focus on staying healthy enough to live the lifestyle I love—preparing and eating good food, sitting on bar stools with friends, traveling, golfing, and creating.

Your diet should evolve the same way. Maybe the scale doesn’t move as fast as it did ten years ago, but you’re still keeping it dialed in. And that matters. It matter a lot!

Fasting Changed the Game for Me

One specific thing that has made a big difference in my life is fasting. Not just intermittent fasting like the fasting associated with HCG 2.0, but legit fasting—one 24-hour fast per week and one 3-day fast per month. You can link to my full fasting schedule below.

It’s given me clarity, better energy, and the flexibility to enjoy life like I did in my arrogant 20s and 30s. I still have a few beers on the golf course with my buddies, but fasting helps me reset. It’s what keeps me on track without obsessing over the scale. It's like my insurance policy on keeping it together.

Redefining “Yo-Yo Dieting"

There are women in my private Facebook group that have been doing my diet one to two times per year for the past 15 years. That's not yo-yo dieting. That's called discipline. That's called self-awareness. Discipline and self-awareness are good attributes to have and to own in such a fashion that they inspire you to take action. That means you recognize when it’s time to act, and more importantly, you have a plan of action to get it done. That’s not failure, that’s discipline.

If you do HCG once or twice a year to reset—good for you! I do it every January. And now, I've added my fasting schedule which has been, and not to over-exaggerate, life-changing.

My Fasting Schedule Is This:

• Protocol: One 24-hour fast per week. One 3-day fast per month.

It's that simple. I use my Curb Patch, now rebranded as the Fast Patch, as a little cheat code. I'm strategic with the way I schedule the 3-day fast, sometimes before a big weekend to tone up and sometimes after a big weekend to detox. I love it and recommended it to Lyria so I'll recommend it to you, as well.

If my fasting schedule interests you, the real key is a word called autophagy. It should be a foundational part of your health.

Final Takeaway

"So, are you too old? Absolutely not. But you may need to adjust your expectations. Your journey at 78 isn’t about chasing the body you had at 28. It’s about finding ways to stay active, vibrant, and healthy enough to keep doing the things you love."

That’s success. That's the success I want for myself and the success that I want for my patients.

To your health and happy longevity,

Dr. Zach

Founder of InsideOut Wellness and The Fast Patch