5 Tips to Avoid Yo-Yo Dieting >> Stop Weight Cycling

The journey to feeling good about your body and reaching a healthy weight can be long and difficult. At first, you may be convinced by the quick success seen with crash diets. But as soon as you get back to your normal routine, the weight often comes back — sometimes more than you lost. why like this? And what can you do about it? We have all the information and tips to avoid yo-yo dieting so you can finally stick to your desired weight.

What is yo-yo dieting?

Yo-yo dieting or weight cycling is when you regain the weight you lost after dieting. Often times you gain more than you lose during a diet. Usually, when you gain or lose weight dramatically like this, it’s the result of crash diets where you don’t consume enough calories during a certain period of time. As soon as you start eating normally again, you gain weight. One study found that 95% of participants returned to their starting weight after losing weight on a calorie-restricted diet.⁽¹⁾

What leads to weight cycling?

Crash diets often bring short but temporary results. The body mainly loses water weight and muscle mass. Your metabolic rate then drops due to calorie restriction and lost muscle mass.

As you return to old eating and lifestyle habits after a diet, you quickly gain weight back because your basal metabolic rate (BMR) has decreased to cope with the reduced calories. The calories you eat are stored as fat. So the mechanism behind the yo-yo effect is actually an important protective function to protect the body from periods of starvation.

Depending on the amount of muscle you lose, your basal metabolic rate, and how quickly you return to your old eating habits, your body weight may be significantly higher than your pre-diet weight.

5 Tips to Avoid the Yo-Yo Effect

1. Avoid crash diets.

Forget low-carb diets and other diets! Extreme diets that eliminate entire food groups and dramatically reduce calorie intake will not produce lasting results. What happens? You revert to old patterns and gain weight quickly.

If you want to lose weight permanently and In a healthy way, reduce your calories slightly (about 300 to 500 calories per day). Losing about 0.5 kg per week is realistic and will help you keep the weight off.

2. Eat enough and keep it balanced

Yes, you need to eat enough to lose weight and keep it off. If you change your diet regularly and eat a balanced diet intuitively, you have a much better chance of avoiding the yo-yo effect. Eat intuitively It means listening to your body. No food is forbidden. Everything is permitted without a guilty conscience.

If you eat enough fiber, protein, and high-quality fats, you’ll nourish your body and not have cravings.

3. Increase your basal metabolic rate (BMR).

Your BMR is The amount of energy your body needs To maintain all important functions. If you don’t eat enough calories, it will drop. Your metabolism switches to starvation mode, and you won’t lose weight. what can you do? Increase your basal metabolic rate by building muscle mass. Muscle burns glucose and fat whenever you move, even when you sleep. The only way to cut calories and avoid the yo-yo effect is to build and maintain adequate muscle mass.

4. Move more throughout the day.

Adding exercise to your daily routine will help you burn more calories. Go for regular walks, take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator, leave the car at home more often and take your bike. Not only is it good for your body, it’s also great for your soul! In addition, fresh air strengthens your immune system, and you daily Vitamin D dosage in the sun

5. Get plenty of rest.

If you are not getting enough sleep or are stressed, you are at a higher risk of obesity and weight gain.^(3,4) Reducing your stress is an effective way to avoid the yo-yo effect after weight loss. Exercise reduces stress.. Remember: Adults need seven to nine hours of sleep each night to stay healthy.⁽⁵⁾

Result

Avoiding yo-yo dieting is not always easy. If you want to keep your weight off long-term, eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly and get plenty of rest.

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