Being a yo-yo dieter is a huge problem for many people when they are trying to lose weight. If you are not familiar with the term, being a yo-yo dieter basically refers to someone who loses a bit of weight then puts it back on again, lose a bit then puts it back on again, lose a bit then€ well you get the idea!
If you have ever suffered at the hands of yo-yo dieting, or you just want to make sure that it never happens to you, it is vital that you learn a bit more about the causes. Keep reading and we will delve deeper into the causes of this common problem.
One of the biggest causes of this yo-yo effect when trying to lose weight, is the actual diet being followed, the main reason for this is the sheer amount of bad information that is around at the moment. FAD Diets (a lot of which are celebrity endorsed!) are the main culprit. I'm sure we've seen these celebrities who used to be fat but are now thin, and claim that it is thanks to this amazing new diet that they have discovered. Then a few months down the line they are spotted as big if not bigger than they were in the first place!
A lot of these diets lead you to believe that starving yourself is the way to lose weight, and by starving I don't just mean you aren't eating enough food. When it comes to dieting, you can be starving your body of calories that it needs to support it's energy requirements, or starving your body of a nutrient.
First let's discuss calories. The term calorie counting is used a lot now days, but many people don't truly understand what a calorie is. A €calorie' is basically the measurement of energy that the body uses. Each person's body requires a certain amount of calories each day to perform all of its necessary processes; this includes digesting food, repairing damage, even breathing. To lose weight a person needs to be in a calorie deficit, which basically means they need to be using up more calories than they are consuming. When you are at this point your body will look towards its internal energy stores, hopefully your body fat. Unfortunately it isn't quite that simple, you would think that the more you lowered your calories, the faster and more weight you would lose, u nfortunately not!
If you drop your calorie intake too low for too long your body begins to panic and starts to think that it is actually being starved! Being such a clever machine, your body has certain mechanisms set up to counter this and to fight for survival, which is great if you really are starving but not if you are trying to lose weight! Your body kicks in with what is called its starvation response, there are a number of things that your body will do to extend its survival as long as possible. It will slow down your metabolic rate, this is basically how fast it runs and uses up energy, this is disastrous for fat loss!
It will look internal for energy supplies which it does see as necessary for its survival, bad news is that your body sees fat as essential for survival, as it is a great insulator to keep us warm, so it will hold onto your fat as much as it can! Even worse news is that it does see muscle as essential for survival, and as muscle can be breakdown to create an energy source for your body, this will be its first port of call. This is so bad for fat loss because muscle is metabolically active, and will help to keep your metabolic rate up, burning off calories by just maintaining itself.
So imagine that you have dropped your calories intake too low by following a bad diet, causing your metabolic rate to slow right down, and now the results from your diet have stopped. You then give up on the diet, and return to your old eating habits, only this time you have a slower metabolic rate. You not only go back to your original weight, but thanks to your new metabolism you also put on more and end up worse off than before!
The same thing happens if you are starving yourself of a nutrient; the favourites are zero fat diets and no carbohydrate diets. The encourage you to avoid foods with any fat in them or foods that contain carbohydrates, the truth is that your body needs these nutrients and if it does get them it will again kick in with it's starvation response.
The idea that seems to be sold is that carbohydrates make you fat, (I'm sure we have all heard of a famous diet that avoids carbs, I won't name and shame though!), this is not true and they are in fact the bodies preferred energy source. There are a few tricks with carbohydrates that bodybuilders use to reach extremely low body fat levels for competitions, they only lower there intake for a few days at a time not get rid of them completely.
The same goes with diets that try to get you to avoid fat at all costs. This is not only unrealistic, but also unhealthy, as the body needs certain types of fat. Did you know there are in fact good fats and bad fats? The bad fats should be avoided as much as possible, these are the saturated fats and the hydrogenated or trans fats. They are found in junk foods and other unhealthy dishes. These fats can cause health problems and contribute to obesity.
The good fats are the monounsaturated fats, which we require in controlled amounts, and more important the essential fatty acids, known as the omegas. These are fats which your body can't produce itself, so must be supplied via your diet. Omega 3 is the one which we really need to pay attention to as it has many benefits, including the ability to lower cholesterol and reduce the chance of you getting heart diseases. Omega 3 is also required in the fat burning process, and will help to increase your metabolic rate! Omega 3 is found in foods such as nuts, fish and oils such as olive oil.
So we can see what problems in our diet can cause the yo-yo diet effect, but how do we avoid this from happening to us, and succeed in permanent weight loss? The answer is quite simple, to achieve the calorie deficit that we need to burn off fat, we should drop our calorie intake only slightly, about 10 to 15% below our maintenance level (which is the amount we need to stay the same weight), then we should create a further deficit by burning off more calories via exercise. This is a vital part of weight loss that people often avoid, adding an exercise programs to our weekly routine, really is the key to keeping the weight off. It will not only burn of calories, but will also encourage your metabolic rate to speed up!
We must also avoid any FAD diet that tells you to completely avoid a certain nutrient. Follow a diet plan that encourages you to eat a healthy balanced diet, which is full of natural highly nutritious foods that aren't processed. Fresh vegetables, lean proteins such as chicken, turkey, beef and egg whites, should be high on your menu.
Learning how to lose fat doesn't have to be a difficult experience. Combine a healthy diet with a new life include exercise, and you will lose all that unsightly excess body fat and keep it off long term!
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