The Truth About Yo-Yo Dieting

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Its so tempting: Youve got something big coming up on the calendar that you want to look your best for. Why not diet hard and exert a ton to get some weight off? Inevitably, though, even if you succeed, studies indicate youll gain it all back as soon as you go back to your normal eating habits. But whats all this yo-yo dieting genuinely doing to your body and subconsciou?

What Is Yo-Yo Dieting Anyway?

First, lets talk about the two types of yo-yo dieting. One happens when youve lost weight in the past through smart, healthy eating and moderate exert and then something knocked you off the wellness route and you gained it right back.( Annnd repeat cycle .)

There is nothing wrong with this, says Tiffany Wright, PhD, founder of Skinny Coach Solution. Every minute that youre at a healthy weight is beneficial for you. Its less stress on your heart and arteries, reduces the health risks of disease, and increases your lifespan tremendously, she says. In fact, one examine published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that there was no increased risk of cancer in people who weight cycled( the official word for yo-yoing ).

Other research on generally available weight loss myths disproved the commonly held belief that yo-yoing boosts odds of mortality. There merely isnt enough evidence to say thats the lawsuit. The ultimate takeaway, tell researchers: Dont stop trying to lose the weight.

When Yo-Yoing Is a No-No

In the second type of yo-yo scenario, youve made the decision to accident diet and live off of kale and almonds, stick to 1,000 calories a day, or try one of those weird juice detoxes. Unavoidably, thats not sustainable. When you go back to eating again, you regain the weight and then some. Heres whats happening to your body 😛 TAGEND

Your metabolism: When you drop your calories, your metabolism will slow down, says Charlie Seltzer, MD, a medical weight loss expert in Philadelphia. Then, you go back to eating usually, but this time with a slower metabolism, which will cause you to gain fat. Fear not, the metabolic slow-down is not permanent, but by the time those calorie-torching engines return to normal, you may be 10 or 15 pounds heavier than before, he explains. Worse yet, you may be seduced to try another accident diet, lose the weight, regain it( and more again ). Thats one reason dieting can construct people gain even more weight.

Your muscles: Severely restrict calories and youll lose fat and muscle. The latter is not such a good thing. When you eat usually again, youll regain more of this weight as fat. So your body composition can actually get worse, says Dr. Seltzer. The fix here is moderately cutting calories while continuing to exert. That way youll preserve muscle mass while trimming fat.

Weight loss: Simply being hungry and not getting the nutrients necessary to function properly sends a 9-1-1 call to your body thats stressful in itself. And when its stressed out, the increase in cortisol( the stress hormone) will prompt your body store fat and prevent weight loss, explains Wright.

Your heart: If youre regaining mostly fat, thats a drag on your ticker. It may be one reason why yo-yo weight loss has been shown to affect factors like cholesterol and triglyceride numbers, which can increase heart disease risk. Diet severely enough, and this can mess with your hydration and electrolyte balance, something that can be fatal, adds Wright.

Your psyche: Curtailing calories mucks up the hormones your thyroid releases. Problem is, says Dr. Seltzer, this also ups cortisol production, which has the unhappy effect of fueling a raging appetite.( Can you insure why excess cortisol is often no good ?) The first thing youll do when youre emphasized, tired, or sad is overeat, he says.

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The Truth About Yo-Yo Dieting
The Truth About Yo-Yo Dieting
The Truth About Yo-Yo Dieting
The Truth About Yo-Yo Dieting
The Truth About Yo-Yo Dieting