Have you frequently lost weight only to regain it? Many individuals struggle with yo-yo weight loss for most of their lives.
What Causes Yo-yo Dieting?
It may seem that cutting drastically on your food intake will bring quick results. Sooner or later, however, your body prepares itself for fewer calories coming in. The body adjusts and chooses to conserve energy and lowers the way the body burns food for energy. The weight loss that was earlier attained starts to slow down or stop.
Most individuals struggle to maintain their diet at this point. Therefore, the weight slowly starts to come right back. What is worse, the decrease in metabolic rate causes their body to survive on fewer calories.
To make matters worse, the decreased metabolic rate induces the body to survive on diminished calories. Rapid weight loss diets also make the body burn food more efficiently with each dieting episode. This stringent calorie restriction causes a decrease in muscle tone. Familiar signs are sagging buns and flabby upper arms.
Alternatives to yo-yo diets
Instead of hoping for a rapid weight loss, take a more long term sustainable approach. Your goal should be for a modest weight loss. Decrease calorie intake by 200-500 calories a day depending on how much you have to lose.
Consider your diet as a healthy eating plan instead of a temporary one.
Increase your level of physical activity. Take the stairs not the elevator, park far from the entrance or pick up on activities you enjoy such as hiking, biking or dancing.
Do not skip breakfast and eat small meals throughout the day. You are less likely to overeat if you take small meals.
Emotional Eating and Overeating
Okay, maybe your problem isn’t yo-yo dieting. It’s possible that your eating has become a habit such as eating junk food when you sit down in front of the TV.
Perhaps you are an emotional eater. Do you skip meals when stressed and overeat when bored?
How to overcome habitual or emotional eating
If food is meeting an emotional need, perhaps it is time to examine your options. Find alternatives to eating. Perhaps you can take a brisk walk to clear your head during your lunch break. Invite your friends to play miniature golf on your birthday instead of having cake and ice cream. Have healthy snacks such as a bag of carrot sticks or an apple which you can grab when you are too busy to make time for yourself.
Try to manage hunger by eating several small meals a day. Remember that if you go hungry, you will make poor choices or you will tend to overeat.
Never fill yourself at mealtime. It is all right to leave food on your plate. You can also train your body to be satisfied at 60% capacity.
You know what junk food can do to you. Therefore, just get rid of them. Instead stock your kitchen with whole-grain breads, vegetables and fruit.
Corny or not, do things to remind you to stick to your goal. Place a sign on your refrigerator that reads: Long term goals versus short term pleasure. Perhaps you can put a sign in your wallet that you see whenever you open it that reads: Food is not the boss in my life. I am stronger than the temptation of any food.
Finally, if you overeat, do not fall off the wagon. Get back on track right away. Not tomorrow — today. Because tomorrow will never come.
Rochester Gyms, Fitness Programs in Rochester and Rochester Weight Loss Programs dedicate their themselves to keeping you fit, healthy and trim.
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