Ever heard the phrase “Yo-Yo Dieting?” Every wonder what it was or why Yo-Yo Dieting is so bad for you?
Yo-yo dieting is that horrible cycle all too many of us have gone through when it comes to weight loss and dieting…
We want to lose weight so we go on a diet.
We find a diet that promises the fastest weight loss possible…makes losing weight sound easy. And we start losing weight, sometimes rather quickly in fact.
We start was is commonly called a CRASH DIET!
But in the process of losing weight, we start “habits” that are really unmaintainable. We maybe even feel low energy and crappy.
We cut out the foods we love. We start eating these bland, boring tupperware meals of chicken and broccoli. We slash our calories and maybe even start two-a-day workouts.
And guess what happens?
It may happen a week into the diet, or a month…But we fall off.
We end up binge unable to maintain the unrealistic habits we were trying to instill.
And then we can’t seem to get back on track.
So we gain the weight back…and then some.
We lost weight only to gain it right back – we “yo-yo-ed.”
And the thing is…we aren’t alone. When we use a “short-term diet” aka a crash diet to lose weight, up to 65% of us will regain the weight we lost within 3 years.
Not only that, but only 5% of people manage to lose weight on a crash diet and actually KEEP IT OFF.
5%!?!
All that deprivation only to regain the weight and then some? No wonder we get frustrated with trying to eat well!
And the worst part is that the scale doesn’t even tell us the full story. It isn’t just “a few pounds” we are gaining back each time we repeat this yo-yo dieting cycle…this cycle many of us have fallen victim too more times than we’d like to admit…
Each time we cycle we are actually making it harder on ourselves to reach our goals!
Each time we crash diet to lose weight quickly, we may see that number on the scale drop . And it may seem super satisfying to see it go down quickly.
The problem is…well…that AMAZING weight loss?…It isn’t necessarily only fat being loss.
Actually, crash diets can cause you to lose a surprising amount of muscle mass. And when you lose muscle during your diet, your metabolism can also slow to conserve energy.
That can make you hit a plateau in your crash diet weight loss.
And when that happens?
Well that is often when we binge. And then we feel guilty. Which often leads to another binge. Until we end up back where we started, again putting ourself through another restrictive diet.
The other problem is, when we gain the weight back…well we don’t gain back muscle near as easily as fat. That means every time we yo-yo, we are not only gaining more weight, but actually increasing our body fat percentage.
AKA our body composition is getting worse and we could be adding more belly fat!
That is the yo-yo dieting cycle has to end.
If you want to not only lose weight but actually lose fat AND KEEP IT OFF, you’ve got to start a sustainable diet.
A diet that allows you to truly make lifestyle changes!
But what the heck would a diet like that even look like?
Well…
A sustainable diet:
- Would have to let you enjoy the foods you love
- Help you feel good and ENERGIZED
- Let you make slow, steady change and build true HABITS
- Not make any foods off limits
- Let you enjoy time with friends and family
- KEEP THINGS SIMPLE!
You need to find something that allows you consistent progress, but WHILE you are developing something you can maintain long term.
You need something that teaches you balance. Because there will be events. Vacations. Stressful times.
Times you are more motivated and less motivated.
And eating according to your goals can be balanced around them all.
Plus it should make you FEEL AND LOOK GOOD. Note…The FEEL GOOD part. Too often we just accept that we will feel crappy and low energy on a diet when that really shouldn’t be the case!
If you’re ready to get started with a sustainable diet and leave the yo-yoing behind, and you need some help knowing how to eat according to your goals, it’s time you checked out my Macro Cycling program!
Say GOODBYE to the restriction of crash diets and the rebound of the yo-yo dieting cycle!
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