In 2004, Kirstie Alley told Oprah that she was finally facing her weight problems and becoming the spokesperson for Jenny Craig. Over time (and many hilarious commercials) Kirstie lost 75 pounds and went back to the Oprah show in a bikini. Unfortunately, as many of us know, the changes weren’t permanent and old habits started to sneak back in and now she has gained all of that weight back plus more.
Now Kirstie is back with her new show, My Big Life, and her new weight loss plan, again.
Kirstie's patterns are refered to as yo-yo dieting. This is the chronic loss and regaining of weight due to excessive dieting. The limited calories and initial dedication leads to weight loss, however, after time many change their diet so drastically that when they become bored, tempted, depressed or reach their target weight, they go back to their original eating plan and gain the weight back.
The initial weight loss is often a combination of both fat and muscle. The fat is a good loss, the muscle is not. When the diet is over, the body is now in starvation mode and gains back fat alone which is not healthy. The body remains in this starvation mode with a slowed metabolism making repeat weight loss or maintained weight loss more difficult.
This excess fat (often stored around the middle section) greatly increases the risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and makes your clothes fit tighter.
Many patients ask me about weight loss and say they have tried everything to lose it. Here are a few suggestions to help you stay motivatd:
1) Eat a high protein breakfast. Don’t skip breakfast but skip high sugar options. Read the label on the side of your cereal or yogurt and think twice before eating it. Don’t go for bagels, muffins, or scones from the coffee shop but instead have oatmeal (without sugar), eggs, turkey bacon, turkey sausage, or eat lunch for breakfast.
2)Drink eight glasses of water per day. If you want to flush fat, then you must be hydrated..
3) Keep a food diary for five days to really examine what you eat. Since you know you’re keeping a diary, write down when you would have eaten something and resisted to appear healthier. This lets you know how often you snack during the day.
4) Exercise at least 60 minutes most days of the week. I’m not kidding. New research shows that as women age they need a full hour of aerobic with interval training and weight lifting to stay fit.
5) Drink green tea and skip high sugar coffee, soda, or alcoholic drinks. Lattes, mochas, wine and margaritas are not helping your weight loss efforts.