Losing 50 pounds of weight is a great accomplishment. Regaining 75 pounds is a greater disappointment. Just ask anyone who has lived through the nightmare. Some have lived through the nightmare more than once. This type of yo-yo weight loss and regain is also bad for your health.
Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles analyzed 31 long-term diet studies and found that about two-thirds of dieters regained more weight within four or five years than they initially lost.
So what are the causes of massive weight loss and regain? In my experience, severe calorie restriction is at the top of the list. We are bombarded with commercials like, “lose 30 pounds in 20 days.” This is a short-term solution to your long-term weight problem.
A study reported in the Journal Of Obesity found that people who followed a very low-calorie diet regained significantly more weight than those on a more forgiving plan. Desperate for quick results in a culture of instant gratification, "women try to lose weight on diets with too few calories," said Judith Beck, Ph.D., director of the Beck Institute of Cognitive Therapy and author of The Beck Diet Solution. "If you lose weight on 1,200 calories a day, the minute you go up to 1,300 is the minute you start gaining weight." My experience has shown me that women will increase calories to much more than 1,300 calories.
Severe calorie restriction also causes your metabolism to slow down because your body thinks it is starving. So, it stores fat as a survival mechanism. Prolonged severe calorie restriction also weakens your immune system, creates hormonal imbalances, agitates the nervous system, generates loss of muscle mass, increases body fat, decreases energy levels and disrupts sleep patterns.
According to Kelly Brownell, M.D., director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, "The body may perceive dieting as a threat to its survival. It might not know the difference between Atkins and famine."
What's more, said Brownell, who coined the term "yo-yo dieting" in the 1980s, weight cycling can actually change your physiology. “So, the more diets you've been on, the harder it becomes to lose the weight. A hunger hormone called ghrelin increases, and a fullness hormone called leptin decreases, so you feel hungrier and less satiated.”
Here are my tips to avoid large amounts of weight loss and regain:
1. Avoid fad diets! Don’t be too concerned about weight loss. Even if you experience rapid weight loss, you will end up seeing your weight yo-yo back and forth because you can’t maintain that fad diet.
Fat loss is more important than weight loss. Work on losing inches and changing your body’s composition. The weight loss will take care of itself in the long-term if you comply with a realistic, healthy meal plan.
2. Achieving fitness goals takes hard, smart work! It takes regular exercise and compliance with a healthy meal plan. Regular exercise includes weight training and cardio exercise. You must build muscle mass to speed up your metabolism and tone your body. This takes more time but the results will stand the test of time. Don’t try to take shortcuts.
3. Get the help you need to maintain a lifestyle of health and fitness! Don't underestimate the value of well-designed fitness program put together by a personal trainer. It makes all the difference because you get realistic direction, feedback and encouragement from a trainer who is fit and knows what it takes to get fit and stay fit.
You also need social support. Research has proven that you are more likely to succeed with your weight loss and fat loss goals if you have a weight loss buddy (social support or accountability partner). Group exercise classes and boot camps succeed in part because of social support.
Don’t yo-yo back and forth with your weight and health using short-term methods. Make the decision to burn fat, lose weight and change your body for the long-term.
Mark Dilworth, BA, PES, CPT is a Certified Personal Trainer and former NCAA Division I athlete. Mark’s Fat Blaster Athletic Training System has been proven to give his clients the fit, sculpted and athletic-type bodies they want. Visit Mark’s sites:
My Fitness Hut http://myfitnesshut.blogspot.com
Her Fitness Hut http://herfitnesshut.com
Sports Fitness Hut http://sportsfitnesshut.blogspot.com