WHY YO-YO DIETING IS NO-NO 1 Why Yo-Yo Dieting is a No-No
WHY YO-YO DIETING IS A NO-NO When you have an event coming up, such as a wedding, a beach holiday or a reunion, its human nature to only want to look our best and in the shortest possible time frame. We go to all sorts of lengths to try and achieve this, such as starving our bodies, cutting out ALL carbs, crazy soup diets, military diets, juice fasts and the list goes on. People claim you will lose anything from 5-10kg a week which is firstly, probably not true and secondly if it were, it is the unhealthiest and most dangerous thing you can do to your body, inevitably, that s not sustainable. Let s face it, no one can live forever on 5 almonds, 2 bowls of kale and one chicken breast a day. When you go back to eating normally again, you regain the weight at a rapid speed and then some. Here s what s happening to your body when you do these fad diets: 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 normally, 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 calorietorching engines return to normal, you may be 5 or 10kg heavier than you were to even begin with, he explains. Worse yet, you may be tempted to try another crazy crash diet, lose the weight, regain it (and more again), so at the end of the day it s just a vicious cycle. Your heart: If you keep regaining fat - that becomes a problem for your heart. It may be one reason why yo-yo weight loss has been proven to affect factors like cholesterol and triglyceride numbers, which can increase heart disease risk. If you diet severely enough, this can mess with your hydration and electrolyte balance, something that can be fatal to your hearts health. Weight loss then Weight Gain: By starving your body, you are not getting the nutrients necessary to function properly, this sends a 911 to your body and causes your body to go into stress mode And when it s stressed out, the increase in Cortisol (the stress hormone) will prompt your body to store fat and prevent weight loss. Your body adjusts to not getting much sustenance and then holds on to every single bit of food you put into your body as it does not know when it will get its next nutritious meal. 2 Why Yo-Yo Dieting is a No-No
Psychological frustration By depriving yourself of fuel, especially when you are one to workout frequently, your only result will be burnout. Sure, you'll see some weight loss; but that's only due to water loss and dehydration. When people put themselves on a diet, they often forbid themselves to eat the foods they love, but dieting is not the same as healthy eating, and this leads to a sense of deprivation, which can derail your healthy intentions. Over time this creates the effect of yo-yo weight cycling, which can take a toll on your emotional and physical well-being and affect your moods. There is a new term doing the rounds, which is hangry (an amalgam of hungry and angry). But where does hanger come from? The answer lies in some of the processes that happen inside your body when it needs food. The carbohydrates, proteins and fats in everything you eat are digested into simple sugars (such as glucose), amino acids and free fatty acids. These nutrients pass into your bloodstream from where they are distributed to your organs and tissues and used for energy. As time passes after your last meal, the amount of these nutrients circulating in your bloodstream starts to drop. If your blood-glucose levels fall far enough, your brain will perceive it as a life-threatening situation. You see, unlike most other organs and tissues in your body which can use a variety of nutrients to keep functioning, your brain is critically dependent on glucose to do its job which is to keep your body functioning as it should. When blood-glucose levels drop to a certain threshold, your brain sends instructions to several organs in your body to synthesise and release hormones that increase the amount of glucose in your bloodstream. Another reason hunger is linked to anger is that both are controlled by common genes. The product of one such gene is neuropeptide Y, a natural brain chemical released into the brain when you are hungry. It stimulates voracious feeding behaviours by acting on a variety of receptors in the brain, including one called the Y1 receptor. This is why it is so important to eat small meals regularly to keep your body functioning as it should. 3 Why Yo-Yo Dieting is a No-No
How to stop Yo-Yo dieting and turn your life around: Change Your Goals There will always be a reunion, wedding, or vacation to slim down for. But once the big event has come and gone, what will keep you from splurging on dessert every night? "With special-occasion weight loss, it's all about dropping kilograms quickly. Do this too often and you may find that it's even harder to lose weight than the time before. Rather than keep the kilos off just long enough to impress strangers on your vacation, think about rewarding long-term achievements. Maybe you want to train for your first half-marathon or get in shape to go on an amazing hike you have always wanted to do. Setting a big new goal each time you check one off your list will keep you headed in the right direction and you will reach your goals with the right attitude. Keep a food journal Sometimes in life, we feel like we need to be accountable for ourselves when trying to reach a goal. A very good tip of keeping your eating under control is to keep a food journal. Write down every single thing you eat, even if it means writing down 1 piece of chewing gum and see how you start to really focus on the things you consume on a daily basis. By writing a list of the foods you eat, you can easily tell if you are over eating or under eating and when you are eating unnecessarily. 4 Why Yo-Yo Dieting is a No-No
Push yourself to the limits Your weight isn't the only thing that can yo-yo; motivation can have the same motion. Instead of skipping your workout when you're feeling less than inspired, get over the hump by intensifying your efforts. By pushing yourself harder, you tackle more challenges and end up boosting your confidence. The more pumped you are, the easier it is to bounce back from inevitable setbacks and plateaus. The next time you feel yourself being lazy or more reserved, find an exercise partner who is possibly slightly more fit than you are and give it your best effort to keep up with that person As far as physical activities go, it s only human nature to have lazy days, but it s best to try being as consistent as possible. It is believed that if you are active and you skip 1 week of physical activity, it will be twice as hard to get back into it. If you do not work out for 2 weeks it almost makes it feel like a nightmare to return to doing that activity, so if possible if you need to skip days, that is ok, but never skip more than 3-4 consecutive days in a row otherwise you are bound to fall into that trap you do not want to fall into. If you are an avid gym goer and find yourself unable to attend your normal spin classes or treadmill seasons, go for a light walk around the block or do a few sit ups or lunges just to keep your body and muscles stimulated. Please visit Body Coach Club for more info. 5 Why Yo-Yo Dieting is a No-No
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