Yoyo dieting and weight cycling

Yoyo dieting is where you are successful losing weight for a short period of time only to find that you rapidly put it back on. Does this sound like you?

Weight cycling is very common, many people suffer with it for years. In fact my father has been trying to lose weight every since I can remember. He even makes fancy line charts on his PC to show how well he is doing. He then starts to put the weight back on and forgets about the fancy charts :)

So what causes yoyo dieting?

By far the most common reason for weight cycling is, where you try to lose weight drastically by making too many major changes to your lifestyle at the beginning.

All throughout my site, I have tried to make a big emphasis on making changes to your lifestyle in a slow and controlled way.

Some other factors that can contribute to the dreaded yoyo cycle include:

  • Skipping breakfast
  • Half hearted attempts to lose weight
  • Constantly using crash diets
  • Unable to break the “lose weight quick” mentally

    • If we make gradual changes to our lifestyle, they won't seem like such a chore and we will be more likely to stick to them.

    When making a lifestyle change, ask yourself this question:

    “Do I really think i'll still be doing this in six months time?”

    If the answer is no, then it's too drastic for you personally.

    By being too “eager” at the beginning we set ourselves up for a boom and bust type situation. We go all guns blazing at the beginning only to find later, we are tired and fed up, so we give up and end up putting back on all the weight we lost. Very frustrating indeed.

    If you plan to diet and exercise to lose weight, start slowly.

    Start by making gradual changes in your diet, for example cut down a little on snacking throughout the day. Perhaps try a short walk each day.

    If you make Gradual but decisive steps, you will be much less likely to get “fed up” and give it all up.

    Remember, slow and steady wins the race.

    Is yoyo dieting safe?

    Not really. If you have ever repeatedly lost and gained weight you will be aware of how frustrating it can be. You put in all that hard work to lose it only to find you are back to square one again. This can easily begin to effect your self esteem and mood.

    On the physical side weight cycling has been linked with an increased risk of certain medical conditions including high blood pressure and high cholestrol.

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