Why Yo-Yo Dieting Doesn’t Work (And What to Try Instead)

Yo-Yo Dieting

Nobody sets out on a weight-loss programme planning to put the weight back on again. However, for many of us, yo-yo dieting is an inevitable consequence of starting a new diet. In fact, an estimated 1 in 3 yo-yo dieters actually gain more weight than they lose. It can be frustrating and easy to lose hope.

What is Yo-Yo Dieting? 

Yo-yo dieting isn’t a dietary regime in itself. It describes the process that often happens when we try to change our eating habits. We start a new diet, typically avoiding certain food groups. We maintain it for a short period, lose some weight, but then put the weight back on again once we stop dieting. 

When we talk about yo-yo dieting, we’re really talking about weight loss strategies that don’t work. 

Why Yo-Yo Dieting Doesn’t Work 

There are several reasons why yo-yo dieting doesn’t work, but the fundamental problem is that aggressive and restrictive diets misunderstand the way our bodies work.

If you start to starve your body of the calorific intake that it is used to, it will go into survival mode. It assumes that there is a shortage of fuel for it. This typically leads to sluggishness and reduced energy levels, and results in minimal weight loss because the body is refusing to burn any energy that it doesn’t deem strictly necessary. 

Worse still, when you start to increase your calorific intake again, the body will often respond by storing up energy – resulting in rapid weight gain. 

There are numerous other health reasons why yo-yo dieting is such a problem. These include issues with blood pressure, cholesterol, muscle loss and various mental health issues associated with dieting.

What’s the Alternative to Yo-Yo Dieting? 

The good news is, there are far more effective ways to tackle weight-loss and fitness:

1. Set realistic short, medium and long-term goals to work towards to keep you motivated.

2. Develop a healthy and sustainable diet that will fuel your lifestyle and that you can realistically achieve (and enjoy) life is too short to only eat salad leaves! I believe eating everything in moderation. 

3. Focus less on losing weight, and more on achieving your fitness goals – whether that’s increasing strength, enduring, flexibility etc 

4. Find regular forms of exercise that you love and get you excited about and look forward to doing. This is where I would come in, I make all my training sessions super enjoyable and my clients always look forward to training with me. 

5. Find people who can help you achieve your weight-loss goals, including friends, family and fitness instructors who can support and encourage you and hold you accountable. 

I hope you fount this blog post helpful and you have learnt some tips to tackle your weight-loss and fitness goals. If you’re interested in working with a personal trainer in South London to help you achieve your long-term weight loss and fitness goals in a fun and healthy way, then I would love to hear from you.

All you need to do is get in touch by sending me an email or giving me a call and we can set up an online or face to face trial personal training session and get you started today. 

Best Wishes 

 Amy x