Yo-Yo Dieting
Is Weight Cycling or
Yo-Yo Dieting Harmful?
Weight cycling is the
repeated loss and regain of body weight. When weight cycling is the result of
dieting, it's called "yo-yo" dieting. Weight cycle can range from
small weight losses and weight gains (5-10 lbs. per cycle) to large changes in
weight (50 lbs. or more per cycle).
Some experts believe that weight cycling may be
harmful to your health and that staying at one weight is better than weight
cycling, even for those people who are obese. However, there is no convincing
evidence to support these claims, and most obesity researchers believe that
obese individuals should continue trying to control their body weight despite
some weight cycling.
So far studies have not definitively shown that
weight cycling and yo-yo dieting are harmful. However, further research on the
effects of weight cycling is needed.
In the meantime, a fear of weight cycling should
not stop an obese person from achieving a modest weight
loss. Although health
problems associated with weight cycling have not been proven, the
health-related problems of obesity are well known.
If you are not obese and have no risk factors
for obesity-related illness, focus on preventing further weight
gain by increasing your exercise and eating healthy
foods, rather than trying to
lose weight. If you do need to lose weight, you should be ready to commit to
lifelong changes in your eating behaviors, diet, and physical activity.
Is Regained Weight Harder to Lose?
Not necessarily. People who repeatedly lose and
gain weight through weight cycling and yo-yo dieting should not experience more
difficulty losing weight each time they diet. But, in my experience if you regain the weight, it goes back on quicker and that can be depressing and makes most people want to quit. In my opinion that's the biggest reason for a person to quit trying.
If I Weight Cycle or Yo-Yo Diet, Will It Make
Me Fatter?
Weight cycling and yo-yo dieting don't appear to
increase the amount of fat tissue in people who lose and regain weight.
Researchers have found that after a weight cycle, people have the same amount
of fat and lean tissue as they did prior to weight cycling. That said, in my personal experience, when I loss weight some of that is muscle and some is fat, but when you regain, unless your a workout fanatic the new weight will be mostly fat. which increase the muscle to fat ratio. The best research for you is you paying attention to your own body.
Some people are concerned that weight cycling
can cause more fat to collect in the abdominal (stomach) area. People who tend
to carry their excess fat in the abdominal area, instead of in the hips and
buttocks, are more likely to develop the health problems associated with obesity. However, studies have not found that after a weight cycle people
have more abdominal fat than they did before weight cycling.
I agree, and everyone will yo-yo to some extent so don't worry about it. It's when you loss 25% or more of your body weight and then quickly put it back, say over the winter, I think that can put a strain on your heart and if you do that repeatedly, than that could be dangerous.
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