Image from Guys in Good Health

With bathing suit season just around the corner, it is becoming more and more tempting to avoid the warnings and turn to quick weight loss, yo-yo dieting as a last ditch attempt to lose the extra weight before summer.

The problem is yo-yo,  fad diets that promise quick results can create short-term weight loss, followed by long-term weight gain.  In other words, you could be trading a few slimmer days for months or years of added weight.  So, before you choose a fad diet to “quickly” take off  those pesky pounds, ask yourself  one question. Is the goal to lose  weight and get reacquainted with a healthier, slimmer you, or do you really want to “fake it” for a day or two?  If the ultimate goal is to lose weight,  please don’t do something that can cause you to gain more than you bargained for.

Say NO to the Yo-Yo!

Instead of dieting, starting living a healthier lifestyle.  Choose living over dieting.  Living a healthy lifestyle is the best way to get long-term results that’ll stick!  We’re here to help if you need a little guidance or a step-by-step action plan.  Just click here to sign up for a free nutrition appointment. Seriously, it’s free, complements of our donors and supporters!

We aren’t the only ones that think you should ditch the yo-yo!  Click here for a few other articles that voice their opinion about riding the yo-yo.

Yo-yo Dieting Written by Lisa Mondello

The struggle to lose weight has been a battle for many people over the years that rival World Boxing…with the dieter usually on the losing end.  We put on our boxing gloves, step into the ring with good intentions and may even do well for a few rounds, giving us the illusion that we might actually be the one standing at the end of the fight.

But then we get knocked down or bounced around the ring.  Our weight increases, many times to appalling height we’ve never seen before, shocking us and leaving us shaking our heads wondering why we just can’t win in this fight against weight loss.

One of the reasons people fail at dieting is because they haven’t really embraced the idea of changing their lifestyle and adopting healthy eating habits and exercise as a lifelong choice.  Instead of being in it for the long haul, they look for that quick result.  They choose fad diets that make extraordinary promises of weight loss like “Drop 10 pounds in 2 days!”

It sounds great and many people fall into the trap of resorting to fad diets that promise quick weight loss usually because there is some family or social function they need to look great at or the summer bathing suit season has crept up on them when they weren’t paying attention and they’d rather eat tar than be seen on a beach in swimwear.  But the problem is that even though quick weight loss is a quick fix, the weight usually comes boomeranging back with a vengeance.

The problem with following fad diets as a miracle way to lose weight is that it leads to what is known as yo-yo dieting, also known as weight cycling.  Whether it is a small weight cycle of 5-10 lbs. or a larger weight cycle of over 50 lbs. you need to understand how weight cycling affects your body.

Some research shows that a constant fluctuation in weight due to yo-yo dieting is not only frustrating for the person trying to lose weight, but it can also make it harder to lose weight the next time you try.  When we try to lose weight quickly, we are basically “shocking” our body by depriving it of the amount and type of food it is used to having.  When that happens, the body reacts as if there is a famine by slowing the metabolism and storing fat to help sustain life.  Instead of shedding weight, the body struggles to hold on to weight.  This cycle only gets worse as a person ages.  Do that one too many times and you’re exercising a muscle you don’t want to be strong.

Also, yo-yo dieting can have potential health risks.  Yo-yo dieting can affect a person’s gall bladder, result in high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  These are also diseases that are a result of obesity, however, it can be aggravated further by constant weight fluctuation.

The affects of yo-yo dieting aren’t all physical.  Yo-yo dieting can also have a negative psychological affect on the person trying to lose weight because they haven’t achieved their target weight or they are unable to maintain it.  It is easy to become depressed and discouraged when you lose and then regain weight over and over again.  No one wants to pull out their “fat” jeans because they can’t button the pants they’d been able to fit in after losing weight.

The best solution is to not succumb to fast weight loss through fad dieting.  Instead, choose a healthy diet that can become a way of life.  Trade the short term stint just so you can squeeze into your favorite pair of jeans for a special occasion for a well balanced diet and a consistent routine of exercise.

Research shows that people who choose a healthy balanced diet and exercise regularly both while they are trying to lose weight and after they’ve reached their target weight stand a better chance of keeping the weight off and not boomeranging back to heights unknown.  It’s better to trade your yo-yo in for a steady ride.

You can lose as much weight as people who don’t have a history of losing and regaining, according to a new study.

This offers encouragement for yo-yo dieters who often fear they’ve hurt their metabolism and won’t be successful.

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle recruited 438 overweight or obese post-menopausal women.

They were divided them into two groups: non-yo-yo dieters, and yo-yo dieters with a history of losing and regaining 10 or more pounds three or more times.

The women were placed in one of four plans, shown below. Their average weight loss after 12 months is listed at right.

The plans and the weight loss
Reduced-calorie diet	15-17 lbs.
225 minutes a week of aerobic activity	5 lbs.
Both reduced-calorie diet and 225 minutes a week of aerobic activity	19-21 lbs.
No formal diet or exercise program	No change

Most of the weight was lost in the first six months; yo-yo dieters lost about the same amount as non-yo-yo dieters.

The take-home message is don’t give up trying, says Fred Hutchinson Center researcher Caitlin Mason, who presented the study at the annual meeting of the Obesity Society in San Diego. “For long-term success, aim for a slow-and-steady weight loss of about 1 to 2 pounds a week,” she says.

Anne McTiernan, the study’s senior author and director of the Prevention Center at the Hutchinson Center, says researchers aren’t sure whether these results would also apply to men. She says this study confirms her previous research showing that people who do both the diet and exercise lose the most weight.

* Skinny Gene Healthy Lifestyles Partner Post

By Maria Crompton, a fitness guru and personal trainer with

Fit for Life in San Diego, California.

Have you noticed a pattern?

You’ll spend a couple of weeks eating clean, exercising and losing weight, but then the pendulum swings and you spend the next week or two indulging in your old unhealthy habits.

After too many days where you’re not feeling so good, you’ll get back to your clean habits, and so the yo-yo goes.

It’s time to stop this vicious cycle that never brings you all the way to your goal – keeping you comfortable enough, yet frustrated.

The good news is that your yo-yo days could be quickly and permanently turned off with this simple mindset change.

Photo from Competitor

Find your reward in the process, not in the results.

When it comes to weight loss, we’ve been brainwashed to focus all of our efforts on the “results”. Your desired result is the ideal body that you dream to have – it’s your reason for passing on dessert and the image you hold in your mind as you toil through burpees and mountain climbers.

News flash: If you only find reward in the results, you’re likely to fail.

What?!?

Think about it. Results are abstract.

Oh sure, you can picture it in your mind with crystal clarity, but what reach does that image have on you when you’re lured into the drive thru?

Let’s face it – future results are easy to lose focus on. Try not to focus solely on images all the time, think about your health, and just take it a day at a time.

The Process:

This is the act of working toward your goal – your meal plan, your exercise routine and your healthy life style choices.

If you had a map of where you are today (blue dot), and where you’ll be when you reach your goal (red dot), the process is that black line connecting the two.

When all you’re focused on to reinforce your journey is the promise of results, it’s easy to wind up lost.

Finding Reward in the Process:

Make a new habit of feeling rewarded after every day on your chosen path.

Completing your diet and exercise each day needs to become its own reward. Look down and applaud yourself for each step forward.

When you find reward in the process, the results will take care of themselves.