Are You Addicted to Yo-Yo Dieting?

Are you addicted to yo-yo dieting? If you lose and gain, lose and gain and then lose and gain again, you may very well be. This is called yo-yo-dieting, and so many of us deal with it on a regular basis.

Part of the reason for this phenomenon is the very fact that we are dieting. I counsel my coaching clients not to diet. The very word “diet” screams misery and deprivation. It also screams temporary. We’re good for a while… eat sensibly and lose weight. Then we’ve had enough, can’t take the diet anymore and go off the rails. We gain back all the weight we’ve worked so hard to lose. Too many times we even gain back more than we lost! Read on, and check out the free gift at the end of the post!

Yo-yo dieting actually has associated health risks and is repeatedly losing weight regardless of the amount. Any amount of weight that’s lost and then regained qualifies as yo-yo dieting.

You may think the benefits of losing weight are what counts regardless of whether or not you gain it back. The truth is that yo-yo dieting is chronic dieting behavior, and it takes a toll on your body. When you engage in this chronic dieting, your body begins to fight back. It’s actually part of its survival mechanism. Your repeated lose/gain behavior sends a signal to your body, and it’s not the signal you want it to get. Your body actually thinks you are starving, and it tries to hold on to the weight you are trying so hard to lose. It launches into survival more and tries to fight against the starvation it thinks you are facing. Because your body is trying to save you from starving, and holds on to the weight, it makes it tougher for you to lose weight. The more you yo-yo, the less apt your body is going to be to let that weight go. This explains why you can start to lose less with every dieting effort. Your body is trying to save you while it’s actually working against your best efforts to lose weight.

If you deprive yourself and then subsequently overeat, you’re in a constant state of dieting and you may become heavier than you were when you started this latest diet. In addition, yo-yo dieting may lower the amount of good cholesterol in your body and may even raise your risk of have a heart attack or developing heart disease.

What to do? When you want to lose weight, the smart thing to do is not to try to lose a lot of weight quickly. Instead, make small changes that become habits over time. That way you will enjoy the benefits of losing weight slowly and surely and will abandon yo-yo dieting forever. Replacing dieting with a new way of eating that is a life style is a much smarter and more successful way to go! To that end, here is a free gift for you!

Finally, we all have days when we feel like we blew it when it comes to healthy eating. The important thing is not to give up! Forgive yourself for the off day, and get right back to your healthy eating regimen. If you eat healthy food, watch your portions and enjoy moderate exercise, your body will find its own perfect without having to endure one diet after another so you can lose the habit of being addicted to yo-yo dieting!

Make it a goal to retire from being a chronic dieter! It’s the better way to lose weight!!

Helping You Achieve Major Wellness!