Yo Yo Diets - Why Do They Happen and How to Avoid Them?

Yo Yo Diets - Why Do They Happen and How to Avoid Them?

There's diet that work and some that don't. And there are Yo Yo diets that work one week and don't work the next. It is this kind of dieting that can really ruin your motivation and make you feel like you can never lose weight.

A yo yo diet is one that works in the beginning, helping you drop some pounds (sometimes very quickly) but then slows down until it stops working completely. Then, you either stop losing weight or end up gaining some of it, if not all of it and more, back.

This happens more often than you may think. In fact, it's one of the main reasons why over 90% of diets fail miserably: they may work but this doesn't last. Not at all.

The reason why Yo Yo Diets happen is that they actually work against your body's natural fat burning ability. I'm talking about your metabolism which is responsible to burn the calories you consume. Your metabolism is very sensitive and can become slower if you eat in the wrong way. Your metabolism is particularly sensitive to massive reduction in calories or in certain nutrients like fats, carbs, and protein.

The purpose of your metabolism is to keep your body alive and well. Dieting makes it nervous since, in ancient times when food was scarce, a reduction in calories was an indication of lack of food, perhaps starvation.

To keep you safe, our metabolism has evolved to slow down when it senses that we don't get enough calories. Even today, when there is no shortage of food, our metabolism still acts this way.

Yo yo dieting happens because many diet plans are depriving by nature: they make you reduce your calories dramatically or cut down one or more macro-nutrients. This may lead to weight loss at first but as your metabolism becomes slower, it becomes harder and harder to continue shedding pounds. Soon, your metabolism is so slow that you can actually gain weight instead of losing it.

What should you do to avoid Yo Yo diets?

Don't choose a diet plan that cuts out a macronutrient like carbs, protein, or fat. Don't choose an ultra-low calorie diet program. Don't forget that exercising plays a major role in successful weight loss. Make sure to change what you eat from one day to the next both in quantity and type of food.

If you do all that, you have a great chance to lose weight and keep it off.