There has probably been several times when you have managed to get rid of some excess weight, but a few months or even weeks later, it’s back on again. This is what is known as “yo-yo” dieting or “weight cycling” and many people struggle with this kind of losing and gaining weight experience at some point of their lives.
If you have experienced this you have probably questioned why it happens. Well, when the food you eat contains very few calories or if you miss meals and starve yourself, the short term results are often encouraging but before long your body realizes that there are not enough calories coming in for it to function properly and its safely measures come in to play.
At this point the body makes the decision to conserve all the energy it can and so the way in which it burns off food and converts it to energy, known as your metabolism, embarks on a go slow. A noticeable slowing down of the weight being lost then becomes apparent.
Many people hit the wall at this point, and, struggling to maintain the diet, the weight begins to come back on. And what’s even worse, is that for some people, the lowered metabolism means they end up with more weight than what they started at!
When dieting suddenly on a regular basis the metabolism begins to work less efficiently each time. Muscle tone is lost due to the restriction of calorie intake and this slows down the metabolism even further. Flabby upper arms because of the triceps muscle tone being lost and fat being gained is a common sign of this happening.
When you are trying to lose weight, if you don’t want to end up back where you started you need to follow a long term sensible and healthy eating plan. This is far more emotionally and physically beneficial.
Losing small amounts of fat can improve your health so aim for a modest weight loss.
A gradual drop in your calorie intake works better than a sudden drop, so take things one step at a time.
Think of your diet as a healthy eating plan.
Look to change your lifestyle (activity levels and what and when and why you eat).
To break the weight loss plateau you need to give your metabolism a boost. Aim to increase your levels of physical activity. And if you are missing meals or eating too few calories you need to take a serious look at your diet and aim to eat more often (every 3 hours).
Most importantly, don’t miss your breakfast – it’s the meal that gets your metabolism working early in the day.
Don’t waste your time and money. If you want to lose weight fast, we have reviewed several successful diet plans for quick weight loss. You can also watch my videos about healthy diet plans to lose weight quickly.