5 Tips for Sustaining Your Desired Weight and Steer Clear of the Yo-Yo Effect
Diets can be exhausting, and the challenge often lies in maintaining the achieved weight, as the pounds tend to return. With our tips, you can effectively sustain your dream weight!
There is nothing more frustrating than the yo-yo effect after a successful diet. This undesirable phenomenon literally makes you despair. But don't worry, there are effective ways to counteract the yo-yo effect and achieve healthy results in the long term.
What is the yo-yo effect?
The yo-yo effect describes a phenomenon in which you quickly gain weight again after a successful diet. But why is that so? If you think you can trick your body, you're wrong. Our bodies are smart. If too few calories are consumed over a longer period of time, the body switches to survival mode. A lot of kilos will fall off in the first few weeks, but the result will be counterproductive:
The basal metabolic rate drops
With a radical diet, the body is given fewer calories than it is used to. It draws on energy reserves to maintain body functions. The body switches to survival mode and lowers its general basic requirements.
The metabolism becomes slower
To save energy, the body slows down its metabolism. The disadvantage: Our body believes that bad times are ahead. That's why it stores excess calories to build up reserves. The kilos are rising again.
Tip 1: Don't have too much of a calorie deficit during a diet
In order to avoid the yo-yo effect right from the start, it is important not to have a large calorie deficit during the diet. A deficit of 300 to a maximum of 500 kcal prevents the yo-yo effect and also avoids feeling too hungry and in a bad mood. With a healthy diet you will lose around 0.5 to 1 kilo of body weight per week.
Tip 2: Muscles burn calories
When it comes to losing weight, the focus shouldn't just be on cardio training. Building muscle is just as important. Because muscles need energy and burn calories - even after training at rest! By the way, our largest muscle is the thigh muscle.
Tip 3: Include exercise in your everyday life
It's not just going to the gym that makes sense while losing weight. Sports activities can also be integrated into everyday life and increase your basal metabolic rate. It's better to climb the stairs than take the elevator, ride your bike rather than drive.
Tip 4: Change your diet permanently
The best diet doesn't do much good if the diet isn't made healthy over the long term. Just because you eat a lot of vegetables and avoid fast food while on a diet doesn't mean that you can go back to old habits after a diet and eliminate healthy foods from your diet. During a diet, your diet should be designed in such a way that you are happy to continue eating the same way afterwards.
That doesn't mean that you have to do without everything. Because this makes it difficult to stick to a diet and the frustration is great. Healthy, minimally processed foods should be included as an integral part of the diet plan. Fast food, cakes and the like can be eaten, but with moderation.
Tip 5: Get enough sleep
Sleep is extremely important for the body. During this time it can regenerate and vital processes take place. When we lack sleep, our hormonal balance becomes unbalanced. The two hormones ghrelin and leptin are responsible for our feelings of hunger and satiety. People who are sleep-deprived have cravings more often. That's why getting enough sleep (8 to 9 hours) is very important.
The yo-yo effect can be combated before the diet. It is important not to put too much pressure on yourself. Even though healthy weight loss sometimes takes a little longer and flash diets sound very tempting, it will definitely pay off to stick with it.
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