New from Kim Oddo: Are You On the Diet Roller Coaster?

ARE YOU ON THE YO-YO ROLLERCOASTER RIDE? Many competitors and individuals who diet often struggle with the change of pace from rigorous dieting to eating a healthy maintenance eating plan. Approximately 70% of this group who struggle to lose weight are caught up in the destructive cycle of Yo-Yo dieting. Yo-Yo dieting occurs when an individual comes off of a strict regimented eating plan and reverts back to what he/she regards as “normal” eating (usually loads of high-energy foods with high fat/sugar content) and not only regains all the weight they lost, but also gains extra weight so that the person ends up with a higher body fat content than they even started with. After a while, the person tries to diet again, and finds that their efforts are unsuccessful and they get depressed and eat even more, gain even more weight and become seriously unhealthy people. Yo-Yo dieting has a most unfortunate effect on the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). The BMR being the amount of energy you need to keep your body functioning when you are not doing anything active, such as sleeping, resting, watching TV, etc. In most sedentary individuals the BMR is responsible for approximately 60% of your energy expenditure. In very active people, this number can drop to practically zero as all the available energy is used up by physical activity. It is already a paradox of sorts, because when we lose weight our BMR decreases due to the fact that our body’s requirements for basic energy needs are lower now. Thus, Yo-Yo dieting really becomes a metabolic disaster. Because the BMR decreases with weight loss and adjusts to the lower requirements for energy, individuals who stop dieting and start eating energy-rich foods again will gain more weight than before; due to the fact your body can’t adjust quickly enough to handle the influx of calories. If the weight loss and gain are repeated again, the BMR will be lowered even further and you body will use even less energy for its basic metabolic process. And of course if you drop the dieting process once more, your body weight will rocket and you will be heavier than ever. Included within this disaster is the psychological trauma that occurs to each individual. The feelings of guilt, anger, failure, not to mention frustration push us to further extremes and cause negative behavior to become deep seeded within our emotional processing, It has been this issue that I have seen most individuals struggle with resulting in their own feelings of self worth being compromised. BUT-----------THERE IS HOPE!! By staying on a sensible low-fat, low-sugar, high-fiber nutrition program and continuing regular exercise, you can combat the yo-yo dieting craziness. It may take a little longer if you’ve been yo-yo dieting, but the increased exercise will compensate for your decreased BMR. This is one of the reasons I continually advise clients not to completely drop cardiovascular exercise when coming off restrictive programs. By continuing to follow a sensible program, easing some of the foods you may be craving back into your diet in small amounts and slowing down cardio exercise gradually to allow your body time to adjust to its new regime, you are giving your body a better chance of success. Most people have developed bad eating habits from childhood. Unfortunately, our parents did not always instill good habits in us; and many of us are still suffering today. Take a look at your own daily habits and find ways where you can make some real lifestyle changes. These changes will give you long lasting results! No more roller coaster dieting. Begin to recognize your obstacles and overcome them. Gain the support from friends and family and obtain the results you want.