What is the yo-yo effect?
When it comes to dieting, the yo-yo effect means that you start a diet and maintain it for some time. However, you then stop the diet and regain the weight. After some time, you diet again, stop the diet, regain the weight, and more. This cycle repeats itself and becomes hellishly exhausting.
What is another term for yo-yo dieting?
Another term for yo-yo dieting is weight cycling, which is also referred to as chronic dieting. If you try every diet trend and constantly lose weight and put it back on, then you are a yo-yo dieter. I was a yo-yo dieter until I was 28 years old. I know what it is like to be 20 kilograms overweight and how hard it is to lose weight when we live in an environment that makes it very hard to lose weight: family events, Christmas, Eid, holidays, birthdays etc. Also, the supermarkets do not make it easy for us to lose weight and be healthy with all their 2-for-1 specials on unhealthy food items. Have you ever seen a 2-for-1 special on fruit and vegetables? I haven’t.
What is a common outcome of yo-yo dieting?
A common outcome of yo-yo dieting is that you put on all the weight you lost and probably more. You start to become obsessed with food and think about food all the time. You also tend to try multiple diets. When one diet “fails,” you move on to the next diet. The first diet I went on when I was 14 years old was a diet that equated food to units, and I was allowed 12 units per day, plus two extra units to use as I wished. I visited so many dietitians in my teens and early 20s. I tried the Four-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss, where you focus your diet on protein, peas/pulses and legumes. This diet did not last long. I used to think carbohydrates were the devil and followed a Keto diet for some time. I followed a gluten-free diet too, and I am not coeliac. I managed to maintain my 18-20 kg weight loss from 21 – 28 years old (give or take 3-4kg). I thought I was so healthy because I was “thin”. I was not healthy. I would never advise someone to go on a gluten-free diet if they are not celiac, as there are a lot of amazing foods that contain gluten that are beneficial for us. For example: All bran, Weetabix, barley, wholemeal pasta, bread and pita. When you are constantly yo-yo dieting and putting that weight back on, that increase in body fat can lead to less favourable health outcomes like obesity, type 2 diabetes, etc. It can also have a negative effect on your mental health and be detrimental to your confidence.
Is yo-yo dieting bad for your heart?
More research is needed about the effect of yo-yo dieting on your heart. It is not necessarily yo-yo dieting that is bad for your heart. What can put you at risk of cardiovascular disease is the constant weight gain and an increase in body fat.
Is yo-yo dieting worse than being overweight?
If you are overweight or obese, you are more at risk of developing diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. Yo-yo dieting won’t help; however, you would probably need to understand how much weight you gain, lose and gain again.
Is it harder to lose weight after yo-yo dieting?
Based on the people I see in the clinic, it becomes harder to lose weight every time you gain weight after yo-yo dieting. Life becomes busier the older we get. We have children, manage their and our diaries, and begin to look after elderly parents.
What’s a better alternative?
A better alternative to yo-yo dieting is working with a nutritionist or dietitian to develop sustainable, healthy eating and exercise habits that fit into your lifestyle. What is easy for you to attain and sustain will differ from what someone else can achieve and maintain.
What do healthy eating habits involve?
Healthy eating habits involve a gradual shift towards the following:
| Food to improve in diet | Food to reduce in diet |
| Fruit and vegetables. Eat the rainbow throughout the week. | Ultra-processed foods that are high in sugar, salt and saturated fat e.g. biscuits, sweets, sugary cereals, processed meats. |
| Lean proteins such as fish, chicken, turkey, eggs, tofu, beans and pulses such as lentils, chickpeas, red kidney beans. | Red meat – limit to twice a week if possible4 |
| Wholegrains such as oats, brown rice, barley, brown pasta, wholemeal bread, wholemeal pita, wholemeal tortilla high-fibre cereals such as All-Bran and Weetabix. | Refined carbohydrates like white bread, white pasta, white pita, white rice etc. |
| While not a food, drinking water and increasing hydration is very important. | Alcohol |
| Unsaturated fat i.e. the healthier fats such as olive oil, rapeseed oil, nuts, seeds, avocado and oily fish. | Saturated fat like the fat on meats, skin of chicken, Fat in dairy |
How much weight can a person safely lose in a week?
As per NHS guidelines, a person can safely lose up to 1 kg per week.
References
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/obesity/treatment/#:~:text=services%20near%20you-,Diet,high%20in%20fat%20and%20sugar