To understand it with the example, Seema Shukla lost 2kgs in 2 weeks but after the Diwali vacations she suddenly gained 1kg & since then her weight kept fluctuating.This was because after following her diet plans for 2 weeks Seema suddenly started eating all sort of junk & unhealthy food. Such situations wherein a person goes through cyclical gain or loss of weight resembling the up- down motion of a yo-yo is known as yo-yo effect or weight cycling. Here we can see that Seema was initially successful in the pursuit of weight loss but then she was unsuccessful in maintaining her weight & began to gain weight.
The most common cause that is responsible for Yo-Yo effects are given below:
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Sudden change in eating habits.
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Reducing the intake of calories & fatty foods up to half the amount however doubling this amount almost overnight.
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Going on a liquid diets.
Effects after following the Yo-Yo diets:
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Due to dramatic change in eating habits will make the body over respond & over compensate to try & create homeostasis. By the time the body tries to maintain an equilibrium, the person has already gained weight & this leads to weight cycling.
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Weight cycling leads to increase in the levels of cortisol [Stress Hormone] which is the stress hormone. When this hormone is present in your body over long periods of time, it can have negative health effects.
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This will further lead to increased risk of heart disease, cancer, gallbladder disease & diabetes. It can also damage arteries & cause an increase in LDL cholesterol, which will increase the risk of heart disease.
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This diet pattern are generally deprived of good food & false eating patterns, a person may experience both Muscle & fat loss but after completion, the person experiences Starvation, it will lead to rapid weight gain of only fat stores. This is a cycle that changes the body's fat-to-muscle ratio, one of the more important factors in health.
How to battle it?
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Yo-yo effects can be best tackled by maintaining a balance in your eating lifestyle.
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This can be achieved by not restricting or depriving yourself completely from specific foods but at the same time eating healthy & in appropriate portions.
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Follow the diet chart very religiously so that you can get your metabolism on track.
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If you are planning about the cheat meals, Even cheating is art so whenever you decide to have a cheat meal always plan it so that you don’t end up overeating & putting on the lost weight again.