Think twice if you believe skipping a meal is a good approach to sustaining weight loss. Sure, you'll eat fewer calories naturally, but there's a strong chance you'll give in to your desires and binge on bad foods, which may lead to the extremely hazardous yo-yo dieting cycle.
What is yo yo dieting exactly?
Weight cycling, commonly known as yo-yo dieting, is a trend of losing and gaining weight in rapid succession, resembling the up-and-down motion of a yo-yo. It is considered to contribute to long-term weight issues and an increased risk of obesity.
Yo-yo dieting might disrupt your resting metabolism, which is the rate at which your body burns calories during the rest and digestion periods. Since meal timings are so erratic, your body will store what it can when it can and won't burn calories effectively. If you skip meals, your hunger hormones may suffer as well. Your body may produce less leptin, the hunger hormone that suppresses appetite, making it more difficult to tell when you're full and leading to overeating.
Is a yo-yo diet beneficial or harmful?
- Over time, increased appetite leads to further weight gain
Your fat reserves release leptin into your blood under normal circumstances. Fat loss when dieting causes lower amounts of the hormone leptin, which helps you feel full. This signals your body to consume less since energy resources are accessible. Furthermore, when dieting, the body conserves energy by losing muscle mass.
- Fat over muscle mass
During the weight gain phase of yo-yo dieting, fat is regained faster than muscle mass. This may lead your body fat percentage to grow more than ever before, if continued over several yo-yo dieting cycles.
- An increased risk of diabetes
Yo-yo diet has been related to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The abdomen is more prone than the arms, legs, or hips to acquiring diabetes. Those who gain weight on this diet have an increased vulnerability for diabetes.
- An increased risk of heart disease
Weight cycling has been linked to coronary artery disease, which is a narrowing of the arteries that feed blood to the heart. In simple terms, weight fluctuation raises the risk of heart disease. The larger the weight fluctuation, the higher the danger.
- Raises blood pressure
Increased blood pressure is connected to weight gain, especially rebound or yo-yo weight gain after dieting. To make matters worse, yo-yo dieting may, in the future, reduce the beneficial effects of weight reduction on blood pressure. This impact can last for years, although it does gradually fade if you follow a good diet and exercise regime.
- Muscle loss
Yo-yo dieting cycles can cause muscle loss, which can deplete your muscular mass and go against the whole point of your diet. To avoid muscle loss, make sure to exercise daily and consume high-quality protein sources.
A yo-yo diet is bad for your health since it has a number of negative side effects on your body. Now that you know what yo-yo dieting is, you know that it is a cycle of short-term adjustments in food and activity. And it only provides short-term advantages. So, try not to include it in your routine and focus on eating and living properly!