2024.06.18
I often come across such phenomena when girls “lose weight” for the New Year, Birthday or vacation. They go on a short crash diet. Over the course of a week, they lose a couple of kilos, after which they return to eating as usual. As a result, they quickly return to their previous weight, or even in excess. And they gain fat.
Those who have once tried any “effective” diet from magazines have encountered such a phenomenon as weight swings, or more scientifically, the “yo-yo effect”.
THE NAME COMES FROM A CHILDREN’S TOY
The principle of its operation is simple: you release the reel on the rope, it unwinds, and then returns back to the palm.
Short-term strict diets work on the same principle. By squeezing ourselves, we lose weight, and after returning to normal mode, we get the original state, or even plus 5 kg of fat as a reward.
A LITTLE HISTORY
Remember how in school history lessons we were told about ancient people? When they needed to eat, they went hunting. However, their meals were not regular.
It is for this reason that our bodies have developed mechanisms to store energy in the form of fat to use when other sources are scarce.
Although we now live in an era where food is available almost always and everywhere, this is still unusual for our body. Our body still works on the principle of “survival in the wild,” storing fat for a “rainy day.”
Fat is stored in reserve to be used during periods of calorie shortage or during cold temperatures when our body needs extra heat to warm itself.
HOW DOES THE SHORT-TERM DIET WORK?
When we go on short and strict diets, we reduce our daily caloric intake by more than 30%, which becomes stressful for the body.
Our body perceives this period of diet as “hungry days”. When we sharply cut the calorie intake, the body begins to use energy from fat reserves, but before that it will try to “squeeze the maximum” from the muscles. That is, our muscles are “eaten” in order to provide us with energy.
The body will try to preserve the fat it has until the last moment. Therefore, if the calorie intake does not increase, metabolism begins to slow down. This is the moment on a diet when we are no longer losing weight. And this is where the discrepancies with our expectations begin.
We starve, we feel bad, our nails break, and our weight loss process has stopped. As a result, sooner or later we “break down” and begin to eat everything in incredible quantities to compensate for our torment.
AND HERE WE GO
We begin to “become a glutton,” our smart body instantly recognizes the increase in calorie intake and begins to accumulate fat deposits with a vengeance. As if for any fireman. Suddenly the “hungry days” are not over yet! And given the fact that the metabolic rate has become lower, fat is deposited in even greater quantities.
With each such “crooked” diet, the metabolism slows down even more, and MUSCLE MASS BECOME LESS AND LESS. This cycle can be repeated many times, and eventually we can gain weight even from eating salad.
CONCLUSION
It is important to remember that it is almost impossible to avoid this effect by using strict diets.
Fasting and a sharp reduction in caloric intake by more than 25% become stressful for our body, which can subsequently lead to weight gain when returning to normal.
SHORT-TERM DIETS DO NOT WORK!
If we want to “lose weight” forever, then we need to change our lifestyle and habits, both in nutrition and in activity levels.
To avoid the yo-yo effect, you need to completely restructure your diet without resorting to “crash diets.”
The process of losing weight requires time and consistency, NOT QUICK RESULTS.
Miracles in the form of minus 5 kg in a week simply do not happen!
Proper weight loss includes a healthy and balanced diet, taking into account proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and microelements. It is important to avoid unhealthy foods and carefully control your caloric intake.
Slowly reducing calories by no more than 20-25% allows you to lose weight without stressing the body, avoiding the return of lost weight. The body adapts to the changes and will gradually begin to use that same accumulated fat for energy, but slowly and gradually.
And you should also not forget about physical activity, which will help burn “fat” and shape the attractive shape of your body
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Daria K