5 tips to lose weight without yo-yo effect

After a strenuous diet, which you went through with iron discipline, you are in top shape. Finally, you've reached your target weight and you're relieved to get back to your normal eating routine. Until a few weeks later you get a rude awakening: the scales show as much as they did before the diet! Does this sound familiar? Then you are not alone, because many people find it difficult to lose weight without the yo-yo effect.

Clearly, to avoid the yo-yo effect, it is important to understand what exactly happens in your body during this phenomenon. The yo-yo effect is the rapid weight gain after a reduction diet, which often results in not only regaining the initial weight, but even gaining a few extra kilos. There are many reasons why such weight gain occurs.

Initially, much of the weight loss is due to water loss and a loss of stomach and intestinal contents. Especially in diets that allow little carbohydrates, the water content of the body decreases significantly. This is where the sharp weight loss in the first few days of the diet comes from, and it is this weight that drives the scales back up when a normal diet is resumed.

But much more important is the real body mass that is built up again in the yo-yo effect. When you diet, your weight goes down. Your basal metabolic rate, the amount of calories you burn in a day without any extra effort, is highly dependent on your body weight. If you weigh less, then you burn less. But if you eat the same amount of calories after the diet as before, it is hard to avoid the yo-yo effect.

Especially your muscle content is relevant in the course of weight loss role. Muscles burn calories even when at rest. However, with a radical diet, a lot of body protein is also lost and your muscle mass is reduced. Also because of this, your basal metabolic rate after such a diet is lower than before, which leads to weight gain if you go back to eating as much as before.

The diet has a strong impact on the yo-yo effect. Both the diet before, during and after the diet change. While before the diet often an unhealthy diet with little exercise is part of everyday life, during the weight loss a radical change is lived to it. After the diet, there is often a return to previous habits. And this is exactly where the problem lies.

For your body, this up and down of weight means one thing above all: stress. Imagine the "shock" of the change for your body, when you limit the energy supply so significantly! Evolutionarily, however, our bodies are designed to deal with periods of hunger. And for such a period your body will also endure reduction diets.

In this sense, it first mobilizes the carbohydrate depots and then the protein reserves. Above all, if no exercise is done during the diet, muscles will be broken down to provide your body with energy despite the lack of supply. The fat depots are important energy reserves for the body and are therefore only tapped very late. If, on the other hand, you eat as you did before your changeover, your body will do everything it can to replenish these depots.

So let's keep in mind: The muscle content is usually lower after dieting and gaining weight again, because the body breaks down muscle and builds up fat again after the reduction. In this respect, radical diets and resulting relapse have negative effects on your health! So it's time to use the following tips to lose weight without yo-yo effect!

Think about why you actually want to lose weight. What is it that drives you?

Is your self-confidence suffering because of your current figure? Do you not fit into your favorite/desired clothes? Can't you keep up with certain activities compared to your friends? The triggers or reasons are a very personal thing and can vary greatly. However, it is important that you recognize the leitmotif for yourself.

Other, perhaps more serious reasons, for the desire to lose weight without yo-yo effect are, for example, health problems caused by the current weight. In any case, the decision to change your diet in favor of a more vital and energetic shape and version of yourself is the right step! Awareness of your motive and the right mindset can prevent a setback in terms of weight gain.

Become aware of the term "diet". The word translates to lifestyle or way of life! So this is about a long-term lifestyle in nutrition, mindset and exercise. It is not at all about a short starvation stage!

To plan such a change, you should take your time and, if you have the opportunity, consult a professional advisor or become well versed in the subject of healthy living. Don't plan one stage of weight loss, but plan a long-term change that includes weight loss and maintaining your goal weight!

As you have already seen, sufficient protein supply is an important basis for losing weight without yo-yo effect in order not to lose muscles. There are many essential amino acids, i.e. protein components that your body cannot produce itself. You should definitely cover these with your food intake. In addition, you do not need to consume more protein than necessary, because this can be a burden for your kidneys.

In combination with a good protein supply, you should definitely also integrate sports into your new lifestyle. The rule here is not: what burns the most is done. Instead, you should take the time to find the type of exercise that you enjoy so that you can integrate it into your life for the long term.

How about community exercise such as ball sports? Maybe dancing, fitness training or water gymnastics. The world of sports is colorful and diverse, so you're sure to find something that appeals to you.

Also, look at what caused you to build up an unhealthy body weight in the first place. Maybe you eat unhealthy snacks quickly when you are stressed. Then think about how you can reduce this stress in your everyday life. Perhaps you were always given sweets as a reward as a child and now continue this behavior in your own everyday life? Become aware of this and change your reward technique if necessary.

Did your excess fat pad perhaps have a protective function? Were you using food to distract yourself from emotional issues? If you encounter upsetting and difficult backgrounds behind your unhealthy eating behavior, it is important that you take these seriously and perhaps seek professional help here as well.

To avoid the yo-yo effect in the long run, it is advisable to lead a balanced and healthy life. This takes time and attention. Do not focus on the extremes, do not forbid yourself anything, but take the path of the golden mean. This way you can prevent relapse to weight gain and lead your body to a long-term healthy balance.