Yo-yo dieting, also referred to as “weight cycling,” is when cravings overpower any positive effects that a dieter has received by following whatever program allowed them to lose weight.
You usually hear cravings and yo-yo dieting mentioned when a person loses a certain amount of weight, gains it back, and then loses it again, feeding into a vicious cycle of dieting ups and downs.
The cravings that come with yo-yo dieting can be quite a physically, as well as emotionally draining process.
Unhealthy Practices
There have been studies done on people who feed into the cravings and yo-yo diet, determining that these repeated cycles of weight loss and weight gain is an unhealthy practice. It results in the weakening of the body, as well as decrease in the functionality and strength of the body’s major organs, immune system and overall health of the individual.
Looking for a quick solution to a weight problem is more likely to end in diet failure - these quick fixes come in many forms.
When people starve themselves in order to lose weight, they are more likely to give into craving and yo-yo dieting.
Fad Diets
Another way cravings and yo-yo dieting come into play, is when a dieter chooses to follow a fad diet. Some of these diets involve eating one particular type of food group, such as grapefruits or cabbage soup, as well as eliminating major elements from a diet, such as avoiding carbs. The weight soon returns when the dieter abandons whatever strict regimen they were following, giving into cravings and yo-yo dieting patterns.
Depression and fatigue are factors that also contribute to the failure of a diet not based on healthy eating habits accompanied by regular exercise.
Once the weight creeps back, the dieter then resorts back to the quick fix for help. This pattern continues until the dieter has decided to follow a sensible diet and exercise plan, leaving behind the cravings and yo-yo dieting.
Lifelong Diet Plan
Dieters must learn how to commit to a lifelong plan to losing and maintaining their weight through healthy means. If a person is unwilling to make this sacrifice of watching what they eat, then they are more likely to fall victim to cravings and yo-yo dieting.
Giving into cravings and practicing yo-yo dieting can lead to detrimental effects on the overall health of an individual.
Cholesterol
A study published in the Journal of American College of Cardiology stated that yo-yo dieters displayed low levels of the “good” cholesterol that prevents heart disease. It was also shown that women who had succumbed to their cravings and yo-yo dieted had the worst results. This was the case in women who had lost and regained at least 50 pounds.
Other complications arising from yo-yo dieting include the increased risk of developing gallstones, as well as a slight increase in a patient’s blood pressure.
Obesity
Even though the issues surrounding cravings and yo-yo dieting are disadvantageous to a person’s health, it is not worse than being an obese individual. Obesity increases a person’s risk for stroke, heart disease, diabetes, as well as cancer.
More dieting and general health information and FREE exclusive diet and health magazines, are available on our web site: http://www.net-planet.org
Many people limit themselves to one soda a day especially those looking for a quick sugar or caffeine boost. However, new research shows that daily soda may be affecting your weight more than you think. A recent study in the Journal of American Medical Association showed that women who drink soda or fruit punch every day gain weight quickly and face a significant risk of type II diabetes.
The study which analyzed more than 50,000 American nurses found that those who drank just one serving of soda or fruit punch a day tended to gain more weight than those who drank less than one a month. One serving is equivalent to one 12-ounce can of soda or one 8-ounce cup of fruit punch. The bottles of soda and fruit punches you find most often in vending machines are often 2-3 servings, which make these findings even more important since many people may be taking in more than one serving a day.
Over an average of four years, researchers found that the women who gained the most weight were those who increased their intake of regular sodas or fruit punch from one or fewer per week to one or more per day. Such women gained an average of 10.3 pounds, compared with an average of slightly less than three pounds for those who consumed one drink or less per week.
In addition, those who had one or more drinks containing sugar or corn syrup per day were 83 percent more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than those who drank less than one such drink per month. It is also interesting to note that Type 2 Diabetes rose by 60% between 1990-2001.
The findings in this study suggest that there is something especially unhealthy about calories consumed in liquid form, said Caroline M. Apovian of the Boston University School of Medicine, who wrote an editorial accompanying the findings.
“It seems that when you drink your calories as opposed to eating them, your body may not sense that you’ve just taken in those calories and your appetite doesn’t seem to compensate,” Apovian said. “The appetite circuit might not be programmed to register liquid calories.”
The take home lesson is use soda as a once in awhile treat but avoid drinking them every day for your health’s sake.
© Meri Raffetto, 2005
Meri Raffetto is a Registered Dietitian and a recognized professional in the area of nutrition and wellness. She is the owner of Real Living Nutrition Services providing online weight loss programs. Sign up for her free monthly newsletter to receive nutrition tips, healthy recipes, and more at http://www.reallivingnutrition.com
Do you know by not using proper stress management
techniques or stress relief strategies you could be
contributing to fat gain? There is a condition called stress
induced obesity which promotes a stress producing hormone
called cortisol. Let’s take a closer look at how stress, cortisol, and fat promotion can make your waist, hips, and buttocks larger.
Stress is a word you hear often these days.
Due to the extremely fast paced world we live in,
greater demands are placed upon us, leading to greater
stress levels which are higher than ever seen before.
People desperately attempt to juggle professional careers, family, and free time, all while fighting traffic jams, social obligations, financial pressures, and even natural disasters.
All of this results in being “stressed out.” Demands are
consistently being placed upon us from different directions, sometimes occurring at the exact same time. I constantly hear the words “if there were more hours in the day.” Sound familiar?
Stress is defined as any event in which environmental demands,
internal demands, or both tax or exceed the adaptive resources
of an individual, social system, or tissue system.
How many times have you heard the controversial ads for
Cortislim or Relacore? Both are suggested to block cortisol,
a stress hormone that gets your body ready to respond to a threat, and has been associated with fat promotion. Depending
upon the level of threat, the brain regulates the amount
of cortisol excreted from the adrenal gland. If the risk is huge, like a bear chasing you, a large amount of cortisol is released into the blood stream. However, if you are late for a very important appointment, and rushing vigorously, a smaller amount of cortisol is released.
The state of readiness, the “fight or flight” response, which
promote the hormone cortisol, has been associated with increasing fat storage, and cardiovascular effects such as
faster heartbeat, higher blood pressure, constricted blood
vessels, and a release of blood sugar.
Energy regulation and mobilization are also two crucial functions of cortisol.
Personality type, which includes the way you interpret stressors, can play a key roll in cortisol release, according to research studies.
Suppose you are considered a personality type D, which exhibits
negative emotions, pessimistic behavior, and don’t share emotions. In addition to your interpretation of stressful situations, you also lose your job. You would now be considered having the cortisol throttle wide open, stuck in the “on” position. Over the long haul, along with the heart effects mentioned about, fat gain can be promoted by the aggressive circulation of cortisol in the blood stream.
According to research, tissue cortisol concentrations are
controlled by a specific enzyme, cortisone, that converts inactive cortisone to active cortisol. Studies show that the gene for this enzyme shows up more in obese conditions. It is shown that deep fat, surrounding the stomach and intestines have more of these enzymes compared to fat just underneath the skin. Thus, the high enzyme levels in the deep fat tissue surrounding the abdomen may lead to obesity due to greater levels of cortisol being produced at the tissue level. It is also noted that deep abdominal fat has greater blood flow and four times more cortisol receptors compared to subcutaneous, or surface fat. This, in effect, may increase cortisol’s fat accumulation and fat cell size enlarging effect.
Another potential link between stress, and cortisol involves the appetite. Animal and human studies have shown an increased
appetite, cravings for sugar, and weight gain when cortisol
injections were administered.
Individuals with high circulating levels of cortisol tend to consume more foods high in sugar, and fat. This may occur because cortisol directly effects food consumption by binding to receptors in the brain. This can stimulate an appetite craving sugar, and fat.
Due to all the negative influences mentioned above, resulting
from continual high stress levels effecting circulating cortisol, it is a good idea to manage your stress level well.
Please be aware that Cortislim, and Relacore do not
appear to be the answer. The federal government has
cracked down on products like these for stating false
and unsubstantiated product claims. More research needs
to be done on these products before being considered
a viable solution.
A much more effective solution is watching your caloric intake, while participating in a consistent exercise program. You should also include stress reduction methods such as meditation, biofeedback, visualization, and/or yoga.
Work hard at exercising, keep a positive mental attitude, and
incorporate as many stress reducing techniques as you possibly
can. It will benefit your waistline, as well as overall health.
Jim O’Connor, Beverly Hills celebrity fitness consultant, has conducted thousands of personal fitness consultations with celebrites, business executives, and highly motivated individuals throughout Los Angeles. He is the Chief Exercise Physiologist for Wellness WORD, LLC, a health, fitness, and nutrition promotion company. Jim is the author of a well
known, world wide multimedia newsletter called Wellness WORD, published online every other week promoting the health and fitness truth. He also is the author of a popular ebook called Home Gym Shopping Secrets. http://www.WellnessWord.com/
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