Weight Cycling Affects Many Young Women

Any male or female adult who fits the thin ideal of our current culture and appears to be of normal weight, has a body image issue and possibly an eating disorder. For them, weight cycling is physically and emotionally dangerous to their well-being. The prevalence of dieting has increased in recent years, along with the number of people categorized as obese. This has caused researchers to question how intentional and unintentional cycles of weight gain and weight loss are affecting metabolic adaptation to episodes of yo-yo dieting. Losing and regaining weight after following fad diets can have a negative mental effect causing the person to become depressed and more discouraged than before. Negative health consequences of weight cycling are not limited to adults but affects people of normal weight, especially young women.

Post-Diet Weight Gain Is a Common Complaint

Periods of weight gain followed by weight loss followed by weight regain are of concern for younger adults who follow restrictive diets. If you are not feeding your body with the right food, you are at risk, since:

• fad diets are not sustainable
• fad diets are a precursor for eating disorders
• fad diets focus on appearance
• fad diets cause electrolyte imbalances
• fad diets ensure bad eating habits

Weight cycling should not be your excuse. Refocus your efforts on making permanent changes to your menu plan and becoming a more active person. Personalized strategies can still work to keep off the pounds you lose.

Your Outlook on Fat Loss Is Critical

A positive mindset is to stop eating before you are feeling full. After all, it takes a little time for your body to react and signal your brain that it is time quit. To mix things up, try eating for a week using chopsticks or eat with your other hand. If you are new to the gym, set smaller goals and build up to the harder stuff. Do not fall victim to the workout that some gym rat gave you. Start on the treadmill and add a little strength training with dumbbells. Focusing on what is attainable is the healthy outlook you seek. A negative outlook can be very destructive for anyone in a fragile state of mind. Instead of focusing on the good, like health improvements, they can become obsessed with negatives, like the number on their scales suddenly went up regardless of their efforts. Fat loss requires hard work, consistency and patience; or it is not going to happen.