You start to follow a diet and start to lose weight. Before you know it, you’ve lost 20-30 pounds! Everything is going well, and you decide this is the greatest new diet out there. Then the weight loss stops. You can’t lose any more weight no matter what and it goes on for 2-3 months. You despise the diet now and claim it was a sham. In the meantime, you start going back to your old eating habits and the weight comes back on. You’ve gained back your weight and even worse, you’re now 5-10 pounds heavier then when you started. So, you start a new diet but this time it’s not coming off as quickly and easily as before and the story continues.

 

We’ve all heard of this scenario or may have even experienced it firsthand at some point. Yo-yo weight loss or yo-yo dieting is the repetitive loss, regain, loss, regain of weight. This often occurs when someone follows a diet for a bit, has some success, falls off the diet and regains the weight then goes back on some diet and repeats the whole process. Read on to find out why this type of weight cycling is so detrimental to your results and how to break the cycle or avoid it to begin with.

The dreaded weight loss plateau

Yo-yo weight loss typically always starts off with the person following some form of diet and having good success with it just like the person in the example above. Then they hit a weight loss plateau for a few months. This type of weight loss plateau is normal and expected in weight loss, especially when there is an initial rapid weight loss. If you are following a proper customized weight loss plan, then your plan will adjust for this type of plateau and your body will be able to overcome it and continue losing weight.

Most people who find themselves in a yo-yo weight loss start off by following a rapid weight loss diet. If the initial weight loss is faster than the body has time to adjust for, there will be a lag. The plateau occurs when the body finally catches up to your new weight. Many things happen at this point but a major one is a decrease in your metabolic rate to reflect your now lighter body. 

Most people would now say to cut back your calories even more and you’ll keep losing weight. Or you may have heard others say you are in starvation mode (not a real thing by the way) and you have to increase calories to keep losing weight. 

Cutting back your calories further to adjust for the new lower metabolic rate does work if you reduced your initial calorie intake by a small amount (500 calories per day) to begin with. But this type of smaller calorie decrease, results in slower and less weight loss in the same timeframe. The problem with most rapid weight loss diets is that they cut back the calories too much in the beginning leaving no more room to cut back calories when you hit a plateau. 

So, then you're told to increase your calories because you're not eating enough, and you put your body in starvation mode. A decrease in your metabolic rate does happen and there are many reasons why. However, if you were in a true starvation situation, you would continue to lose weight. Look at what starvation does to the human body in third world countries where there is food famine. What your body needs is not an overall increase in calories but an increase in the right macronutrients your body needs to continue losing weight and gain muscle.

Why is it harder to lose weight then before after I regain weight?

The simple answer to this question is muscle loss! When you lose a lot of weight in a short timespan you are losing body water, fat, and muscle. The problem with losing muscle is that it is metabolically active. Muscle requires calories to sustain itself and having more muscle leads to a higher metabolic rate. When you lose muscle and weight at the same time the body can now reduce its metabolic rate even more because there is not as much demand for calories. 

When you start to regain weight, you gain it back as fat. This means that even though you are now at the same starting weight you have less muscle than you did originally. Having less muscle means your metabolic rate is lower than it was originally. When you try to lose weight again it will take more effort and take longer than it did before. 

This may lead someone to follow an even more restrictive diet leading to more muscle loss, another plateau, and greater fat regain when they start to regain the weight with an even lower metabolic rate. This cycle keeps repeating itself until you do something to break it.

How do I break the yo-yo cycle?

If you find yourself in this situation you have a few options to break out of it. Working with a dietitian is one of the best options you have and will help reduce your stress. If you are unable to work with a dietitian at this time, then following these steps will help you break free of the vicious cycle.

If you find yourself in a weight loss plateau, follow these steps.  

1. Start circuit style resistance training (lifting weights or bodyweight exercises).

2. Increase your total daily protein intake to 1 gram per pound of body weight. (200 pounds = 200 grams of protein).

3. If you don’t have enough energy to exercise, then increase your total daily carbs by adding 20-50 grams of complex carbs (not just simple sugars! Check out the blog on sugar to learn more). Start on the lower end and increase them gradually. Stop increasing once you feel you have enough energy to workout properly. 

4. You will notice some weight gain over the first week to month (~5-10 pounds). This is due to water weight from increasing carbs and some muscle gain. This is a good sign you are doing it right.

5. You will start losing weight again by the 2nd month if not sooner. Continue your current workout plan and adjust as needed to reflect your physical ability.

6. Start to pay more attention to how clothes are fitting. Even though the numbers on the scale are not moving your shirts and pants may start to fit looser than before. This is your body remodeling itself through fat loss and muscle gain.

How can I prevent falling into the yo-yo weight loss cycle when trying to LOSE weight?

If you are planning on starting a diet to lose weight, make sure to follow these key steps to prevent falling into a yo-yo weight loss cycle.

1. Do not follow an extreme calorie reduced diet.

2. Increase your total daily protein intake to 1 gram per pound of bodyweight (you don’t have to be exact to the gram, the body will not care about subtle differences in protein).

3. Do some form of circuit style resistance training at least 3x/week. 

4. Do some form of cardio 2-3x/week (your strength training can be cardio based if intense enough).

5. Pay attention to how you feel during your workouts and throughout the day. If you are feeling sluggish and low energy, increase your total daily carbs a little (~10-20g total/day). If you are not feeling better after a few days, increase them a little more again. Stop increasing once you are able to sustain your workouts. 

6. Once you’ve reached your goal weight, adjust your intake and activity to sustain your current weight.

Working with a dietitian to create a custom plan that adjusts overtime is one of the best ways to prevent falling into this vicious cycle. If you are ready to lose weight, keep the weight off and feel better overall, take the first step today and schedule your free consultation. 

Written by: Adam Skowyra MPPD, RDN, LD