Don’t be a yo-yo.
If you’ve never heard of ‘the yo-yo effect’ or ‘yo-yo dieting’, it’s a term used to described the cyclical loss or gain of weight which resembles the action of a yo-yo.
Many of you reading this and myself included, have likely experienced or are currently experiencing ‘the yo-yo effect’, where short term changes are made to our diet which produce short term results. It sounds awesome because the words short term are in there but its not awesome at all.
I see and hear people all the time trying out new fad diets they read about online or saw some ‘social media influencer’ doing, which reward them with a loss or gain of a few kilos in the short term BUT as soon as they stop they go right back to square one.
Why? Because too often these diets work by restricting food groups or calories and promise incredible results with unrealistic timelines, which gives the public a warped reality of what is actually achievable and sustainable. This often results in one of two things happening;
- People complete said diet and achieve an incredible result in a short time and go “WOW this is amazing! I’m done now, I’ve lost/gained the weight I wanted to and now I can enjoy the body I’ve always wanted. They stop dieting and all the changes they experienced are undone and they’re back to square one.
- People start said diet and quickly see some results, but shortly after realise the food and/or calorie restrictions are not sustainable and quit to go back to what they were doing originally.
So what does work? Not being on a ‘diet’. The word diet (to me anyway) sounds like something temporary, a chore, something you wouldn’t normally do to get a result you wouldn’t normally see. So lets remove the word diet.
What works is a well balanced source of nutrients from high quality foods that allows you the freedom to enjoy the food you eat while still being able to work towards your goals without feeling too restricted.
Combine that with a positive mindset and a realistic timeline in which to achieve your goals and you are ready to enter the recipe for success in weight gain or weight loss!
The recipe for success isn’t complicated, there’s really only 4 steps separating where you are now from where you want to be;
- Energy balance – Caloric deficit (weight loss) or surplus (weight gain)
- Resistance and cardio based training
- Consistency
- Dedication
That’s really about it guys. There’s no magic bullet unfortunately, the long road is the short road. But once you get going on it you’ll soon realise it’s far more rewarding than what a 5 minute fix would’ve been.
Campbell