The lost weight that finds its way back onto your hips

The weight that took so long to get rid of creeps back and before you can say chocolate biscuit you are back at the same weight you were (if not more) than before you went on “a diet”. So how do you stop the yo-yo dieting once and for all?

The word diet implies a beginning and an end. You “go on a diet” when you are thinking about losing weight. Once you’ve finished the “diet” most people revert back to old eating habits and behaviours.

We are all on a “diet”

First of all, the word “diet” is incorrect. We are all on a “diet”. The food that we eat every day makes up our individual dietary requirements (our diet). Therefore if we want to lose size, we need to modify what we consume. In other words we need to change what we are eating from foods that have allowed us to gain weight, to foods that allow us to use that food stuff more efficiently and therefore lose weight. Losing weight is a simple equation – eat less than your body needs to use as fuel and you will lose weight. In very simple terms – eat less and exercise more by modifying your daily dietary requirements.

Weight loss is not fat loss:

We say we want to lose weight, when what we really want to lose is body fat.

When you lose weight you are not just losing “fat". Your body is made up of many things including hair, bones, tendons, muscles, organs, water as well as fat. In the early days of losing weight, the first thing we shed is water, and then if you are lucky you may start to lose fat.

Did you know muscle fibres are easier to break down so the body (believe it or not) starts to burn muscle before using its fat stores?

Thankfully there are ways around this, and that’s why exercise is vital during the size reduction process we want when we say we want to “lose weight”. But we will talk more about that in a later post.

Food diaries:

In order to lose fat, you need to modify your daily dietary requirements. But do you know where you are getting your energy from?  

Before starting to change your dietary intake take a day or so and make a simple food diary. Every time you consume something (including liquids) – write it down. Be honest with yourself, no-one but you will know what you are consuming, so don’t cheat, you are only fooling yourself. If you put something into your mouth, write it in your food diary. Make sure you include a weekend’s day of consumption as well as these tend to be different to a working day.

This one act can begin to transform your eating habits.

1. Don't be surprised by how much you are currently eating.
2. Remember to include all liquids including water
3. Note down time and moods if you can

Once you have the information you can start modifying your “diet” from one that has allowed you to gain weight, to one that allows you to lose weight.