Yo-yo Dieting

Are you stuck in the yo-yo dieting rut? You are doing your body more harm than good!

Why don’t quick weight-loss schemes work in the long term? When we lose weight too quickly, our body slows down its metabolism to cope with the reduced calorie intake… it thinks we’re starving and its first priority is to preserve our life. When we go back to eating the way we were before, we now have a slower metabolism, which means that we need less food to maintain the same weight we were before we went on the diet.

Losing weight too quickly usually results in losing muscle mass rather than fat. Muscles are a significant element in maintaining a healthy weight, this is where we burn calories – it’s like our car’s engine.

Research has consistently shown that diets don’t work. The only way to effectively lose weight in the long term is to slowly change eating habits to make them permanent. Hopping on the latest fad diet, only to give it up a few weeks or months later, quickly becomes discouraging and it feels like nothing works. How many people have you heard say “I’ve tried everything! Nothing works for me.”?

Without changing habits, which will result in permanent change, we cannot get where we’re wanting to go. “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” (Henry Ford). Change is not always easy or comfortable, but it is possible. Small steps are the key. Small changes over time are what begins to produce the results we want. This does mean that weight loss happens more slowly (over months, not weeks), but this is the way to healthy weight loss that will last.

Tips:

•Only put nourishing foods in your trolley at the supermarket •Meal planning, meal planning, meal planning! •Don’t go shopping on an empty stomach and always shop with a list •Drink lots of water

You need to have a calorie deficit to have effective weight loss – but you need to ensure you are still meeting all of your body’s nutritional requirements, so make sure the foods you do choose are going to provide your body with the nutrients it needs to stay healthy.

If you would like help creating new habits and planning a nutritious way of eating, contact me at paula@nutritionsense.co.nz.

Nita Wong

Your Local Design and Build Consultant

nita@maddrenhomes.co.nz nita@maddrenhomes.co.nz

(021) 730238

by Paula Southworth Nutritionist from NutritionSense (BSc Human Nutrition and Sports Science, Massey University) www.nutritionsense.co.nz

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