I know people, and I’m sure you do too, or maybe this is even you.
You have dieted in the past, got results but gained everything you lost, plus some.
You see, making healthier food choices is a never-ending battle in today’s consumer-focused world.
Despite dieting becoming a multi-billion pound industry, obesity rates continue to climb and have tripled since 1975.
This problem is not limited to adults, as childhood obesity rates have increased 10 fold within the same time period.
So, there is clearly a need for some strategies to help people to lose weight.
However, research suggests that people who do manage to lose weight as part of a dietary intervention almost always regain the weight, usually in half the time, and often above and beyond what they originally lost.
Once we have gone through all the hard work of actually lose weight…
What factors will influence how likely we are to keep it off?
History of Dieting
The frequency with which we embark on dieting crusades is the strongest predictor of whether we will regain weight after it is lost.
As well as increased weight regain being seen in frequent dieters, differences can also be seen in the eating characteristics.
Frequent dieters often show more restrained eating patterns and increased consciousness of body weight and shape at the beginning of research studies, suggesting that they might have more beneficial results.
However, most studies suggest that those who diet most frequently have difficulties in resisting emotional eating and social cues, therefore they generally have less control over their choices.
It is a cruel irony that those of us who try to lose weight most often are also the least likely to be successful.
However, this knowledge can serve as a wakeup call for the yo-yo dieters out there, and the next time you are tempted by a shake diet, broccoli diet or any other, just consider whether you want a short-term image boost or a long-term lifestyle change.
Reduced Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)
Another factor which takes much responsibility for weight regain after an intervention is a reduction in RMR, that is the amount of energy we burn whilst at rest.
The factor which most strongly predicts our RMR is how much muscle mass we have.
During periods of weight loss, your body will not only breakdown fat for energy, but it will also breakdown any stores of carbohydrate and protein.
The protein stores which are most disposable are in the muscle and the faster you lose weight, the more muscle mass you are likely to lose.
This will have the knock-on effect of reducing RMR, so you will be burning less energy on a day to day basis.
Therefore, when you go back to eating an amount of food which would have put you in energy balance before the weight loss, you will actually be over-eating.
This is one of the reasons why I cringe at those stories of “this person lost 10 kilos in 3 days”, as you just know that half of the weight lost was muscle and you can almost guarantee that they will regain more than they lost.
The key to keeping RMR high is to keep your muscle mass high via a higher proportion of protein in the diet and some resistance training to stimulate muscle growth.
The weight of your parents
This can seem like a strange one, but there are clear correlations in research studies showing that despite having no differences in weight loss after a diet, those with obese parents were more likely to regain weight which they lost.
Whether this is a result of environmental factors or genetic disposition is still under debate, but the trends exist nonetheless.
You obviously cannot change the weight of your parents to help your own dieting, but the knowledge that what you do to your body might affect the health of your children further down the line can serve as a strong motivating factor.
All of the above points just lend more credence to the messages which we always try to push at STRYD Coaching & Nutrition.
⛔ ‘Diets’ don’t work – they may provide short-term satisfaction, but rarely result in sustainable changes to health.
? Weight loss is not the main goal – Interventions that focus on weight loss usually result in weight regain once the intervention is over. Focus on a diet based on health instead
? Take it slowly – Rapid weight lost looks great on the scales, but also increases the likelihood of regain
? Protect your muscle – Energy deficits tend to break down muscle mass, so smaller calorie deficits, higher-protein diets, and resistance exercise are all part of a good plan.
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