Why Is It Difficult To Lose Weight When You Gain It Back?

(Guest Post) Many people trying to lose weight find that losing weight is not the hardest part of the whole process; the most challenging part is maintaining the required weight once you succeed in weight loss. Keeping your weight in check is difficult and requires determination, discipline and commitment. Furthermore, it is a lifetime challenge that you have to keep dealing with. This is the reason that some people give up and soon, they gain weight again. When this happens the real challenge comes in. Losing weight once you have regained it is quite difficult for several reasons.

When you try to lose weight for the first time, it is inevitable that you will lose some muscle as well. You total body lean mass reduces. The situation gets worse in people who resort to extreme weight loss techniques such as starvation and fasting. When you lose muscle, the body basal metabolic rate goes down as well. Muscles are important in maintaining a high BMR which helps in burning calories even when you are at rest. Lower BMR means that more fat gets deposited in various regions of the body and eventually body weight increases.

In the end, you may be very elated that you have lost weight. However, the loss of muscle leaves you feeling fatigued and if you underwent extreme weight loss tactics, depression may set in as well. Soon, you may find yourself eating more and exercising less. When this happens the lost weight comes back rapidly. This time however, it occurs in form of fat and not muscle. This further reduces your lean mass and lowers your body’s metabolism rate even further. Losing this regained weight proves to be a big challenge.

The yo-yo effect
The above cycle of weight loss and weight gain is known as the yo-yo effect. A term created by Kelly D. Brownell, the yo-yo effects refers to a situation where one loses weight only to put it on again. What happens is that at first, one is successful in losing weight but in the long run, one is unable to maintain the achieved weight level. Gradually the body weight starts increasing back to its original point or even higher. As mentioned above, people who undergo extreme measures to lose weight are at a much higher risk of the yo-yo effect. This is because of the increased physical and emotional health effects of techniques such a starvation.

Effects associated with the yo-yo phenomena
Various health effects are known to result from the yo-yo effect. These negative consequences are discussed below.

• Cellulite. Rapid weight gain and weight loss results in the development of cellulite. These are bands of pillow fat that form under the skin. Cellulite is usually unpleasant and unsightly.
• An increased risk of occurrence of certain health conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol levels and gallbladder disease.
• Lack of proper nutrition. As you try to lose weight again, you may resort to eating extremely low calorie foods. This is dangerous for your health.
• More weight gain than before. The yo-yo effect can lead you to gaining more weight than you had in the first place. This puts you at risk of various weight related health conditions.
• Emotional stress. The physical highs and lows are also accompanies by emotional fluctuations. Eventually this takes a toll on your mental and emotional health and chronic depression may result.

Solutions
There are a number of proven solutions to the yo-yo effect. These solutions are more of a lifestyle change rather than medication.

• Do not let the fear of the yo-yo effect prevent you from trying to lose weight. Once you are on the path to weight loss, you will then deal with weight cycling.
• Track your progress. Write down your weight at regular intervals. Note that instance when your weight increased and try to think of the cause. Once you have known the cause, you can easily resolve the situation.
• Make exercising and proper dieting a way of life rather than a short term solution.
• Get a friend to help you in your efforts. This will prevent emotional stress from building up.