How many times have you (or someone you know) embarked on some type of extreme diet, lost weight, then started eating “normally,” and ended up heavier than when you started?
I’ve seen it over and over; it is so sad and it’s very, very discouraging. Sometimes you end up hating yourself and feeling like a complete failure. Maybe you’ve done it over and over…it’s called yo-yo dieting.
You try so hard. You have so much determination. This time it’s going to work. But you know what? When you gain all that weight back it’s not always your fault! Let me explain some of the reasons why this happens, and if it’s you, I hope I can encourage you.
First of all, I must tell you that I don’t focus on weight loss in my practice. I focus on helping people to get healthier. There’s a big difference. Weight loss does not always equal healthier, and in fact often leaves you unhealthier and further out of metabolic balance. One health practitioner put it this way:
You need to get healthier to lose weight, not lose weight to get healthier.
Now let’s look at some of the reasons why yo-yo dieting just doesn’t work.
Severe caloric restriction lowers metabolism.
If you starve yourself, do you know what your body does? It starts to hoard. Often your thyroid function is lowered to conserve energy. You often feel more tired. And you gain the weight back when you begin to eat normal portion sizes.
Depriving yourself of healthy foods you love because they have too many calories makes you feel…well…deprived!
But getting healthier is not about deprivation, it’s about nourishing yourself. Often you can make healthier versions of some of the unhealthier foods you love.
Very low calorie dieting often equals fewer nutrients.
We need adequate nutrients to be healthy. Nutrient deficiencies are one of the most common causes of disease.
There are many, many causes of excessive weight gain, including too many toxins.
Your body often stores them as fat to protect you. So reducing your toxic load may be more effective than severely reducing your food intake.
Weight loss is often more complicated than eat less, exercise more. I’d love to help you get healthier, and you might be surprised to find weight loss is an added bonus!
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