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Are you a yo-yo dieter?
Now if you’ve been visiting the cinema to catch all the latest blockbusters then you would have noticed that many well-known actors have been shedding serious amounts of weight for their roles. Matthew McConaughey lost a staggering 21kg (47lbs) for his latest role, as Ron Woodroof in Dallas Buyers Club is just one example.
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Dramatic weight loss for actors and actresses is nothing new, we can all remember Renée Zellweger gorging on junk food to star in Bridget Jones and Tom Hanks shifting 55lbs to star in Cast Away. However statistics are know indicating that all the efforts we put in to deprive our body of food during ‘diets’ is wasted as nearly 80% of people regain the weight they lost and often put on even more weight, resulting in the individual having to slim down again and so yo-yo dieting occurs.
Yo-yo dieting can also have serious health implications and this has been recently highlighted by Tom Hanks revealing that he has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, more than likely caused by rapid weight gain and loss that he has had to achieve over the years for certain acting roles. Doctors have emphasised that this type of yo-yo dieting can lead to a weakened immune system, tiredness, mood swings and over time possibly even heart and liver problems. The main cause of this is that yo-yo dieting affects our metabolism, so over time our body finds it harder to lose weight. As a survival mechanism our body slows down our metabolism, which results in more fat stores and then when you start to eat again normally (after your diet) any weight goes back into the body as fat.
Avoiding the yo-yo dieting trap
1. As our resident instructor Sam Gurner always states, “ditch the diet!” You need to have a healthy approach to eating which you can maintain throughout life.
2. Forget the scales. Use a tape measure to gauge inch loss or even look at your body fat percentage. Don’t aim to lose more than 1-2lbs a week, as this is a gradual weight loss that will mean a more permanent result.
3. Make small tweaks to your eating habits, as this is more manageable than setting unachievable goals.
