Sometimes losing weight isn't the real problem. It's just much harder for many maintain weight after the diet
Especially with radical diets, the dreaded yo-yo effect sets in quickly: the pounds return to the hips in an instant – sometimes even more than before the diet.
How does the yo-yo effect arise?
It's part of almost every diet: the yo-yo effect. It describes a phenomenon that you may have experienced: after a diet, the lost pounds come back on your hips faster than you might think.
The yo-yo effect occurs when we diet but then go back to our old diet. If we are on a diet, our energy intake is lower than normal and there is also a risk of not only losing fat, but also muscle mass.
This is fatal for permanent weight loss: muscle loss reduces our energy needs after dieting – and if we eat again afterwards or even with a slight excess of calories, this inevitably leads to weight gain.
This effect is particularly visible in intensive diets and juice detox cures, in which very few calories are consumed.
However, our habits are even more decisive. If we behave again after the diet as before – so we eat little and do not move – the diet was in vain.
Proper nutrition to maintain weight
For a few weeks, you avoid everything you like the most and eat very little of the other foods that are allowed. However, once you reach your ideal weight, you go back to eating all the fatty foods that exist and that you like so much.
Unfortunately, this is a big weight maintenance mistake that many people make after a successful diet. Your goal should be a long-term change in your diet. It takes time to change your eating habits, but in the long run, you will succeed.
Most of the time, natural foods should be on the menu – in line with the philosophy of healthy eating.
This means vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, lean meats, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats. These whole foods provide your body with energy, fiber, and lots of healthy nutrients, like antioxidants.
Avoid empty carbs in sweets and white flour products. They provide energy but little to no healthy nutrients. Mineral-rich whole grains, legumes, and pseudo-grains like quinoa and amaranth, which are rich in complex carbohydrates, are better.
They also have another advantage: fiber. They help regulate our hunger and satiety and are essential for healthy digestion.
Foods high in fiber are also green vegetables, potatoes, oats, dried fruits, chia seeds, and root vegetables.
Another accomplice in the fight against pounds is protein. Protein-rich foods not only fill you up better, but they also help build and maintain muscle mass.
We can also take advantage of the thermic effect of protein in weight maintenance: almost 25% of the calories consumed in the form of protein are used for digestion. This means that they are burned as calories as soon as they are digested.
