How to Stop Those Yo-Yo Diets

Comment:

Yo-yo dieting can be harmful to the body and the mind when the results you want are never achieved. Learning skills before is a good idea, but will people really follow through with what they learn if another diet seems like an easier option?

Posted by James Lamper

Research:

A new study carried out by researchers at the Stanford University Medical Centre in California have found that by learning weight control skills before they go on a diet they can reduce how much they gain once they have finished a diet. This could mean that there would be no more need for bad yo-yo dieting.

The study that looked at 267 overweight women found that those who had spent up to 2 months preparing for their diet only regained on a average 3 pounds a year later, compared to those who did not prepare and regained 7 pounds .

Lead author Michaela Kiernan said: “Those eight weeks were like a practice run. Women could try out different stability skills and work out the kinks without the pressure of worrying about how much weight they had lost. We found that waiting those eight weeks didn’t make the women any less successful at losing weight. But even better, women who practised stability first were more successful in maintaining that loss after a year.”

The skills that the women learnt included how to find low-fat or low-calorie foods that still taste good, avoiding feelings of deprivation and strategically losing a few pounds ahead of an event where you are likely to gain weight, such as a holiday.

“Losing a significant amount of weight requires a lot of focused attention to what you’re doing, and most people can’t keep up that intensity over the long term,” Dr Kiernan said. “For weight maintenance, we wanted something that would make the day-to-day experience positive while not requiring overwhelming amounts of effort.”

Original article can be found here: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/on-your-marks-get-set-diet-how-to-end-yoyo-weight-loss-8260394.html