An estimated 72 million Americans are considered obese with a body mass index score of greater than 30, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control. This obesity epidemic has created a market flush with diets from doctors, celebrities, naturalists and even regular people claiming to help you lose weight. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these diets yo-yo, named as such due to their tendency to create an unstable up and down effect on your weight. You should always consult your physician before starting any diet.
Considerations
Yo-yo diets provide quick results in many instances, but the results rarely last. Typically this is because the diet is too hard to stick to long-term. Yo-yo diets typically revolve around reducing calories, either through the amount of calories you consume or through the types of foods you eat. When calories drop below a certain level, the body adjusts by slowing down your metabolism and storing more calories as fat. This is a protective mechanism. Once you return to your normal eating habits, it takes the body time to readjust, which means your metabolism is still slower and your body is still storing greater amounts of fat. This causes you to quickly gain back what was lost, often plus more.
Food
The types of food you can eat are limited. For example, on the cabbage soup diet the main calorie source is the cabbage soup along with a short list of other low-calorie items. Extreme low-carbohydrate diets limit dieters to 50 to 150 grams daily to fuel weight loss. Other examples are restrictive diets that completely cut out sugar or fat.
Low Calorie
One common yo-yo diet is the extremely low-calorie diet. These diets restrict calorie intake to 1,200 calories or less to achieve extreme weight loss in a short period of time. Very low-calorie diets typically involve the use of a shake, bar or cookie that is meant to be a low-calorie meal substitute. For example, the Hollywood Diet uses an expensive juice concoction that can cut the dieters daily calorie intake to as little as 400 calories.
Warning
Not only do yo-yo diets not promote sustained weight loss, they also can be dangerous for your health. Cutting your calories too low without the direction and supervision of a medical professional can leave you open to malnutrition as well as contribute to the development of an eating disorder. Cutting out major macronutrients, such as carbohydrates or fats, also can lead to malnutrition and ketosis, which can lead to nausea, dizziness and weakness.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Halting the Epidemic by Making Health Easier: At A Glance 2010
- American Heart Association: Quick-Weight-Loss or Fad Diets
- National Institutes of Health: Very Low Calorie Diets
- MayoClinic.com: Low-Carb Diet:
- TeensHealth from Nemours: 5 Ways to Spot a Fad Diet
- American Academy of Family Physicians: Nutrition for Weight Loss: What You Need to Know About Fad Diets
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