Dieting: How To Avoid Gaining Back The Weight You Lost

Far be it from us to body shame. The holiday season has just ended, so it's normal that we've put on a bit of weight after all the time we spent at the table! On the other hand, those who have started or are considering a diet to lose weight probably need a little help to avoid the yo-yo effect, which is unfortunately very common after losing weight.

Don’t forget that before starting a diet, it is necessary to have a check-up with your doctor in order to establish reasonable and personalised objectives, which correspond to the morphology and metabolism of each person.

Take your time and adopt a balanced lifestyle

If express and/or monodiet diets do indeed make you lose weight quickly, they are also the guarantee of eventually gaining the weight back! Too restrictive, they frustrate our desires and when we decide that enough is enough we tend to compensate by throwing ourselves on very fatty and caloric foods.

The result? You gain back what you lost. In addition, our bodies, which will have been deprived of certain nutrients essential for proper functioning, will tend to store more of what you eat in anticipation of a future diet! Not only will you regain the lost weight, but more weight, which you did not have before, will be added to the scale. It's the way the body builds its reserves... just in case.

One must, therefore, accept the idea that to lose weight sustainably and reasonably, it requires patience. On average, a loss of 500 grams to 1 kg per week should be targeted and a diet in which all food categories are represented should be adopted.

To maintain your fitness weight and avoid deficiency, continue to observe a rebalancing of your diet by following, in particular, the recommendations of the WHO.

Adopt physical activity that boosts muscle mass

While diet obviously plays a key role in weight loss, physical activity should not be neglected either to maintain weight loss. The rule is simple: to get rid of a few stone, it is necessary to reduce your calorie intake and increase your energy output. And exercise, with its many proven physical and mental health benefits, is the ideal way to maintain your ideal weight.

Therefore rely on a cardio discipline (brisk walking, running, swimming, cycling) to melt the fat and choose a muscle activity (body training, resistance training...) that will increase muscle mass. The higher the energy level, the more you increase your basal metabolic rate and therefore burn more energy and calories. ‘Ideally, you should aim for 3 strength training sessions per week,’ says Brad Schoenfeld, professor of exercise science at Lehman College in New York City, USA. This will preserve or increase your lean body mass.

Sleep better

‘A healthy mind in a healthy body.’ We must not forget that everything is linked. If despite a balanced diet and targeted physical activity, the lost weight has returned, you may have to look for the reason for this in terms of mental well-being.

Today, it is well known: a lack of sleep and staggered rhythms lead to weight gain. A meta-study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that people who sleep between 3 and 5 and a half hours a night consumed 385 extra calories the next day compared to those who received 7 to 12 hours of sleep.

You should therefore not hesitate to seek help if you suffer from sleep disorders in order, among other things, not to (re)gain weight.