Chances are, you’ve either tried a weight loss program yourself or know someone who did, where they followed an extreme diet, shed a significant amount of weight, and felt amazing. But then, as soon as they (or you) stopped dieting, the weight seemed to come rushing back just as quickly, often within a few months.
It’s incredibly frustrating, isn’t it? All the hard work you put into improving your health seems to have been short-lived, and now you’re almost back to square one – or even worse. You might be shocked to realize that after doing everything possible and seeing results, the weight has crept back on. So, what went wrong? Why did this happen, despite your best efforts? And now, maybe you feel drained and lacking the strength to go on another weight loss journey. It’s disheartening, to say the least.
What Are Fad Diets?
Fads are practices, hobbies, or interests that achieve short-lived popularity and intense enthusiasm, but fade away after some time “Rise quickly and fall quickly”.
Fad diets are diet plans that are labeled as the best and fastest approach to losing weight. Fad diets are often highly restrictive in calorie intake, in some cases completely eliminating carbohydrates from your daily eating plan. A trendy weight-loss fad diet that promises dramatic results can be very harmful to your health. Fad diets are not safe in the long term, intense dietary modifications negatively change your metabolism and in the majority of cases, weight will rebound.
Diet, Weight Loss, and Weight Regain- What's Happening?
Metabolic Adaptations
When you embark on a calorie-restricted diet to lose weight, your body interprets this reduced food intake as a potential threat to its energy reserves. In response, it initiates a survival mechanism designed to conserve energy in times of perceived food scarcity.
As you continue with the calorie-restricted diet, your metabolism gradually slows down. This metabolic slowdown serves the purpose of helping your body make the most of the limited calories it’s receiving. It’s akin to your body’s way of being more efficient with the energy it has on hand.
Now, here’s the key part: even after you’ve achieved your weight loss goals and decided to return to your regular eating habits, your metabolism often remains at this lower, more energy-efficient rate. This can make it notably easier to regain weight because your body now burns fewer calories while at rest. Essentially, it has become more conservative in its energy expenditure, which means that even regular meals can lead to calorie surpluses and eventual weight regain.
Hormonal Changes
Cutting too many calories, while a common approach in dieting, can be a top contributor to early hormone imbalance. Determination is crucial in the weight loss journey, but even the most determined individuals may struggle to overpower the powerful hunger hormones that come into play when the body perceives a significant calorie deficit. These rapid hormonal changes can make you feel incredibly hungry, setting the stage for potential diet failure.
Numerous hormones play a pivotal role in regulating the body’s metabolism, and many of them are significantly affected by eating disorders or drastic caloric restrictions. When you drastically cut calories, your body interprets it as a form of starvation and initiates hormonal responses designed to conserve energy. Paradoxically, this can lead to increased appetite and a tendency to store calories as fat.
Now, here’s the key part: even after you’ve achieved your weight loss goals and decided to return to your regular eating habits, your metabolism often remains at this lower, more energy-efficient rate. This can make it notably easier to regain weight because your body now burns fewer calories while at rest. Essentially, it has become more conservative in its energy expenditure, which means that even regular meals can lead to calorie surpluses and eventual weight regain.
Leptin, a hormone responsible for regulating hunger and metabolism, decreases in response to calorie restriction. Meanwhile, Ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite, increases during periods of dieting. Also, Agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurons are activated in response to fasting and they play a significant role in driving hunger. This hunger state is aversive, meaning it’s uncomfortable and motivates individuals to seek and consume food.
This hormonal activity leads to intense hunger cravings and an increased appetite, making it challenging to maintain a lower body weight. What’s notable is that these hormonal shifts can persist even after you’ve ceased dieting, leaving you with heightened hunger and a predisposition to store excess calories as fat. It’s a complex interplay of hormones that underscores the challenges of maintaining long-term weight loss.
Loss of Lean Muscle Mass
During calorie-restricted diets, your body may break down not only fat but also fat-free lean muscle tissue for energy. Now, when you lose muscle mass due to extreme dieting, it reduces your overall calorie expenditure. This is a key reason why preserving or increasing muscle mass is important for weight management. If you lose muscle due to inactivity or inadequate protein intake, your resting metabolic rate (RMR) decreases, meaning your body burns fewer calories at rest. Consequently, you might find it more challenging to maintain or lose weight.
During extreme weight loss, many individuals mistakenly believe they are losing muscle along with fat. To avoid this, it’s essential to create a plan that prioritizes fat loss while preserving muscle mass. Focus on increasing muscle mass in your body, as having more muscle helps reduce overall body fat.
How Do Muscles Burn More Calories?
Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue at rest, which means that even when you’re at rest or sleeping, muscle tissue requires a certain amount of energy (calories) to maintain itself. Thus losing muscle reduces your overall calorie expenditure.
Muscle tissue is highly metabolically active because it is involved in various functions such as supporting posture, enabling movement, and regulating body temperature. It requires a constant supply of energy to carry out these functions. In contrast, fat tissue is primarily a storage form of energy and has a lower metabolic rate.
Also, muscle tissue is in a constant state of turnover, repair, and growth, this process is known as muscle protein turnover. The process requires energy to synthesize new proteins and repair damaged muscle fibers. Even during rest, muscle tissue is actively repairing and growing, which increases its calorie expenditure.
Psychological Factors
Psychological factors in weight regain refer to the mental and emotional aspects that play a significant role in the process of regaining lost weight after a period of weight loss or dieting.
Feelings of Deprivation – During a diet, people often restrict their calorie intake or eliminate certain foods they enjoy. This creates a sense of deprivation, where individuals feel like they are missing out on their favorite foods or meals they used to enjoy without restriction.
Preoccupation with Food – When on a diet, individuals may become preoccupied with thoughts of food. This heightened awareness of food can lead to increased cravings and a strong desire to indulge in the restricted items.
Psychological Rebound Effect – After the diet ends, there is often a psychological rebound effect. This means that because individuals have been deprived of certain foods for an extended period, they are more likely to overindulge or binge on those foods once the dieting restrictions are lifted. This overindulgence can result in consuming a significant number of calories in a short time.
Set-Point Theory
The Set-Point Theory suggests that our bodies have a genetically predetermined weight range, often referred to as the “set point,” which is regulated by complex physiological mechanisms.
This set point acts as a baseline weight that the body tends to defend and maintain. Similar to how our bodies work to keep the temperature and water content stable, they also strive to maintain this set point weight.
When someone attempts to lose weight through dieting, the body may perceive this as a threat to its set point. In response, various mechanisms are triggered to regain the lost weight.
These mechanisms can include increased hunger and a decreased metabolic rate, making it challenging to sustain weight loss over the long term. It’s important to note that the set point weight is not fixed and can change over time, where dieting and exercise are two factors that can influence this set point.
Lack of Sustainable Habits
Lack of sustainable habits is a key factor in weight regain after dieting. Many popular diets are designed for quick results but aren’t intended for long-term success. They often involve extreme restrictions – such as cutting out entire food groups or drastically reducing calories – that are hard to maintain over time. While these diets may lead to rapid weight loss initially, once the restrictions are lifted, it’s easy to slip back into old eating habits.
The problem is that these extreme diets don’t teach sustainable behaviors. For long-term success, it’s important to adopt healthy habits that you can stick with for life. This might include gradually changing your eating patterns, incorporating balanced meals, learning portion control, and finding ways to enjoy food without guilt or deprivation. By focusing on long-term habits rather than quick fixes, you’re more likely to maintain your weight loss and avoid the cycle of dieting and regaining weight. Ultimately, the key is to find a balance that works for you – a routine that’s manageable, enjoyable, and sustainable for the long haul.
Takeaway
To combat weight regain, it’s essential to focus on gradual, sustainable changes in eating habits and lifestyle, along with regular physical activity. Try to take simple and smaller challenges in terms of dieting, calorie restriction, and exercising, do not go so hard on your body that it starts suffering.
“Weight loss must be enjoyable and not torture”
– Linda Cyrus, Dietician
The process of striving for better health and making efforts to lose weight may have its ups and downs, but one thing is sure regardless of reaching a specific end-weight you will learn many things during your journey. So, stay motivated and keep learning, because the knowledge and experience gained during this process are invaluable.
The insights you gain about nutrition, exercise, and your own body will help you make better choices and develop healthier habits for your well-being.
