Is 'On & Off' Dieting Really Bad For You?

This is why you must not follow 'on and off' dieting, it can be highly dangerous for you!

Monday, December 26, 2016, 11:24

If you are someone who has been struggling with weight loss for a long time now, there is a possibility that you would have gone off your diet and then got back on it, a few times, right? So, are you wondering whether 'on and off' dieting is bad for you?

Weight cycling, or yo-yo dieting, is a process in which there is a repeated loss and gain of body weight, in short intervals, induced by going on a crash diet and then indulging in binge-eating.

The human body requires a certain number of calories per day to remain active and healthy.

When you deprive the body of enough calories, your body goes into a starvation mode. When that happens, may be you lose weight, but after a while, your body starts to crave for more fats and sugars, making you prone to binge-eating.

So, while 'on and off diet' may seem like it is helping you lose weight, you may soon notice that you can gain back all the lost weight in a short span of time!

Here are some of the ill-effects of 'on and off' dieting; have a look.

1. Weakened Immune System

'On and off' dieting can increase the level of cortisol, the stress hormone, in your body that can lead to decreased immunity, thus making you more prone to diseases.

2. Loss Of Muscle

When your body is in a starvation mode, it uses up the muscle tissues to gain energy, thus causing the loss of muscle mass, making your skin sag!

3. Accumulation Of Fat

'On and Off' dieting can be bad for you because it increases the level of cortisol hormones in your body that can promote the accumulation of excess fat tissues, when you go off your diet.

4. Decreases Metabolism

When you repeatedly keep losing and gaining weight, your metabolic rate suffers and can slow down to a great extent, making your bodily functions much weaker.

5. Low Energy

'On and off' dieting can affect your immunity, metabolic rate, etc., making your energy levels drop down to a considerable extent, so fatigue is one of its major side effects.

6. Eating Disorders

Yo-yo dieting, if not corrected in time, can also have psychological implications and put a person at the risk of developing eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.