The yo-yo effect

Pretty much everyone who wants to lose weight is afraid of - the yo-yo effect.
It’s often said that immediately after a successful weight loss, a rapid weight gain follows, in which even the initial weight is exceeded.

This is often thanks to the fabled economy mode in which the body is supposed to expire if it gets too little food. Theory is that the body registers when it gets too little food, which can happen in a phase of weight loss. He then uses much more sparingly with the available nutrients. If you start eating normally again, the body will not be able to detect this in a timely manner, so it will continue to be in the economy mode and you will be able to regain weight loss in record time. So much for the theory.

But scientifically speaking, this scenario is only partially true. Yes, the body tries to utilize its available nutrients more effectively during a hunger phase and consumes less calories to a small extent.

But what exactly should the body save on? Heart function? Lung function? Should suddenly no more energy be consumed when moving?

No, in short, it doesn’t work that way. It’s simply not possible for the body to literally hoard energy on a large scale, even with low food intake. The mentioned yo-yo effect is really there, at least some have experienced him and probably heard a few more of it. If it’s not due to the function of our body, then due to what?

Much rather the question must be sought on this answer in our minds or our perception. When people are fat or heavier, this is rarely due to bad genetics, but simply due to too high energy intake. Because at the end of the day, it's a simple calculation:

Ingested energy minus used energy. If the amount of energy consumed is greater, then we lose weight. If it is the other way round, we increase, keeping both in balance, so we hold our weight. For example, if a person X eats only 50kcal more than they consume each day, it will increase.

After all, that's 350kcal a week and 1400kcal a month. If this goes on for years, a lot of stored energy comes together. In most cases, we are convinced that we don’t eat as much, so I would recommend anyone who underruled or may be subject to this error to review them by counting calories by hand.

Back to our example, so, if a person X makes a radical diet, losing 8 kilograms within 2 months, person is now satisfied with the weight and therefore begins to eat normally to maintain that weight.

But what does normal mean? In most cases, it means that person X now falls into exactly the same diet that originally led to weight gain.

It takes a proven time about 1 year, until you have changed your eating habits in the long term. Therefore, taking small steps towards a healthier, lower-energy and nutrition-rich diet is usually the most effective way to avoid the yo-yo effect, because in 99% of cases, this is not due to the biology of our body, but is based on our own perception.