Week 6 - Yo yo dieting

Feel Good Chemicals in Your Brain

When you see a treat food you'll often have an urge to eat it! This is because your brain is wired to seek reward. High sugar, high fat or salty foods trigger your brain’s reward system. Treats and the pleasure these evoke triggers the release of dopamine, which is one of your feel good neurotransmitters. When dopamine is released you'll experience a mood boost (5). Other ways to boost dopamine levels naturally include ensuring you have enough sleep, eating a balanced diet - such as our core meal plan - listening to your favourite music, managing stress, meditation and getting active (6).

Reaching a Weight Loss Plateau

Weight loss plateaus are a common experience for anyone attempting to lose weight. Reasons for a weight loss plateau vary but research suggests that they can often happen because of a drift back into old eating habits and an easing up on your initial weight loss focus. Alongside this, when you successfully lose weight, your appetite can increase and you may go through a period where you feel intensely hungry all of the time (7). If this happens we recommend that you focus on your hydration and eat more filling foods without adding extra calories, for example, fill up on extra above-ground vegetables, which are high in fibre and water content. Plus, make sure that you include a portion of protein with every meal. If you aren’t alert to the processes around weight loss plateauing, and start to eat high calorie food (i.e. high carbohydrate and or fat) to satisfy your appetite, there is a risk you could gain weight again.

Tips to Stop You Falling Into the Yo Yo Diet Trap

Eat 2-3 well balanced meals a day including an optimal amount of protein (this means about a palm sized portion of a protein containing food like chicken or tofu). You can boost your meals with foods that nourish your body and your brain - like a range of brightly coloured vegetables or walnuts - to create better balance and reduce your need to snack. Eating mindfully can also help you to take back control of your food intake and reduce overeating. Be conscious of your experience as you eat - is every mouthful as yummy as the first? Can you stop eating when you stop feeling that initial pleasure? Could you leave some food on the plate? Do you really need to eat the whole slice of cake?

Maintaining or increasing your muscle mass is another important strategy to help with weight maintenance. Being active is a key factor to help you to maintain your muscle mass. Making sure you're eating enough protein can also help with muscle maintenance (8). Stay Hydrated - thirst can be mistaken for hunger. Avoid unnecessarily adding to your calorie intake with high sugar drinks (like soft drinks, juices, milkshakes, bubble tea or flavoured coffees). Instead focus on drinking clear fluids; if you wish, flavour water with lemon, berries or herbs or drink herbal, green or fruit teas. Staying hydrated is an important factor in body composition, appetite and weight regulation (9).

Avoid high sugar snacking between meals - snacks have been found to be one of the main culprits for excess food intake, which can lead to weight gain (10). Work on managing your stress response and introduce activities to reduce stress. Stress is known to trigger increased unplanned snacking and eating, which can lead to imbalanced blood sugars and weight gain. Work on improving your sleep if you suffer from poor quality sleep or insomnia. Sleep deprivation is a key factor in weight gain because it’s when you sleep that your brain reorganises and re-balances your hormone levels, which impacts your appetite the following day. We have a whole week of content dedicated to sleep

Special events and Parties

These can be challenging to cope with when you’re aiming to lose weight. The best way to handle these is by being prepared and planning ahead so that you can have fun and don’t start dreading these occasions.

Our tips

Before you go - Fill up with a large bowl of soup or a small meal - make sure to include a palm sized portion of protein - this should help to ensure that you aren’t hungry and will help you stay in control. Avoid going to events where there will be tempting foods on an empty stomach.

When you're at the event - Eat smart - if there’s a buffet we suggest that you fill up your plate with vegetable sticks, hummus and cold meats. Stick to the protein and veg and avoid the carbs and deep fried foods. Always choose fruit if you’re going to have dessert or avoid dessert completely. Drink smart - sip sparking water with ice and a slice of lemon and aim to keep wine and spirits to a minimum and avoid all soft drinks. Keep in the party spirit by feeling happy that you're having a great time but staying in control. Finally, if things don't go according to plan and you overindulge, don't overthink it - just start afresh with your health kick the next day.