Outsmarting Post Diet Weight Gain

When I was a weight loss counselor, I discovered that clients who had yo-yo dieted before were terrified of going off their diets.

The reason?

Post diet weight gain!

You can beat that by understanding that when you lose weight by eating fewer calories (as opposed to simply making a lifestyle change--which is infinitely better), your body will respond when the diet is over by holding on to those extra calories, rather than burning them, for a few days.

Expect to gain up to five pounds (maybe a few more) when returning to a normal calorie count.

The solution to this is not to stay on a reduced calorie diet forever (as some of my panicked clients wanted to do!), but it is Ok to simply lose five pounds more than you need to while expecting to gain it back quickly once you go off the diet. Align your expectations with reality, and resolve not to panic

Happy shrinking!