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Have you frequently lost weight only to regain it? Many individuals struggle with yo-yo weight loss for most of their lives.

What causes yo-yo dieting (or weight cycling)?

It seems like a great idea to drastically cut back on your food intake for rapid weight loss. However, your body sooner or later prepares itself for a decrease in calorie intake. Your body will adapt to this lowered calorie intake by conserving energy and metabolic rate (the way your body burns food for energy). Eventually, the initial weight loss slows down or stops.

Most individuals struggle to maintain their diet at this point. Therefore, the weight slowly starts to come right back. What is worse, the decrease in metabolic rate causes their body to survive on fewer calories.

This extreme calorie limitation causes a reduction in muscle tone. Typical signs are flabby upper arms and buns.

How to break the yo-yo diet

Instead of hoping for a rapid weight loss, take a more long term sustainable approach. Your goal should be for a modest weight loss. Decrease calorie intake by 200-500 calories a day depending on how much you have to lose.

Consider your diet as a healthy eating plan instead of a temporary one.

Increase your level of physical activities by incorporating them in your daily life. For example, take the stairs or try something you enjoy such as dancing or hiking.

Plan on eating frequently throughout the day. Eating frequent smaller meals will prevent you from overeating later on.

Overeating and Emotional Eating

What if your problem is not consistently crash dieting? Could you be a habitual eater? Do you have to have that butter- laden popcorn when you watch a movie?

Perhaps it is emotional. When you are stressed, you do not eat all day. Then when you get bored, you raid the refrigerator.

Overcoming emotional or habitual eating

If food is meeting an emotional need, perhaps it is time to examine your options. Find alternatives to eating. Perhaps you can take a brisk walk to clear your head during your lunch break. Invite your friends to play miniature golf on your birthday instead of having cake and ice cream. Have healthy snacks such as a bag of carrot sticks or an apple which you can grab when you are too busy to make time for yourself.

Try to manage hunger by eating several small meals a day. Remember that if you go hungry, you will make poor choices or you will tend to overeat.

Never fill yourself at mealtime. It is all right to leave food on your plate. You can also train your body to be satisfied at 60% capacity.

Be aware of what junk food can do to you, and get rid of them. Replace them with healthy choices such as whole-grain bread, fruits and vegetables.

It may sound corny, but try to do things to keep you focused on your goal. For instance, put a sign over your bed that says: The difference between fat and fit is I. Stick a sign on your dashboard that says: none of these foods taste as good as a size 8 (add a picture of a cheeseburger and fries).

Finally, if you overeat, do not fall off the wagon. Get back on track right away. Not tomorrow — today. Because tomorrow will never come.

Athletic Club Rochester offers group exercise programs in Rochester and Rochester personal training.