Chances are, you’ve tried a diet in your lifetime, perhaps you are even on one now. If this is the case, you have most likely also experienced a phenomena known as the “Rebound Effect” once you come off of that diet...and yes, it kind of is like a breakup.
This effect is what makes you regain all of that weight again after deciding to stop a diet. To avoid that disheartened feeling, give these tips a try, so that when you do decide to slowly come off of a diet, you aren't undoing all of your work!
WHAT IS THE REBOUND EFFECT?
If you have been doing something severe like 'a juice only diet', or harsh intermittent fasting, then when you return to 'normal’ eating habits, you will put the weight back on.
That's why we call it a rebound!
But don't panic, with the right mindset, we can still help you regain control of your metabolism and begin eating healthily again all by working on your base nutritional habits.
BODY FAT PERCENTAGE
First things first, you want to have your body fat checked.
You want to make sure you know what your body fat percentage is, so that when you start eating food again, you will begin to realise that even if your weight goes up, your body fat might not have gone up, so you’re actually in better shape.
A lot of people stand on scales and they think that just because they’ve put on 'weight', they are not progressing, even though it could just perhaps be muscle loss because they’ve just been serious calorie deficient.
INTRODUCING THE 'RIGHT' FOODS
The next step after working out your body fat is to introduce the types of food groups which are not going to encourage the reverse the effects of dieting.
Beneficial fats: Such as avocado and olive oil are crucial to help your body function at it’s peak conditions.
Proteins: Such as fish, chicken will help your body to build muscle.
Non-starchy Vegetables: You literally cannot eat enough vegetables. Particularly green, non-starchy vegetables such as broccoli are perfect for helping your body not put on fat.
The reason this is so important is because, now that you know what your body fat is, you’ll know if you’ve put on fat or that weight is actually muscle. By introducing those kinds of beneficial foods into your diet, you won’t put on fat, you’ll actually just increase your muscle tone, which is going to make you healthier and make you look better.
HYDRATION
The final thing to look at is your hydration. A lot of people are chronically dehydrated when they go on diets and when they start drinking water again, they actually find they just increase ‘water weight’, but it’s actually just water retention, so it’s not a bad thing.
Don’t feel trapped in an extreme diet, open yourself back up to a healthy nutrition plan and if done gradually, you won’t have to lose the results that you have worked hard to achieve.
Want to learn more about what great nutrition can do for you?
Check out The DVCC 12 Week Nutrition and Accountability programme here!
