What is yo-yo dieting?

Why the weight comes back

When you cut calories hard, your body treats it like a famine.

In your body:

• Ghrelin, the hormone that makes you hungry, goes up and leptin, which signals fullness, goes down, so the hunger you feel is hormones and not a lack of willpower.
• Your metabolism also slows.
• Strict dieting can cost you muscle along with fat. Because muscle burns more calories than fat, each round can make the next one harder.

India's National Institute of Nutrition warns that repeated fasting followed by normal or heavy eating can make weight gain worse.

How to step off the cycle

Step off the cycle by choosing changes you can live with for years, not weeks. Avoid cutting calories too much or too fast.

• Build meals around vegetables, dal, lean protein and whole grains.
• Add strength exercise two or three times a week to protect muscle.
• Aim for around eight hours of sleep.
• Find ways to manage stress like walking, yoga or deep breathing.

Count better strength and energy as wins even when the scale is slow, and work with a doctor or dietitian if weight keeps bouncing back.