Choosing a new diet can be hard. Very hard. A lot of people start diets hoping to quickly slim down to fit into a new dress or get that spring break bod. Fad diets are common online and promise a quick fix to lose weight but the majority of people are not able to maintain their weight loss, leading to on-and off dieting.

On-and-off dieting or Yo Yo dieting causes repeated periods of weight loss and gain, also known as weight cycling, which can have negative effects on your body and even increase your likelihood to gain even more weight. A literature review found that weight cycling may also increase your risk of Hypertension, Heart Disease, and Type 2 Diabetes despite BMI. Another study concluded that weight variability in premenopausal women   is linked to a higher waist-to-hip circumference ratio. Though the promises of many fad diets may be alluring, the temporary increase in appetite, calorie consumption, and regain from weight cycling is not helpful for many dieters.

When choosing a diet, it is important to consider how you will work it into your routine. Do you have the means to stick to strict food groups? How much time will it take you to meal prep? Is it practical? Is this a diet you can commit to?

If you have tried a diet before and it has worked for you, thats great! Go you! Seriously!! If not, make sure to talk to your doctor, do your research, and try not to expect results right away. You know what they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Physical results that will be lasting take time and we want lasting results, don’t we? To avoid weight cycling it is important to choose a diet that you can picture yourself doing AND not hating every second of. Check out some of the popular diets online or even combine aspects of multiple that stick out to you!