why they overeat – and this is where you have the ability to
support your client in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Yo-yo dieting can be very harmful for a client’s long term
wellbeing. Initially, they may set out to eat less and eat right,
and establish a regular fitness regime. However, this success
is often short-lived for a number of reasons, usually involving
emotional issues.
Research into yo-yo dieting even suggests that a person who is
quick to lose weight will not only regain the previous amount,
but also an additional 10 per cent.
Deprivation
A yo-yo dieter can often begin to feel deprived of what they
have given up in order to achieve their weight goal, and may
find themselves reverting to the bad habits that led to them
gaining weight in the first place. This can set up a vicious cycle
of quick weight loss followed by rapid weight gain when the
diet is abandoned. Research into yo-yo dieting even suggests
that a person who is quick to lose weight will not only regain
the previous amount, but also an additional 10 per cent.
Stress
However, it is not only feelings of deprivation that can cause
a client to regain weight. Yo-yo dieting is often associated
with reactions to stressful situations. These people are more
likely to eat when they find themselves in a tough place and
need some form of support. Unfortunately this support
comes in the form of food. Beyond the physical symptoms,
a yo-yo dieter will quickly become depressed about their
inability to keep the weight off.
Low self-esteem
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62 | NETWORK WINTER 2014
Yo-yo dieting can also be found amongst people who suffer
from low self-esteem. For a variety of reasons a person may
feel ashamed and lack confidence within themselves. This
in turn can lead them to turn to food as a way of providing
themselves with an easily accessible form of comfort.
Working with binge eaters
As a personal trainer you can help clients who are emotional binge
eaters to understand their motives for eating the way they do.
Stop, question, take note
Helping clients identify the emotions that lead them to reach
for that block of chocolate. Advise them to stop and think
about why they are eating. Are they feeling sad, lonely or
anxious? Are there other reasons? Being able to recognise
a pattern of emotions experienced before, during or after a
binge is a good way to start managing binge eating.
As is often said in other areas of management, you can’t
manage what you can’t measure – so recommend to your
client that they keep a diary of the binge-related feelings
The 30-second article
• Yo-yo dieting is often an outward
sign of a bigger internal issue
• Those who lose weight too quickly often
put it back on, plus an extra 10 per cent
• Understanding why they overeat is
the key to clients achieving
sustainable fat loss
• Feelings of deprivation, stress and low
self-esteem set these dieters up to fail
• PTs can offer support and practical
solutions to break the yo-yo dieting
cycle.
they experience. By doing so they are
empowering themselves to recognise their
behaviour and the reasons why they engage
in it. Acknowledgement and understanding
leads to change.
Embrace alternatives
Suggest alternative strategies to your client
that can help them stay on target. Once a
person is able to identify the feelings they
are experiencing, it will be easier for them
to find an alternative activity that can make
them feel better. This could be any of a range
of things, from socialising with friends or
reading a book, to going for a walk or having
a workout at the gym. Regardless of what
their [ \