Bodybuilding

To maintain weight, caloric intake must be balanced by caloric expenditure. To lose weight an individual has to achieve a caloric deficit in which the number of calories burned exceeds the number of calories consumed. This is the basic principle of weight management. As such, it is simple, straight forward, and includes three obvious strategies -(1) Restricting caloric intake by dieting

(2) Increasing caloric expenditure through physical activity

(3) A combination of dieting and physical activity. What is not so easy to explain is how two people can respond so differently to dieting and exercise weight loss strategies. Complex forces, many of which are still not clearly understood, influence the success of weight-management/weight-loss efforts.

Dieting

Statistics show that dieting is the method of choice for most Americans trying to lose weight. Although dieting usually works only temporarily, most people who have failed to maintain weight loss are willing to try again. Many people seek the miraculous diet that will transform them from fat to thin, preferably with minimal effort and in the shortest time possible.

The success rate of diet only strategies is dismal. In its review of organized weight-loss programs, the NIB found that within 1 year dieters gained back between one third and two thirds of the lost weight; within 5 years they regained nearly all of it. 23 Only 5% of all dieters are successful in reducing to a target weight and maintaining that weight for more than 5 years. Maintaining post diet weight is one of the major failures of weight loss through dieting because dieters do not learn the habits and behaviors needed to remain at the new weight. As a result they lose and regain weight many times in their lives. This pattern of repeated weight loss and gain, known as weight cycling, yo-yo dieting, and seesaw approaches to weight loss, is potentially harmful and counterproductive.

In a review of the literature throughout 1991 on weight cycling, Wing 29 concluded that contrary to popular opinion there did not appear to be any negative effects of cycle dieting on total body fat, the distribution of fat, or metabolism. Subsequent efforts to lose weight also appeared to be unaffected. However, evidence suggests that weight cycling increases the risk of death, especially from cardiovascular conditions.

Researchers at Harvard University 30 studied data on 11,703 subjects over 30 years to see whether weight cycling had any effect on longevity. As expected, those whose weight remained stable had a lower mortality rate. However, those who lost weight were more likely to die than those who gained weight. Men who gained more than 11 pounds were 36% more likely to die than those whose weight remained stable. The men who lost more than 11 pounds, however, had a 57% higher chance of dying. The explanation proposed was that those who had lost 11 pounds over the decade had actually gained and lost an average of 100 pounds over their lifetimes. The stress of yo-yo dieting contributed to the higher death rates. However, with the high recidivism rate of dieters, the researchers concluded that it is probably better to remain slightly overweight than to weight cycle. Exceptions are people whose excessive body weight increases their risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol levels. In a 1994 report of 43 studies on the effects of weight cycling, researchers concluded that the health gains from a weight loss of as little as 5 to 10 pounds, even if it is temporary, out­weighs the hazards of weight cycling for people with a history of these chronic conditions. Still, experts agree that it is better to lose weight and keep it off.