Yo-yo dieting is a huge problem and a health risk. Each time people lose weight and gain it back, they slow down their metabolism, which is the rate at which their bodies burn food. A slower metabolic rate means less calories are burned and more fat is stored. This makes each subsequent diet harder and harder and is the main reason why 95% of the people who lose weight gain it back?

The sad fact is that most people who go on and off diets end up heavier than when they started. Some people struggle with this for most of their lives.

Weight cycling is also harmful to general health. It can decrease immunity and increase the risk of developing high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

If you too have been caught up on the yo-yo dieting roller coaster, the following points may help you to break out of this vicious cycle.

Now that you know that dieting slows your metabolism it's time to get yourself back in balance. For effective and long term weight loss you need to boost your metabolism and turn your body into a fat burning machine.

One of the easiest ways to do that is to eat little and often. Each time you eat, you stimulate your metabolism for a short period of time, which means that small, frequent meals keep your metabolism burning throughout the day, ensuring that it's doing its job - burning calories.

It's always better to eat small, regular meals throughout the day, rather than one or two large meals. Did you know that around 10% of the calories we use each day go on digesting and absorbing food, so the more often you eat, the more calories you will use.

But, off course, you must eat right. Lots of fruits and vegetables, a healthy source of proteins like eggs, chicken, nuts, and so on. Sugar is bad. Junk food and soda drinks are to be avoided in all circumstances. And don't skip meals. Skipping meals will slow metabolism and can lead to over eating.

If you do this right, you will never again have to starve yourself with low-this, low-that starvation diets. All you need is to plan your meals and stick to the plan.