How To Lose Weight After Sudden Weight Gain

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Trying to slim down can be similar to bouncing on a trampoline. The harder we jump down, the higher our weight infuriatingly shoots right back up. It's not just hard on your wallet (buying new pants all the time isn't cheap!), but it can also be hard on your health, from increasing muscle loss to attacking your immune system. Regaining lost weight, also known as weight cycling, is a common occurrence for 75 percent of people who attempt to shrink their waistlines—just look at the participants of the show,

In a 2016 study about the show, published in the journal Obesity, researchers followed 14 contestants for six years following the 2009 season. They were shocked to see that nearly all of the contestants (13 out of the 14) regained weight after the competition ended. And four contestants were actually heavier after the show than before they started their weight-loss journey. For some, that's gaining weight of over 100 pounds!

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You probably already guessed there's more behind the added flab on your frame than just calories-in-calories-out and that simply moving more and eating less may not help you slim back down.

To help you out, we've outlined the most common reasons you're gaining weight back, along with ways to fight back against each. You may be surprised to learn which seemingly innocuous habits are making the scale tip further away from your goal weight! And to find expert-recommended tips to escape that weight loss game of tug-o-war, check out these ways to lose weight forever.

Congrats, you did it! You made it to your goal weight. But just because you dropped the pounds doesn't mean you can eat as much as you did before your weight loss. In fact, you may have to eat even less to keep the scale tipped in your favor.

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Why? Well, your body needs less fuel at its new weight. That's because when you lose a significant amount of weight, your metabolism actually slows down because of a mechanism known as metabolic adaptation.

Our bodies have evolved to store fat and become accustomed to the weight you've gained. So when you try to lose it, your body's metabolism switches to survival mode and decreases the amount of calories it burns on a daily basis—and stays like that for about a year.

At the same time, research published in the journal PLOS One found that dieters' levels of leptin, the satiety hormone that tells your body when you've had your fill, actually drop after weight loss, leaving you feeling constantly ravished.

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Know that your first year keeping the weight off is most likely to be the toughest and the time you'll have to be the most diligent. Maintain an eating schedule so you don't indulge in random office snacks your co-workers brought in. And to beat those menacing low leptin levels, read up on how to feel full while eating less.

If your crazy-busy life has left you feeling worn down and stressed, that could be the reason you're starting to look a bit mushy in the middle. Cortisol, the stress hormone that's released when we're under pressure, causes the body to metabolize food more slowly. To make matters worse, the types of food we crave when we're tense tend to be fat and sugar-laden, say University of California researchers. As a result, this diet-derailing combination can kill your hard-earned weight loss wins. The combination of high-cal cravings and a stress-induced snail-paced metabolic rate can result in significant weight gain.

To stay cool as a cucumber and keep those pesky pounds at bay, give a few different stress management tactics a try, suggests Lori Zanini, RD, CDE.

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Practicing yoga, going for a run, meeting up with friends, and unplugging from technology for an evening are all things Zanini says are worth a shot. Research even shows that smiling and laughing can help diminish levels of stress hormones. See what works best for you, and set aside time to decompress a few times per week.

While eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important aspect of any weight maintenance plan, sticking to an exercise program after you've reached your goal may be the key to keeping the pounds off long-term according to University of Alabama researchers. The study team noticed that participants who stopped breaking a sweat after losing weight experienced a dip in their metabolism while those who continued to work out for 40 minutes three times a week continued to fry calories at the same rate.

Whatever you enjoy—running, lifting, doing yoga or Crossfitting—just keep your heart pumping. Doing so will help you burn off the occasional beer or cheat meal of a slice of pizza and keep that pesky flab from sneaking back onto your stomach.

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So while working out is critical for maintaining your metabolism, if you haven't switched up your workout routine recently, your six-pack might easily melt into a barely-there two-pack, says Dr. Sean M. Wells, personal trainer and author of Double-Crossed: A Review of the Most Extreme Exercise Program. If you've been doing the same workout for the past few months, your body isn't being challenged anymore, meaning it's not burning as many calories as it otherwise could, he explains.

If you typically stick to spin classes, consider checking out a boot camp or Zumba class to give your metabolism a kick. Can't bear to leave your Schwinn? Look for a more intense class or challenge yourself by turning up the resistance (yes, even when the instructor doesn't tell you to). Switching up your exercise routine is one of the ways to overcome a weight-loss plateau.

You may already know that when you're exhausted your metabolism slows, but did you realize that losing as little as 30 minutes of sleep can up the odds the scale will stop tipping in your favor? In a recent study, researchers analyzed more than 500 participants' weekday sleep diaries and found that losing a mere 30 minutes of shut-eye increased their risk of obesity by 17 percent!

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Even mild sleep deprivation causes ghrelin—the hunger-stimulating hormone–to go into overdrive while simultaneously reducing levels of leptin–the hormone that suppresses appetite. In turn, this stimulates hunger even when you're full which can lead to overeating and weight gain.

The National Sleep Foundation suggests logging a solid seven to nine hours of shuteye each night. If you want to get back to your more slender self, cut your nightly Netflix session short and make sure to get a solid night's sleep. Plus, mastering your bedtime routine could help your slim-down efforts.

These tantalizing frozen options are marketed as nutritious and convenient, so we can't say we blame you for grabbing one off the shelf. The issue is this, though: many of them are healthy-eating, pound-dropping enemies in disguise. Just because they're touted as portion controlled and low calorie, doesn't mean you should stock up on these.

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Like most ultra-processed foods, many frozen entrees from diet programs pack a surprising amount of health-harming sugar—7 grams! Not only that, but the 40 plus ingredient list is just completely unnecessary, and makes it more likely you'll be filled up with inflammation-causing, processed additives.

So many diets rely on pre-portioned microwave meals, but these additive-laden frankenfoods— along with other processed goods—account for 90 percent of the added sugar we unknowingly consume each day.

Just cook at home to banish these added sugars as well as to cut calorie consumption by an average of 200 calories a day, according to Johns Hopkins researchers. And watch out for these sneaky sources of added sugar.

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If you've recently shed a ton of weight, you should absolutely celebrate your success! But if your celebrations involve big portions of your favorite, fat- and sugar-laden treats, odds are good that's the reason you've gained back some of the weight.

Leah Kaufman, MS, RD, CDN, a New York City-based Registered Dietitian, suggests making a concerted effort to not use food as a reward. Often times I see my patients reward weight loss by indulging in foods they know aren't the best for their goals. Instead, I suggest using things like manicures and SoulCycle classes as a reward for all their hard work, she notes. When you eat junk food during times of emotional eating, it will only contribute to weight gain and lead to unhealthy yo-yo dieting.

After hitting your goal weight, some regimented dietary habits are bound to fall by the wayside. And, if eating adequate amounts of protein is one of them, it may be the reason the weight is starting to sneak back on. While getting enough of the nutrient can keep your muscle from breaking down, not getting enough can slow your metabolic rate. Just maintaining muscle mass helps to burn calories faster, so your body will then turn to torching unwanted fat. Without muscle, you'll be more susceptible to unwanted weight gain.

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Protein needs differ by individual. However,