Although it may be healthy for you to lose weight if you are obese, constantly going back and forth may do more harm than good. A recent study published in the November 2000, issue of the Journal of Cardiology, shows a relationship between women who yo-yo diet and lower levels of good cholesterol. There were 485 women who participated in the study. Out of those, 130 women had a history of weight cycling. These women had a significantly lower level of HDL (good cholesterol) than their peers.

HDL cholesterol is beneficial because it acts like a scavenger and picks up cholesterol from your blood vessels and removes them from your body. If you have a low level of HDL, this may promote Atherosclerosis from the build up of plaque in your blood vessels, thus increasing your risk of heart disease.

Regardless of your diet history, you can reduce the levels of HDL cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease. If you are overweight, lose weight and keep it off. Try to change your lifestyle to promote weight loss. In addition, exercise also lowers your chance of getting heart disease by improving your HDL levels. Exercise three to four days a week for 30 to 60 minutes. Furthermore, exercise is essential for maintaining your weight. Weight management not only helps you improve your cholesterol level but it also lowers your blood pressure.

Changing your diet is also essential. Two main contributors to heart disease are cholesterol and saturated fat. Cholesterol can only be found in animal products. When we remove cholesterol from our diet it forces our body to use the existing cholesterol thus lowering our cholesterol levels.

Saturated fat also contributes by increasing the amount of LDL cholesterol, which contributes to your chance of getting heart disease. These fats are mostly found in animal products. Check your food labels before consuming.

The moral of this story is: If you lose weight, keep it off. Losing weight is a lifestyle issue. No fad diet is going to fix that.