During a diet, energy intake is lower than energy expenditure. To compensate, the body uses up its reserves, primarily muscle and then fat. Yet it is muscle that burns part of the calories our body expends daily, both at rest and during activity. Resuming a normal diet after going on a regimen therefore results in an energy intake that is too high in relation to needs, since there is less muscle: this leads to weight regain. What's more, even if some fat is burned during a diet, the cells that have formed to store it are always ready to accumulate new fat as soon as they get the chance. The only way to stabilize your weight is to gradually rebalance your diet over the long term, and maintain regular physical activity to avoid muscle wasting.

For further information, we recommend that you consult :

- The MangerBouger.fr website
- The Santé Publique France website, and its nutrition and physical activity section
- The ANSES website (Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail), and its section on food and human nutrition.
- The French Nutrition Society website
- The report of the PNNS, Programme Nationale de Nutrition et Santé (2018-2023), which defines all nutritional recommendations.