Nicki Minaj Vows to Stop Yo-Yo Dieting 10 Years From Now: What You Need to Know About Weight Cycling

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American rapper Nicki Minaj vows to stop yo-yo dieting in 10 years when she has her own family.

Minaj is Cosmopolitan's newest cover babe in the magazine's July issue. The feisty bombshell shares that in ten years, she will start her own family and have two children, unless her husband wants three.

"I will be into my fitness a lot more, I will stop yo-yo dieting, and I'll be a housewife with careers that I can run from home. I want to be able to cook for my children, bake cookies for them, and watch them grow up. I just want to be Mommy.

"Take them to school, go to the parent-teacher conference, help them with their homework, and put their work on the refrigerator."

Minaj is one of many other celebrities who are into yo-yo dieting, including Oprah Winfrey, Christina Aguilera, Renee Zellweger, Kristie Alley and many more, according to the UK Mirror.

Popularly known as yo-yo dieting, weight cycling is characterized by the repeated cycle of weight loss and gain. Medicine Net notes that weight cycles can range from small to large, ranging from 5 to 10 lbs to 50 lbs or more per cycle.

In the United States, 54% of the population is trying to lose weight and because most people don't stick to their weight loss regimen, weight gain is bound to happen, explains Fitness Magazine. The outlet has also reached out to several fitness experts to further discuss the risk of yo-yo dieting.

"We have this mentality that a diet is something to go on and then get off as quickly as possible," Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom of Pittsburg University's Weight Management Center says. "But lasting weight loss requires making lifestyle changes that will work long-term," she adds.

Weight cycling comes with certain health risks, including increased risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and many more.

"Repeated crash dieting increases metabolic hormones, such as insulin, and elevates levels of sex hormones, including estrogen," Andrea Pennington, author of The Pennington Plan for Weight Success warns. "These changes cause you to start putting on weight around your middle, which research has linked to insulin resistance, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease."

In addition to its impact to health, it also affects self-esteem and body image.

"The more times you go through the gain-lose-gain cycle, the less convinced you become that you can break free from the constant ups and downs," says dietitian Keri Gans from NYC. "No one wants to diet forever; it's hard work."

Stopping the cycle of yo-yo dieting is possible. Some tips from Women's Health Magazine include being realistic with weight loss goals, being patient with progress, being active by pairing exercise with diet, and keeping an optimistic mind, believing that sticking to the new resolution is possible.