How does Ayurveda approach weight loss differently from regular dieting?

This is exactly the right question to ask, and the fact that you keep losing and regaining suggests the diets are working temporarily but not addressing the root cause. That is precisely what Ayurveda would say — and it's the fundamental difference in the approach.

Ayurveda's view of weight gain: Persistent weight gain is primarily a Kapha imbalance combined with Ama accumulation (toxic residue from incompletely digested food). Calorie restriction addresses the input side of the equation but does nothing about:

1. The quality of Agni (digestive fire) — a weak Agni converts even moderate food intake into Ama instead of nourishment
2. The metabolic momentum of Kapha constitution — slowing with age, season, and lifestyle
3. The stress-cortisol-fat-storage cycle that most modern diets inadvertently worsen through restriction and rebound

Why calorie restriction fails long-term: In Ayurvedic terms, aggressive calorie restriction increases Vata (depletion, scarcity, stress signal) and paradoxically weakens Agni further. When restriction stops, Kapha's natural tendency toward accumulation rebounds — often with a stronger fat-storage response than before. This is the "yo-yo" pattern you're describing.

What Ayurveda does differently: Rather than restricting food, Ayurveda focuses on improving what the body does with food:

1. Rekindle Agni — warming spices with every meal (ginger, black pepper, cumin, coriander, turmeric) dramatically improve metabolic efficiency. The goal is for food to be fully digested and assimilated, not stored as Ama.

2. Lunch as the main meal — eating your largest, most varied meal between 11 AM–1 PM (peak Agni time) and keeping dinner light (before 7 PM) naturally reduces fat storage without caloric restriction.

3. Reduce Ama first — a short mono-diet of kitchari (mung dal and basmati rice cooked with warming spices) for 3–7 days clears the backlog of undigested matter and resets Agni. This is the foundation most Ayurvedic weight protocols begin with.

4. Address Kapha at the tissue level — Trikatu (ginger, black pepper, long pepper blend) is the classical Ayurvedic fat-metabolism formula. It stimulates both Agni and fat-tissue breakdown (medo dhatu agni).

5. Consistent routine over restriction — eating at the same times each day, sleeping and waking at consistent times, and daily physical movement (even 30 minutes of walking) support the metabolic regularity Kapha needs.

The approach is slower — expect 3–4 months before stable results — but the changes are built on a functional metabolic foundation rather than willpower, which is why they tend to hold.