For many, weight gain can be oh-so-gradual. An extra two pounds over the course of a year can (and often does) go completely unnoticed. Over time, however, those pounds add up, and after 10 years, you suddenly realize you have 20-plus pounds to lose.
Ironically, many successful weight-lossers will tell you that shedding those pounds wasn’t actually the hardest part—rather, keeping the weight off turned out to be harder in the long run. A study of 14 former Biggest Loser contestants, many of whom have successfully quit hundreds of pounds as a result of being on the show, highlights some of the complex ways the body fights weight loss. Thanks to something called “set points,” we now know that even the most dedicated are fighting an uphill battle against biology to keep those pounds off.
THE SET POINT
Simply put, set point is a complex weight regulation system driven by the brain that works to keep the body within a certain weight range. The biological advantage is harder to appreciate these days, but this is actually a protective adaptation to help humans survive when food is scarce.
An individual’s point of view is determined partly by genetics and partly by lifestyle factors. (Think: diet, activity level, exercise, sleep, stress, etc.) It varies from person to person, but can also change throughout our lifetime. Gradual weight gain is one way this can happen—we’re talking as little as a 1-2 pound gain every year for a decade or two—which ultimately makes it harder to shed those unwanted pounds and also maintain your previous weight.
WHERE THE BIOLOGICAL BATTLE BEGINS
When trying to lose weight, the body struggles to hover around its set point by conserving calories, increasing appetite and decreasing satiety signals. This telling trifecta is one of the main reasons it’s so hard to lose weight and keep it off:
1. LESS CALORIES BURNED
It’s been accepted as a fact that anyone who intentionally loses weight—no matter how much weight they had to lose—will have a slower metabolism eventually. Two big things are driving this: a shift toward energy conservation and the loss of lean, calorie-burning body mass. These physiological changes result in a slower metabolism, an effect that a small study found can last for years.
2. HIGHER HUNGER LEVEL
During periods of weight loss, the body also increases the production of certain hunger signals, including ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates hunger and appetite. Biologically, this makes sense as an increase in appetite can prevent further unintended weight loss, but unfortunately for those of us trying to lose weight, it only increases our desire to eat. The effect is also long-lasting. One study found that while ghrelin levels decreased after an initial weight loss period, they remained significantly elevated for at least a year afterward.
3. LESS DESIRE TO EAT LESS
In addition, the body fights weight loss by reducing its satiety signals. Leptin, the body’s primary satiety hormone, plummets during weight loss. This means you don’t just do it feel less satisfied, you actually is less satisfied – and not just while losing weight. One study found that leptin levels were still 35% lower one year after the initial weight loss period.
5 TIPS TO RESET YOUR SET POINT
1. THANK YOU 10% AT A TIME
The research around set point suggests that modest, slower weight loss leads to less impact on hunger and satiety hormones. Setting an initial weight loss goal of around 5-10% of your current weight can have many positive health consequences for some while minimizing metabolic shock.
2. WORK ON WEIGHT MAINTENANCE
Once you’ve lost the first 10%, consider working to maintain your new, lower weight for a few months. A gradual approach to weight loss will likely lessen the metabolic toll on your body and will also allow you to practice weight maintenance, an important skill you must learn to stick with your hard-earned weight loss.
3. OPTIMIZE YOUR PROTEIN INTAKE
When it comes to weight loss, dietary protein can have many positive effects. Research suggests that increasing protein intake can reduce the slowdown in metabolism, likely by offsetting the amount of muscle mass that is burned for energy, in addition to fat, during a calorie deficit. For more tips on protein, check out the MyFitnessPal Guide: Protein Edition.
4. CONSIDER STRENGTH BUILDING
To minimize muscle loss during a caloric deficit, strength training is also recommended alongside optimizing protein intake. Also, keeping up with an exercise routine is one of the behaviors identified in successful weight loss maintenance. You can get into the habit of strength training during your weight loss journey by tracking your workouts on MyFitnessPal.
5. Ditch “DEAD” FOR WELL
Yo-yo dieting not only has negative effects on metabolism, but research has also linked repeated weight loss/weight gain cycles to other serious health problems, such as heart disease. Sustainability is the name of the game here. Small, gradual changes in your daily habits translate to long-term success and, over time, will also outsmart your body’s biology to regain that weight.
Originally published April 2017
The post Ask the dietitian: Why is weight loss so difficult? appeared first on MyFitnessPal Blog.