Impossible to not gain your weight back ?!

arguablysamson

I use to weigh 145 and now I weigh 120. I am 5'6.5. I have weighed between 145-150 throughout all of high school and first year University. Over the past year I have lost about 25-30 pounds and I think I look much better. However, I think my 145 pound weight is the weight that my body is "suppose" to be at. At that weight, I still ate very healthy as we are a healthy family. And I found it very easy to maintain that weight. To lose all the weight I had to workout tons and eat less calories than most people here have to. So, if I eat more "normal" again (like 1800-1900 cals a day), will I eventually gain all the weight back again? Do we all have a "set" weight?

You can re-adjust your setpoint weight, but you have to be at the lower weight for a good amount of time -- longer than 4 months or so. I've done that. I'm 187 at present and my body keeps trying to keep me at 195ish. This is my new normal weight range. So whatever measures you take to get where you want to be, you need to get comfortable there for a while and when you go to upping the calories, you find that your body maintains weight rather well. This has been my experience.

Jodsmission

Well I am NOT taking weight related ideology from someone who works for Kraft Foods. Click Author information just because it came from NIH doesn't mean its from NIH studies.
So where would this set weight be? Would it be the weight (as someone else mentioned ) that I was in HS ,College and after my babies? Which was between 112-118. Cause I frankly think that might be too thin at 44. Would it be at the weight I gained to? Or the plateau I have hit?
It baloney! After you lose your body has to have time to settle. It has to get used to being this new size . That's why you start seeing all new bumps and lumps. Keep lifting . Keep watching. We are our own worst enemies.

garnerish

Setpoint weight is ridiculous in the sense that your body KNOWS what weight it wants to be at.

The only reason you think you have a set point is because your eating routine means you consume enough calories to maintain that. And so when you go back to eating what you did before the weightloss, that's where you'll end up.

CoolBreeze84

Your body wants to weigh what you put into it.

Exactly this. When you reduced your calorie intake, you lost weight. If you increase your intake to what it used to be, then you will weigh what you were when you ate like that.

W31RD0

I agree that people tend to look best at a certain bodyweight. But if you are consuming more calories than you burn eventually you will gain weight. I don't know why you feel you have to workout harder or count calories more than anyone else here, but everyone here is in the same boat as you; trying to attain their goals.

happycauseIride

I find this an interesting topic. I am bumping to read more later when I have more time.

sshintaku

Setpoint weight is ridiculous in the sense that your body KNOWS what weight it wants to be at.

The only reason you think you have a set point is because your eating routine means you consume enough calories to maintain that. And so when you go back to eating what you did before the weightloss, that's where you'll end up.

Question about this - if I eat about 1500 cal a day, I can maintain at 126-127. If I eat more than that, say 1700-2000, I pop up to 130 (what I've weighed most of my adult life) and stay there. Shouldn't I theoretically be able to maintain my weiht on the same amount of calories? I've been experimenting with this for about 3 months now, and this is definitely the pattern.

heybales

Setpoint weight is ridiculous in the sense that your body KNOWS what weight it wants to be at.

The only reason you think you have a set point is because your eating routine means you consume enough calories to maintain that. And so when you go back to eating what you did before the weightloss, that's where you'll end up.

Question about this - if I eat about 1500 cal a day, I can maintain at 126-127. If I eat more than that, say 1700-2000, I pop up to 130 (what I've weighed most of my adult life) and stay there. Shouldn't I theoretically be able to maintain my weiht on the same amount of calories? I've been experimenting with this for about 3 months now, and this is definitely the pattern.

"pop-up to" would imply a fast gain of 3-4 lbs.

So you know the math for fat gain or loss, right. 3500 calories about per pound.
So you would need to eat in excess of true maintenance 10500-14000 over whatever period of time that takes for 3-4 pounds to be only fat weight.

So eating 200-500 more would take 21 - 70 days, depending on the averages there.

So was the "fast" weight gain in 21 to 70 days of increased eating level?

I'm betting you saw muscle glycogen stores finally top off which has attached water, you are merely living with depleted to some level all the time.

So how quick was the 3-4 lb gain?

heybales

So it appears all the naysayers didn't educate themselves on things beyond calories in / calories out.

Which as basic math is true.

But are you all aware your calories in can actually affect and lower your calories out?

And the setpoint aspect of hormone feedback loops is based on the amount of fat, which is the controlling factor of leptin, which is an effecting hormone for metabolism.

Expand the mind beyond the basics and understand there is a complex system here, one that you can indeed work with, but if you don't understand it, you'll never get it or appreciate what you can cause to happen to it, and merely saying eat less is setting up for long term failure, unless one loves eating 20-25% less than possible during weight loss and in maintenance too, and will adhere to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i_cmltmQ6A

Now, those researchers took rather negative viewpoint of body ever coming out of it.

Another more recent study shows you can, and to a posters comments earlier, it could take a long while, since rarely does anyone have access to lab research on their BMR, sedentary TDEE, measured calorie burn exercising, LBM and BF%, ect.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/heybales/view/reduced-metabolism-tdee-beyond-expected-from-weight-loss-616251

Debbie_Ferr

Your body wants to weigh what you put into it.

THIS. so true !