Does your body have a weight memory

veegreen

Hi there,

I just wanted to ask a question. All my life I've been big. At 16 I left school a UK size 16-18 and in the 17 years since have been 18-22. I've lost 23lb and am at the lower end of my adult life weight and even though I'm exercising and eating 1200 calories a day my weight has plateaued and I can't seem to get into that damned size 16.

I've been toying with an idea that actually my body has no concept of being smaller than I am and as such is resisting my attempts to change it. (I don't always refer to my body in the 3rd person by the way ). Does this resonate with anyone? I'm just getting frustrated with not seeing the results I want.

roguestates

Not sure about weight memory, but there is definitely some debate around "set point theory" or the idea that there is a comfortable ratio of fat that your body is comfortable with and tries to maintain. For some, it's a higher value and for others, it's a lower value.

http://www.bigfatblog.com/set-point-theory-explained
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21117971

tameko2

Mmm. Well, I think in general some people's bodies tend to want to be a heavier weight. But its not impossible to get past that, and oncey ou get used to maintaining at a lower weight you should be fine.

There are a few things that can cause a plateau.

Give more deets- what are you doing for exercise, how long has it been, etc.

You shouldn't be plateauing on 1200 calories. Either you're eating more than you think you are (how carefully do you log?) or you are undereating so much that your body is reducing your metabolism to accomodate how little you are eating.

are you eating back exercise cals?

antonyheaven

I suspect that there is a psychological element to the idea of body memory - ie the weight we imagine ourselves to be. I typically in my life fluctuate between 160 and 180 lbs, but I eat and (don't) exercise to get there.

Maybe try a completely different form of exercise to shake things up a bit. Stay focused and be patient/kind to yourself - you've already lost a significant amount and you will lose more.

babenes

Maybe your hit plateau. Have you tired playing around with calories and macros. Like eating more or less and see if that will kick start weight loss again or maybe eating less carbs or more protein. Changing workouts to more intense. What i usually do but i have to say i have tired all these past 3 months and my body seems to not want to budge at below 230lbs i was 330 lbs before so maybe i have reach body set point :-)

sunnykt

Sometimes things just take time ^.^

I actually have this strange idea of my body wanting to be "63" kgs. I imagine that if I eat normally, without overeating or dieting I will be 63 kgs, and 63 is my idea of "normal". I feel comfortable at 63. I feel like 63 kg is "me". When I gained weight I didn't view myself as actually being a chubby person, I viewed myself as a 63 kg person who had temporarily gained weight.

So when I lost weight and got down to 63 I found it mentally harder to try to loose more weight after that (even though my ideal weight has always been 58kg) because I was "myself" again. When my Dad said I was getting "too thin" at 61 kg I decided I may as well put an end to the diet and "eat normally" for a few months, along with two holidays (including a cruise), I don't actually seem to have put on any weight (although it did fluctuate up to 63 and back down). Even now I feel kind of "meh" about loosing any more weight because this is the body that I'm used to, and it's less than 63.

Maybe it's that kind of mental barrier? That you can't picture yourself as weighing less or you imagine yourself and picture yourself mentally as a "fat person" or at a particular weight and so you are unconsciously reluctant to break that barrier? The mind is a powerful thing too. If your mind is having trouble visualising the weight loss, and if your mind sees you as this "natural point", this may increase your body's resistance to loosing weight- at the very least it will decrease your willpower.

Oishii

My head is a weird place with this stuff too. I tell myself I want to maintain between 55-58kg, but keep eating cr@p each time I go below 58kg. Set point or just stupid? Not sure....