Why is regaining weight so common????
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I haven't seen much talked about the SET WEIGHT for a while.
It is something science is aware of but it is not something that is easy to say why about.
Set weight is the weight you have been on average over the last 6 months. So when you go too far away from that set weight your body will set off alarms and go into preservation famine mode, then start storing, so if you give up loosing weight, your body will try to tak you back to the weight it feels is your proper weight, and then some to spare in case you do that again.
This is why you SHOULD find short term goals maybe 3 monthly goals? reach them and learn to enjoy that weight for a while and do a short maintenance period, so that all the work you have done so far starts to become a part of setting a new Set weight.
If you do ever arrive at your final goal weight, remember you haven't arrived for at least 6 months after that date because you need to fight your body to make it the NEW set weight.
Sources? From a place like (just as an example) PubMed please and not a popular TV show or similar.
Because those are some very big claims and very strongly worded advice, and not only does nothing in the experience of many people here seem compatible with this idea, but also I am not familiar with any research that confirms this at all so if you *do* have real research, I would appreciate you sharing it. Thanks!0 -
FFS it's lose weight, not loose!-1
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melimomTARDIS wrote: »i think we regain weight because we stop doing the stuff we were doing to lose the weight. the medicine doesnt work if you stop taking it. That is why i still log, even in maintenance. even my embarrassing stuff that I am like, not wanting another soul to see. (hello, carton of ice cream, followed by a stack of butter cookies)
Castle!0 -
Wiseandcurious wrote: »I haven't seen much talked about the SET WEIGHT for a while.
It is something science is aware of but it is not something that is easy to say why about.
Set weight is the weight you have been on average over the last 6 months. So when you go too far away from that set weight your body will set off alarms and go into preservation famine mode, then start storing, so if you give up loosing weight, your body will try to tak you back to the weight it feels is your proper weight, and then some to spare in case you do that again.
This is why you SHOULD find short term goals maybe 3 monthly goals? reach them and learn to enjoy that weight for a while and do a short maintenance period, so that all the work you have done so far starts to become a part of setting a new Set weight.
If you do ever arrive at your final goal weight, remember you haven't arrived for at least 6 months after that date because you need to fight your body to make it the NEW set weight.
Sources? From a place like (just as an example) PubMed please and not a popular TV show or similar.
Because those are some very big claims and very strongly worded advice, and not only does nothing in the experience of many people here seem compatible with this idea, but also I am not familiar with any research that confirms this at all so if you *do* have real research, I would appreciate you sharing it. Thanks!
Might be referring to the feedback loops that attempt to keep you at higher weight.
Perhaps not set weight, but body desired weight.
They don't get in to how long here though, just the hormones behind why and what occurs.
These are the researchers that discovered leptin.
youtube.com/watch?v=2i_cmltmQ6A0 -
erikarobles wrote: »Warning a little depressing but I will learn to live with the heat turned down!!!!
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-is-regaining-weight-so-common/
Regaining weight after a "diet" is because people think once you're "done" you can go right back to the way you were before you changed. You can't "diet" you have to change your lifestyle.
That article seems like nonsense and I don't feel like completely reading it. Skimming was enough for me.
EDIT: I went back and read it anyway. I can't even. Dying of laughter.0 -
Thank you heybales, the video gave me the researchers names so I could hunt down the research.
I may have missed something, being ill with a stomach bug today, but in the original study that made them infer the possible existence of set points, they had the subjects gain 10% bodyweight quickly eating 5000 calories and than had them lose it fast at 800cal. No changes in body composition were mentioned that I could find (again, ill today, so may have missed them), but we can safely assume that after losing they were at a higher BF% than before starting. Then, bingo - their metabolism slowed down in comparison to when they were the same weight but with presumably more lean mass. Hardly surprising... And hardly good evidence for set points.0 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »All fat I've ever seen is yellow, and I've sat through a few autopsies. And those cadavers were very cold. Hmmm...
I've cut open plenty of abdomens on living people and that's all yellow too! Doesn't matter if it's in the burn unit (where the rooms are kept at body temp) or a nice comfy 52 degrees.0 -
There is more than one reason someone regains weight. Part of that depends on the type of diet they did in the first place, the amount of weight they lost, the type of changes they made etc.
extreme short term diets are destined to fail I think most of us can agree that a lot of that loss is water weight which comes right back and the diet is not sustainable.
Even long term diet changes can fail. We are often really hyped when we start a diet, and when we are successful we tend to keep the momentum going, and even after we reach a goal its sometimes easy to maintain that good feeling for a while. But at some point we slip up, it happens to everyone, what matters is how quick we fix things. The longer we wait the worse it gets and the harder it is to fix.
I lost about 40lbs about 6 years ago. For most of those 6 years I stayed within a 5lb range. I also weighed myself every morning, it was a good way to keep myself accountable. I had a number in my mind that I would never go over again and it was easy to stay under it because I kept on it daily.
Unfortunately I gained 10lbs over the holidays, I didnt have a scale and didnt weigh daily and even though I knew I was gaining, not seeing it made it easy to lie to myself about. Once I saw how bad it was, it was easier to get back on track and get the motivation to work hard again. I am down 6lbs now, its been a battle because no weightloss is easy but I cant imagine how much harder it would have been if it had been more than 10lbs, I dont know if I would be able to motivate myself to lose 20lbs, so I can see how someone regains and struggles to lose again0 -
Wiseandcurious wrote: »Thank you heybales, the video gave me the researchers names so I could hunt down the research.
I may have missed something, being ill with a stomach bug today, but in the original study that made them infer the possible existence of set points, they had the subjects gain 10% bodyweight quickly eating 5000 calories and than had them lose it fast at 800cal. No changes in body composition were mentioned that I could find (again, ill today, so may have missed them), but we can safely assume that after losing they were at a higher BF% than before starting. Then, bingo - their metabolism slowed down in comparison to when they were the same weight but with presumably more lean mass. Hardly surprising... And hardly good evidence for set points.
They make reference to compensating for change in body composition.
And I don't really think it's totally set points, but that at least for awhile, the body is attempting to get the fat back.
Since it's the amount of fat that affects the amount of leptin.
But eventually, and other studies show this since theirs, the body does speed back up to where it would be expected per body composition. Not to old level of course, but at least higher.
That obviously still doesn't help someone that can't stand eating less than they used to.0 -
But eventually, and other studies show this since theirs, the body does speed back up to where it would be expected per body composition. Not to old level of course, but at least higher.
That obviously still doesn't help someone that can't stand eating less than they used to.
At least that's encouraging:) thanks for all the other info too.
As for not eating as we used to, I think most of us are aware what's in store. I have never yo-yoed, I was at normal weight until about age 25 and then started slowly but steadily gaining for many years. And now with my lower portions (I am still losing, but eating roughly what my maintenance will be in my goal range) the funny thing is it suddenly brought back memories of how I used to eat until I started gaining. I had honestly forgotten. I don't think it will be a penance - after all I lived most of my life being happy and satiated eating that amount, it's just the last 15-odd years that were outside of normal, now I just see it as getting back to normal. But yes, it will take some getting used to, both mentally and physically.0 -
Because, food is yummy 0
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Temporary changes = temporary results.0
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jmichaelminton wrote: »There working on a new treatment for cancer that tiny nanobots (I know, Science Fiction sounding) attach themselves to cancer sells and then a proton pulse cannon shoots the nanobots signature thus killing the cancer cell.
If this ends up working, not only would it be the miracle so many are looking for in Cancer research, I also wonder if they could reprogram them to attach to fat cells and blast them this bringing the number of fat cells in your body back down?
'Cause there's no way THAT could go horribly wrong. Can you imagine if there was an error with targeting location or shutting the things down?
I think we've shifted genres from Sci-fi to horror.
Maybe someone could just invent a machine like the one in Elysium that, rather than just cure cancer or a gaping hole in the face, rebuild a fat person at the molecular level so they are skinny. That way we could just eat whatever we want without consequences.
Or a baconator, like in Hay Day
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I think if someone had the absolute perfect reason and cure all, that person would be the richest person in the world and there wouldnt be an obesity problem.
I mean, my husband and I eat the same foods and live the same way but yet he has maintained his weight within 5# for the past 14 years and I have gained and lost probably 1000#! Tells me that we are not all created equal. I know what works for me at least and I know if I stick to it I can keep the weight off. But why do I have to struggle while he can eat what he wants?0 -
lindaloo9331 wrote: »I think if someone had the absolute perfect reason and cure all, that person would be the richest person in the world and there wouldnt be an obesity problem.
I mean, my husband and I eat the same foods and live the same way but yet he has maintained his weight within 5# for the past 14 years and I have gained and lost probably 1000#! Tells me that we are not all created equal. I know what works for me at least and I know if I stick to it I can keep the weight off. But why do I have to struggle while he can eat what he wants?
Honestly that's probably the problem right there. You shouldn't be eating the same as him. Unless you just meant you are eating your sized portions but of the same food. Or possibly he's eating your sized portions so he's at a higher deficit. (I don't know what he does exercise/work wise but he could just be doing mroe than you.)
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I lost 60 lb and kept it off for years. Then I had a pretty traumatizing experience, sank into a deep untreated depression that lasted for years, stopped going to the gym due to financial/logistical issues, ate way too much and did way too little. And here I am, enormous!
And btw I used to squat and deadlift more than my weight, I wasn't a cardio beast that burned off all my muscles. I was a lady tank in the good ol' days. But a couple of years of stuffing my face and hiding inside wallowing in anxiety and hopelessness kind of erased that.0 -
Some of you might be interested in the research summarized in this blog, written by a former Canada Research Chair on Obesity
http://www.drsharma.ca/
Lots of discussion of set points & other endocrinological (and other) aspects of obesity & obesity management.
This doctor, by the way, has reached the position of advocating pharma and surgical approaches.
I don't know. The keto / paleo / low carb approaches people have been using do seem to work in the short term. Not easy to sustain for a lifetime, though. But not impossible.
Given that 66% of our population is overweight or obese, I agree with him that our current environment is obesogenic, and I think it's important to prioritize working on changing that environment, through firm regulation (which is like a pie in the sky dream. Maybe in some years.)0 -
AmbyrJayde wrote: »lindaloo9331 wrote: »I think if someone had the absolute perfect reason and cure all, that person would be the richest person in the world and there wouldnt be an obesity problem.
I mean, my husband and I eat the same foods and live the same way but yet he has maintained his weight within 5# for the past 14 years and I have gained and lost probably 1000#! Tells me that we are not all created equal. I know what works for me at least and I know if I stick to it I can keep the weight off. But why do I have to struggle while he can eat what he wants?
Honestly that's probably the problem right there. You shouldn't be eating the same as him. Unless you just meant you are eating your sized portions but of the same food. Or possibly he's eating your sized portions so he's at a higher deficit. (I don't know what he does exercise/work wise but he could just be doing mroe than you.)
I didnt mean I ate the exact same quantity as him, but we eat the same foods at meals. Our work is similar as far as physical demand, but since we are not built the same there is a lot of variable there.
My point really is though that you could take two people and have them do the exact same thing, eat drink sleep etc and they would still be very different. We are all so very different.
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The only reason people regain lost weight is because they start eating more than they are burning (again).
The real question is why is it so hard to maintain a good habit?
Before I even began to try to lose weight I read everything I could find about how to be successful in KEEPING IT OFF. I know the statistics and they aren't pretty.
I only know a couple of people over my lifetime that lost a lot of weight and have kept it off for more than a decade. Their 'secret' is that they continue to live their healthier life. They'd replaced mindless eating and poor fitness habits with things that work. And they just keep doing it. Forever.
I'm hoping to mimic their success.
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The only reason people regain lost weight is because they start eating more than they are burning (again).
The real question is why is it so hard to maintain a good habit?
Before I even began to try to lose weight I read everything I could find about how to be successful in KEEPING IT OFF. I know the statistics and they aren't pretty.
I only know a couple of people over my lifetime that lost a lot of weight and have kept it off for more than a decade. Their 'secret' is that they continue to live their healthier life. They'd replaced mindless eating and poor fitness habits with things that work. And they just keep doing it. Forever.
I'm hoping to mimic their success.
Very well said.0 -
Regaining lost weight happens when you don't look at weight loss and maintenance as a way of life and just as a diet. So many people diet, lose the weight, then immediatley go back to their old way of eating when that's not how it works.0
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Studies indicate that 95% of people who lose weight gain it all back and then some. What do we need to do to be that 5% ? In Never Say Diet by Chantel Hobbs she says we have to change our brain. We have to think differently about food and develop a whole new relationship to food. It is for fuel, not our best friend. We have to find other ways to comfort ourselves, celebrate, destress ourselves,etc. other than food. When things are bothering us, we need to talk about them rather than stuffing down our emotions with food. Exercise also plays a key role. We have to find some exercise and activities that we love, that we are passionate about. She also says we need to celebrate peak moments in our lives. Not just weight loss. And not just celebrate with food. Enjoy friends and family and being together. Quit listening and paying attention to the adds and billboards that tell us we need to have a Big Mac or a carmel mocha latte to experience happiness. They are lying to us! Find other ways to be happy and find joy in life other than food. Then you will not want to go back. Make a list of reasons of why you never want to go back. Read it often. Take before and after pictures and put them in a place you will look at every day.
You are a new person. Celebrate it!0 -
Agree completely with this point. Food is neither our friend nor our enemy. It's what we need to stay alive and stay healthy. If we can enjoy it too, that's great but we shouldn't think of the pleasure aspect first and foremost. Food itself should be a means, not an end.karensuegill wrote: »We have to think differently about food and develop a whole new relationship to food. It is for fuel, not our best friend.
This I disagree with. Exercise should be in the same category as food: we need it stay alive and stay healthy. Unless you are a professional athlete, exercise for most of us is a means, not an end. There's nothing wrong with enjoying exercise but there's absolutely no reason you should give up on doing it just because you never found an exercise you are "passionate about." I suspect many people never do. Doesn't matter. Exercise is like doing the dishes and brushing your teeth. It needs to happen, regardless of your "love" relationship status with it.We have to find some exercise and activities that we love, that we are passionate about.
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I decided this sounded too argumentative so I'm just gonna erase it. But it basically boiled down to it's not a diet it's a change in lifestyle you can't go back.0
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I think it is so common to regain the weight because we are all creatures of habit...It is VERY HARD to change eating patterns that you have accumulated through your entire life...That said, I don't think it's impossible to do so, which is what I'm doing here...I hope to be able to change some bad habits...0
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Ditto's to last three comments, even the erased one that I don't think was that argumentative at all.
Like when a Dr tells you that some lifestyle change is needed in order to deal with some issue, you may not be thrilled with it, but if that's the best course of action, it needs to be done.
But then again aren't we the culture of "give me a pill" purely for the aspect of not wanting to deal with something, or don't want to restrict something. Or basically do it for me.
Interesting talking to PT's who know what % of people actually do the recommended movements on their own when they are supposed to, and this is even with seeing improvement just from when they come in and do them. So despite seeing improvements, can't take 5-15 min away to do something to help themselves.
Obviously for some people, especially in some lands, there is a balancing point. Family needs to eat, you need to make money, you do some job that tears your body up, slowly but surely, or perhaps faster.
But you have few if any options, so you do it.0 -
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I kept my weight off for ten years. Initially, I remember it being very hard working back into maintenance calories without gaining weight at an explosive rate. But, after that, I ate like a normal person. I want to say it took over a year to finally get maintenance to work. Beer, pizza on the weekends, yogurt and leaner meat during the week. I didn't count or measure for a long time.
But, then I had a really stressful time and regained very quickly. The weight gain in no way matched the calories consumed. It was a ridiculous amount of weight to gain in two months and there is no way I had the calories to do it. There is something to stress having an impact on metabolism.
For some people, regaining is a gradual creep, for others it's attached to a bigger life event and more dramatic.
I really remember thinking that maintenance was worse than the weight loss phase. I'm not looking forward to it at all. AND, yet I am. Eh..0 -
This is an interesting post but very much North- America oriented.
Why is obesity concerning only 15% of adults in France versus 35% in the US?
We love food here in France and it's a central part of our social life too...And we don't work out all that much...
So maybe that's food for thought.
Normal weight doesn't have to mean not liking/enjoying food for example...or working out 6 days a week...0 -
This is an interesting post but very much North- America oriented.
Why is obesity concerning only 15% of adults in France versus 35% in the US?
We love food here in France and it's a central part of our social life too...And we don't work out all that much...
So maybe that's food for thought.
Normal weight doesn't have to mean not liking/enjoying food for example...or working out 6 days a week...
Activity has a lot to do with this. I am from Europe, I live in Canada, I still go back regularly. When I am back over there I walk *tons* more day-to-day, just to get around. Until you've lived in North America you really don't have a clue what the distances are here and how much of your movement is done in a car. In most cases you can't go buy a newspaper on Saturday morning without a car!
Of course, the fact that North Americans have some crazy (for me) ideas of what food constitutes a "treat" has something to do with it too. What would you treat yourself with for desert, a creme bavaroise or a huge bland cupcake with sugar icing? Portion sizes are yet another factor, people over here are used to seeing a portion on their plates (in restaurants, so I suppose it seeps into everyday life too) that is enough for two back across the pond.
Not that every American is fat and every European is slim because that's so evidently false it doesn't need discussing. But yes, the statistics are there for a reason.
I love those! I know you said they're for someone else, but I want them all, especially the "effect" vs "affect" one - my pet peeve 0
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