Natural setpoint vs goal weight

Cazzy34 wrote: »

There is a set point theory, I studied it many years ago at uni!

From what we were taught, I believe it is the point (or range) that your body is most comfortable and healthy, almost at your optimum for health. Some people think that this point is when your body is resistant to further weight changes or fitness gains. However this may not be where YOU want your body to be, which can be frustrating.

It in unlikely that a person is going to have a set point which classes them as obese or severely underweight. However it is known that this "set point" is relatively elastic and can and will change due to changes within your body! i.e. metabolic changes.

Think of it more like a sliding scale rather than an exact point.

There is a lot more science involved behind the theory too, looking at neurons and how your brain responds to these changes. Better get the scientists in haha

Cazzy34 wrote: »

_Terrapin_ wrote: »

Cazzy34 wrote: »

There is a set point theory, I studied it many years ago at uni!

From what we were taught, I believe it is the point (or range) that your body is most comfortable and healthy, almost at your optimum for health. Some people think that this point is when your body is resistant to further weight changes or fitness gains. However this may not be where YOU want your body to be, which can be frustrating.

It in unlikely that a person is going to have a set point which classes them as obese or severely underweight. However it is known that this "set point" is relatively elastic and can and will change due to changes within your body! i.e. metabolic changes.

Think of it more like a sliding scale rather than an exact point.

There is a lot more science involved behind the theory too, looking at neurons and how your brain responds to these changes. Better get the scientists in haha

I'm not sure this applies but I met a guy last year at a 5k. When he started running 14 years earlier he ran a 27 minute 5k. His best time in a series of 3 last year was 35:13. He indicated he tries to run faster but for some reason is getting slower. He also said he is 5 pounds lighter then he was 14 years before. Wonder how set point theory and the 'your body is resistant to further weight changes or fitness gains' applies in his situation.

Ahhh see I don't believe that his lack of performance in later years would be necessarily connected to the set point theory.

There could be many reasons for this deterioration. I'm sure there is information related to the effects of age on both fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers. This could be the cause of his decreasing speed.

If you look at sportspeople for example, they usually hit their personal best times etc at somepoint in their career however, many do not hit that time again. This could be down to the individual reaching their maximum capability at that point in time.

There are so many factors which affect this that you could look into it for a while and still not find the exact cause. I guess like most things about the human body we look at symptoms and make assumptions based on the information we have at the time.

Cazzy34 wrote: »

_Terrapin_ wrote: »

Cazzy34 wrote: »

_Terrapin_ wrote: »

Cazzy34 wrote: »

There is a set point theory, I studied it many years ago at uni!

From what we were taught, I believe it is the point (or range) that your body is most comfortable and healthy, almost at your optimum for health. Some people think that this point is when your body is resistant to further weight changes or fitness gains. However this may not be where YOU want your body to be, which can be frustrating.

It in unlikely that a person is going to have a set point which classes them as obese or severely underweight. However it is known that this "set point" is relatively elastic and can and will change due to changes within your body! i.e. metabolic changes.

Think of it more like a sliding scale rather than an exact point.

There is a lot more science involved behind the theory too, looking at neurons and how your brain responds to these changes. Better get the scientists in haha

I'm not sure this applies but I met a guy last year at a 5k. When he started running 14 years earlier he ran a 27 minute 5k. His best time in a series of 3 last year was 35:13. He indicated he tries to run faster but for some reason is getting slower. He also said he is 5 pounds lighter then he was 14 years before. Wonder how set point theory and the 'your body is resistant to further weight changes or fitness gains' applies in his situation.

Ahhh see I don't believe that his lack of performance in later years would be necessarily connected to the set point theory.

There could be many reasons for this deterioration. I'm sure there is information related to the effects of age on both fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers. This could be the cause of his decreasing speed.

If you look at sportspeople for example, they usually hit their personal best times etc at somepoint in their career however, many do not hit that time again. This could be down to the individual reaching their maximum capability at that point in time.

There are so many factors which affect this that you could look into it for a while and still not find the exact cause. I guess like most things about the human body we look at symptoms and make assumptions based on the information we have at the time.

Exactly, many factors indeed. He was 69 YO when he started and was 83 last year. Sometimes people remember things better with a wacky example

hahahaha Nice one x