WHY YOU MIGHT BE STRUGGLING TO LOSE WEIGHT

The Set Point Weight Theory

What It Is, and How to Overcome It.

There is a theory Obesity and Set-Point Theory - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf (nih.gov) that when it comes to weight loss and weight maintenance, every individual has a genetic predisposition to be a certain weight.

This theory provides an explanation for why it is so difficult for people to lose weight in the first place, and then maintain their weight loss over time.

Set Point Theory explains the forces within the body that fight to maintain the status quo, or to keep you within a certain weight range once that “Set Point” has been established.

Now, does this mean that once you have reached a certain weight and hovered around this particular weight for many months/years, that it is impossible to lose weight?

No.

But it does mean that your body will fight harder to keep you at this weight because your brain thinks that losing weight means something is terribly WRONG, and it wants to get you back to where it thinks you SHOULD be.

This is the simplest explanation of how the Set Point Theory works. Obviously, it is more complicated than this, and could be expounded on for pages. For the fastest and easiest explanation, one of the reasons you might struggle with losing weight or keeping weight off once you’ve lost it is that your body is trying to keep you at your “Set Point” and is sabotaging your efforts.

HOW does your body sabotage your efforts? Good question.

Cravings is one way. Craving sugary foods. Craving salty foods. Craving fatty foods. Be honest, which “sounds” better to you – a broccoli salad or a pizza? An apple or a cookie? If you have been “dieting” or restricting certain foods, your brain will be flooded with chemicals and hormones enticing you to go for the cookie or the pizza to maintain homeostasis within your body (stop the weight loss and return to the “set” weight).

Slowing Down Your Metabolism. If you restrict enough foods and create a calorie deficit – which to be fair is REQUIRED in order to lose weight – your brain may start sending signals to the body to slow your metabolism down to stall or stop your weight loss altogether.

Increasing Your Appetite. Just as your brain will induce cravings and slow your metabolism down through the release of hormones and other neurochemicals, it will also increase your appetite in an attempt to return your body to your “SET” weight.

Multiple factors will affect your Set Point throughout your life including childbirth, aging, menopause, your environment, and illness/disease.

But none of these things mean that if you are currently overweight and want to lose weight that you can’t do so.

Research indicates that a multi-faceted approach to losing weight and maintaining weight loss can help people reach their health goals. Changes to eating habits, physical activity, lifestyle changes, and working with a team (doctors, nurses, dieticians, health coaches, trainers, etc.) will help you make better choices and overcome your weight loss struggles.

Once again, if your body has a difficult time shedding pounds and it feels like nothing you try seems to work, your body’s “Set Point” could be making it harder to effectively lose weight. But this doesn’t mean you are doomed to remain unhappy with your body composition.

There are two keys to RESETTING your Set Point – Time and Consistency.

Rapid weight loss, while it sounds appealing, might not be sustainable if you haven’t created the consistent habits, routines, and lifestyle changes necessary to maintain the loss.

For example – you start a new diet (no flour or sugar, nothing wrong with that), and you start going to the gym 4 times a week, strength training and cardio (again, nothing wrong with that). After a month, you’ve lost 10 or 12 pounds and you’re feeling pretty good. Then work gets busy and your kids’ schedules ramp up so going to the gym gets cut to 1 or 2 times a week, strength training gets dropped and cardio gets cut back due to a time-crunch. The diet becomes harder to maintain because the kids are sick of chicken, brown rice and veggies every night and with the busy schedules again, it’s getting easier and easier to just grab a pizza on the way home or throw some nuggets and fries in the oven or air fryer.

You’re still doing okay with exercising some, and eating healthy-ish, but you’ve noticed you’re definitely not LOSING weight anymore, and a few pounds have crept back on.

NOW.

Here is where the “Set Point” Theory can really mess with your body, OR where Time and Consistency can make changes happen.

With Set Point, your brain is going to try to send you back to your starting weight by instigating cravings, slowing down your metabolism, increasing your appetite, and dropping your energy levels because it’s convinced something is “wrong” and you’re “starving”. You don’t have any established habits or routines around healthy behaviors, and this is where 80-95% of people backslide and quit.

However! If you go from this point forward working on CREATING THE HABITS AND ROUTINES, time and consistency are going to do the work for you. The intense cravings are going to subside. The appetite will decrease (especially if you are filling up CONSISTENTLY on fruits, veggies, protein and whole grains). Your energy levels will go back up again, and your metabolism will pick up as well.

Once you are in the HABIT of going for a 15-minute walk during lunch to stretch your legs and get some movement in, it won’t be such a big deal if you can only do 30 minutes at the gym instead of 45-60. Or if you’re regularly having a piece of fruit and string cheese in the afternoon, it can help offset a night where grabbing a pizza on the way home from sports practice is going to have to be your dinner option.

By taking your time and being consistent, this will create your body’s NEW Set Point.

And when you are ready to lose more weight, you can adjust your habits and routines again, take your time and be consistent, and the weight should start to come off again.

Until the next Set Point is established.

So, it’s not IMPOSSIBLE to change your body’s Set Point weight. But doing it too quickly isn’t going to be very productive, and in fact, it can actually be COUNTERPRODUCTIVE if your brain decides to “fight back” against the perception that there is a problem because of the rapid loss.

Working with a medical professional, health coach, or trainer might be the key to helping you create the habits and routines necessary to lose weight and reach your health goals. Contact me for a FREE Consultation to find out more.