Why it’s so damn hard to maintain weight loss results, and what can we do about it?
Going up and down the stairs is a very good physical activity, but when it’s your weight that is constantly going up and down like a Yo-Yo, then it’s a different story. When trying to lose weight, we’ve all succeeded in losing it only to regain what we lost- plus some extra pounds shortly afterwards…
One of the reasons this keeps happening is called by scientists “the body set-point theory”. According to this theory, we each have a set-point of weight that our body assumes to be the right weight for us. The body is then tuned to balance its energy intake and energy expenditure in order to maintain this set point.
When we lose weight, our body makes us feel hungrier on one hand, and reduces its energy expenditure on the other, thus making us regain the ‘set-point’. When we gain weight- it does the opposite. Unfortunately this efficient feedback loop works great when we lose weight – causing us to regain what we lost, but is much less efficient in helping us lose weight when we gain it… Hardly seems fair, doesn’t it..
However, look at the bright side: if we succeed in getting our body to define a new – reduced – set-point, it will pave the road to a new reduced weight that we will be able to maintain much easily for life, since our body will accept it as the right weight and will strive to maintain it.
So, how can we do it?
- First you need to find the right combination of diet and weight management aids that fit you personally. This combination can be a mixture of a diet that fits you for weight loss, some physical activity, and additional external daily physiological aid, such as NozNoz or other to help you deal with the hunger and energy preservation that your body will induce to bring you back to your high set point. (read our blog to learn more about optimal combination. This shouldn’t be a “crazy radical diet” or some unhealthy diet pill that may put you at risk. It must be a personal combination that is healthy, that you find that works for you and that you can adhere to for at least 1 year. This combination must become a habit. Your body needs to “believe” that this is the new irreversible state. It’s like signing a new contract with your body- you keep providing your body with the things it needs, and your body can “count” on it and create a new reduced set point. It’s re-defining the comfort zone of your body and you.
- In order to magnify the effectiveness, add some “psychology” and “analytical” constant feedback and follow-up: HOW? Weigh yourself often! How often? We recommend every day, at the same time, on the same scale, wearing the same clothes (or better without any). Better to use a digital scale- so you can easily trace any difference without “cheating yourself”. This way you can easily track the actual direction of your weight (for example: if you regain weight for a few days), and pay more attention to taking an active approach and control: a better understanding of what works for you, changing something in your diet aid combination/ to use or add different aids/etc.
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As part of the trial and error for finding the right combination that will work for you- try also NozNoz to support you! It’s worth a try!
