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Posted by
on 2007-12-17 12:53:33
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If body resists weight loss, increase exercise
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on 2007-12-17 12:53:33
Smilie _WRITES: " o, as you go further into the weight loss process and begin to approach your target weight, you also get further away from your set point weight. This, in turn, may trigger a strong reaction from your body, slowing the rate of loss and thus discouraging you.
Let's assume you are determined to stick with it. Your diet is sane, and you increase your exercise. Eventually you may reach your goal of 160 pounds. But what happens to your set point? If it's still set at 200, the body won't be content until you return to that weight. Is this one reason why, in the long run, almost all diets fail?
Maybe, but if this is true, why are some folks successful in taking off weight and keeping it off? Were they able to reset their set point to a lower weight? If they can do it, why can't others?
Or is it that they still have the same old set point, but they control the situation by exercising daily? This allows them to eat more, thus satisfying that urge. The exercise also boosts metabolism sufficiently during and after the exercise to burn enough calories to keep the weight down.
Thus, to placate the old set point, exercisers eat more, and their metabolic burn-off each day, thanks to exercise, is similar to what it used to be at their heavier original weight. But their weight is sustained at a lower level, suggesting that if the set point cannot be reset, exercise may outwit it. I have no idea if this is true or not, but it's worthy of consideration.
There is some research that supports this notion. An ongoing national research study on weight loss has found that those who successfully lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least two years had two things in common. One, they lost the weight slowly by following a sane and healthy diet that entailed only a modest drop in caloric intake. And, two, they all exercise regularly.
The bottom line
If you want to take off weight and keep it off, regardless of what your set point thinks you should weigh, put less effort into a restrictive and punishing diet, and more effort into daily exercise.
Read more: http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071213/FEATURES03/312130013
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