Video | The National Weight Control Registry | How Members Lost Weight | How Members Maintained Weight Loss | Maintaining is Viewed as Easier than Weight Loss | Summary
Obesity protects obesity. This observation by researcher Timothy Garvey gets to the heart of something known as the set point theory (1).
According to this theory, your body has a genetically determined weight range, or “set point,” that it strives to maintain. When you stray outside of that range, your body triggers hormones that adjust your appetite and metabolism to reign you back in. Those adjustments work in both directions. However, because starvation is more of a threat than obesity, the mechanisms that prevent weight loss are stronger than those that prevent weight gain. In other words, it is harder to lose weight than it is to gain it.
Are we doomed to live the life our genetics predetermined, or is this set point theory just that…a theory?
While there is no denying that hormonal and metabolic factors play a role in weight control, most researchers consider the set point theory to be oversimplified, failing to take into consideration social, nutritional, and environmental factors.
After all, we all know someone who has lost weight and maintained that weight loss for years. In fact, starting in the 1990s, the National Weight Control Registry made it its mission to identify and investigate the characteristics of individuals who have succeeded at long-term weight loss.
In this blog post, I’ll review the common characteristics shared by the 10,000 successful maintainers in that registry that ensure the weight they lost stays off.
Read More “You CAN MAINTAIN Weight Loss: 10,000 People Did It This Way”
Video | Metabolism and Mitochondria | Between Meals | During Sleep | During Prolonged Activities | Burning Carbs
While it may seem counterintuitive, aiming to burn fat constantly is not a healthy or effective approach to weight loss or overall metabolic health because our bodies are not designed to be in a perpetual state of fat burning.
A healthy metabolism is one that is adaptable and able to switch between different energy sources depending on the body’s needs. There are times when your body should naturally prioritize fat burning. There are also times when your body needs to utilize other energy sources, such as carbohydrates, for optimal performance and recovery.
By understanding the natural rhythms of your metabolism, you can achieve sustainable and healthy fat loss without compromising your overall health and well-being. This blog post shares three times during the day that your body should burn fat.
Read More “The 3 Times a Day Your Body SHOULD BURN FAT “
Video | The Study | Key Points | Protocol | Fine Print
When fat loss is your main goal, diet takes center stage, and rightfully so. However, this primary focus can cause us to overlook the need for exercise. In fact, starting an exercise program at the same time you start a diet introduces some obstacles, one prominent obstacle being that exercise increases hunger.
A research team wanted to see if they could pinpoint the amount, type, and intensity of exercise needed per week to see clinically significant changes in weight, belly fat, and body fat percentage.
They analyzed findings from 116 studies and found the answer. Here is what they came up with.
Read More “Aerobic Exercise CAN Cause FAT LOSS When Done This Way”
Video | Chewing | Self-Compassion | Food Logging
Our world is set up for weight gain, with calorie-dense refined foods available 24/7 and sedentary jobs being common. Therefore, if weight loss is the goal, it requires us to buck the norm and be conscious of how we eat and how we move.
That is a big task, especially when life is already busy, so it makes you ask, is there anything I can do to help my body reach that goal?
Here are three unconventional weight loss strategies that are backed by science. The first one sounds silly, the second one is vital, and the third may just be a game-changer. Let’s get started.
Read More “3 Unconventional Weight Loss Strategies Backed by Science”
Video | What are Seed Oils? | Concerns | Causation or Correlation | A Better Path Forward
Cooking fats come from different sources. Tallow, lard, and butter are derived from animals. Olive and avocado oil are pressed from those fruits, and seed oils are extracted from seeds.
Over the past few decades, we’ve seen an explosion in the use of vegetable-based seed oils as they have replaced the more traditional animal-based fats.
How has that replacement worked out for us? This blog post shares facts and concerns surrounding seed oils so you can make decisions for yourself.
Read More “The Skyrocketing Use of Seed Oils”
