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Weight Loss Forum / Low Carb / March 2004Anyone Believe in Setpoints?
I know that to the extent this has been studied, no one has come up with any validation of the hypothesis that the body has certain weights to which it naturally gravitates and which are difficult to get below. Despite this, my own experience has been that I can lose quite easily to get to around 165, and I can maintain there with some discipline but without undue deprivation. Getting below there is a bear. I'm 5'6" and have lots of places where I can pinch more than an inch, so it's not that I'm already at a good weight for me. I've adjusted my calories significantly to reflect that there's less of me to carry around (pre-165, I was averaging around 1500 calories a day, now I'm down to 1000-1200), but the weight is coming off by the ounce/week. I don't have a formal exercise program yet, but I live in a city and don't have a car, so I do rather a lot of brisk walking, not to mention carrying my groceries home, etc. Has anyone else found that they seem to get stuck at certain points, have you found a way to speed up the weight loss (I could eat less, but I don't love the idea of going under 1000 cal/day) and have you been able to maintain significantly below the set point? I've tried doing periodic off plan days to kick things into gear, but they just seem to offset the losses I'd made that month w/o actually increasing the rate of loss. Thanks, Martha  SignatureBegin where you are - but don't end there. > I know that to the extent this has been studied, no one has come up with > any validation of the hypothesis that the body has certain weights to [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Thanks, > Martha I'm right there with you Martha. I'm 5'6 and a half inches and have been between 165-168 since August. I am comfortaby maintainming that weight, but it is not my goal. I'm losing about a half pound a month. My body just will not go below that point. A few years ago I got down to about 153 and bounced back up to 165. I also have plenty of inches to pinch. I'm a pear shape, so my top half is a size 12 and my bottom half is a TIGHT 12 or a comfortable 14. I'll be satisfied in a comfortable size 12, although my ultimate goal is a size 10. I really want to get the weight off before I start going through menopause, which is only a few years away. I also have been cutting calories to speed up the loss, such as using half n half instead of cream, and measuring my cheese and salad dressing intake. Kathy LC for 2 years More exercise..... :: I know that to the extent this has been studied, no one has come up :: with any validation of the hypothesis that the body has certain [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] :: -- :: Begin where you are - but don't end there. > I know that to the extent this has been studied, no one has come up with > any validation of the hypothesis that the body has certain weights to [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > (pre-165, I was averaging around 1500 calories a day, now I'm down to > 1000-1200), but the weight is coming off by the ounce/week. are you healthy? if so, why not live with the weight your body is comfortable at? 5'6 and 165 isn't particularly heavy, though i suppose it depends on where you're carrying it. -kelly Martha, Well, besides the folks here, just about everyone in the medical research community who does serious research on obesity believes in setpoints. In one experiment (conducted in a prison) they overfed volunteers. Some people gained huge amounts of weight, some gained only a little. At the end of the feeding period the prisoners were returned to their standard diet, some people dropped the weight almost immediately, a few took longer but lost it all, and a few unlucky guys stayed fat. The conclusion was that a healthy metabolism will return to the set point, but something can push it up and when that happens you don't come back down. They don't know what the mechanism of that setpoint is, but there are a lot of different hormones and brain chemical that are candidates. This kind of result happens in a lot of other experiments. Healthy people can put on quite a lot of weight with overfeeding but it comes right off. But many overweight people when they lose come right back up to their fat weight. Some, but fortunately, not all of us who develop weight problems seem to have trouble with that set point. -- Jenny - Low Carbing for 4 years. At goal for weight. Type 2 diabetes, hba1c 5.2. Cut the carbs to respond to my email address! Low carb facts and figures, my weight-loss photos, tips, recipes, strategies for dealing with diabetes and more at http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/ Looking for help controlling your blood sugar? Visit http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/Newly%20Diagnosed.htm > I know that to the extent this has been studied, no one has come up with > any validation of the hypothesis that the body has certain weights to [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > -- > Begin where you are - but don't end there. >"Jenny" lottadatacarbs@hotmail.com writes: >Well, besides the folks here, just about everyone in the medical research >community who does serious research on obesity believes in setpoints. Jenny, I vaguely recall something about how the two factors we could control that affect set point are sugar intake and exercise. You seem to know a lot about this, so maybe you can correct me if I'm wrong about this. One of the reasons I'm doing low-carb is that I honestly feel that my setpoint is at a healthy weight, and that I screwed up by eating too much sugar. Daria 166/147/140 sugar-free since 2/1/04 low-carb since 2/17/04 People in prison camps didn't seem to have setpoints. But I guess they were special. SignatureMost of us probably aren't in danger of eating too little. :) Becky P. > I know that to the extent this has been studied, no one has come up with > any validation of the hypothesis that the body has certain weights to [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > Thanks, > Martha > People in prison camps didn't seem to have setpoints. Mostly true, but it is sort of surprising how long people on hunger strikes can survive. I think if you calculated their BMR at the start of the fast, the graph you'd project for when they'd reach total depletion of fat reserves might be far steeper than the actual results. In any case, that isn't really the point. Yes, I know if I dropped my calories to 700 a day, I'd start to lose faster. But, what I wonder, although I'm not actually motivated to try it - assuming that 1200 calories is approximately a maintenence level for me, dropping to 700 I should start losing a lb a week - but I'm not sure it's that simple. In any case, I think the disadvantages of dropping to that low level outweigh the speeded up weight loss. For me, this is a lifetime thing and I don't see much net gain in faster loss if it makes me more likely to regain in the future. > But I guess they were special. No dear, *we're* special. Do try to keep up. Martha SignatureBegin where you are - but don't end there. Actually, people in prison camps do have set points, and if they survive, they can end up much fatter than someone who did not experience starvation. The issue with set points is not that you can't lose. It is that after you have lost weight the metabolism raises the set point to compensate. Rockefeller university researchers (the stars in the academic obesity study universe) did some studies that found that obese people who lost a lot of weight could only maintain that weight loss if they ate at calorie levels many hundreds of calories below the level that people of the identical weight who had not lost weight could maintain at. So it's not a fantasy that if you have been fat, you can gain eating a lot less than people who have not been fat. These findings came from the kinds of studies where they weighed and measured everything that went in and out of people and tracked all their activities for long periods of time (the subjects lived in the hospital for up to a year.) Also, there is NO easy cure for the setpoint problem. There is some good research that says that exercise will not change it for many people. Unfortunately, the claims for exercise tend to be relevant to people with normal metabolisms and small weight fluctuations. -- Jenny - Low Carbing for 4 years. At goal for weight. Type 2 diabetes, hba1c 5.2. Cut the carbs to respond to my email address! Low carb facts and figures, my weight-loss photos, tips, recipes, strategies for dealing with diabetes and more at http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/ Looking for help controlling your blood sugar? Visit http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/Newly%20Diagnosed.htm > > People in prison camps didn't seem to have setpoints. > [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > -- > Begin where you are - but don't end there. Eating less is good for you. SignatureMost of us probably aren't in danger of eating too little. :) Becky P. > Actually, people in prison camps do have set points, and if they survive, > they can end up much fatter than someone who did not experience starvation. [quoted text clipped - 56 lines] > > -- > > Begin where you are - but don't end there. > Has anyone else found that they seem to get stuck at certain points, have > you found a way to speed up the weight loss (I could eat less, but I don't [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Thanks, > Martha I'm 5'5" and my maintenance weight is exactly 138 lbs - which I check every single day. Below that I feel weak and above that and I feel "bigger." My upper limit is 141 at which I go back to loss by limiting the three or four legal foods that cause problems (peanuts, mostly and limiting dressings and night-time eating). Usually takes about three days to find 138 again and is probably as much water as actual weight. By this time, I'm lucky enough to know exactly which foods and eating patterns will cause loss or gain. It really just comes from paying attention for so long. On the other hand, I have not counted a carb in a year, and the only food weighing I do is my 26g of Extra-Fiber All Bran and 226g of yogurt each morning. It is a constant battle - every single day. That gets frustrating, but it has been worth it. Wayne Crannell Atkins + 10/21/01 250/138 since 11/15/02 :: In article :: <Pine.LNX.4.44.0403241615270.9927-100000@adams.patriot.net>, Martha [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] :: It is a constant battle - every single day. That gets frustrating, :: but it has been worth it. It's a constant battle....that you have to fight every single day. That's the cross that most formerly fat people must bear. I certainly expect to once I make my goal, whatever it will be. Thanks for the report Wayne....I encourage you to start a separate thread on this...because I think some people of are the opinion that moderation will be automatic once they hit goal. |
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