08/12/2024
While clearly difficult, weight loss is not impossible. It’s important to focus on the small successes (eating more vegetables, walking more). It can also help to work backward and pinpoint factors that are standing in your way or causing a plateau. Weight management is incredibly complicated. Become aware of common roadblocks and you may once again be on your way to winning at losing.
Genetics Aren’t Working in Your Favor. It's a tough reality: It may not be possible to choose the body type or shape you want and effortlessly land there with the right diet. When it comes to weight, genetics matter a lot, although people don’t like to hear that. The results of twin studies have shown that genes account for about 70 percent of the variation in people’s body weight.
In addition, there's the theory of the set-point weight range, which is the range that your body is essentially happy at. It’s where you might land if you’re living a healthy and happy life (translation: eating nutritiously without restricting yourself and exercising but not overly so). If you try to reduce your weight too far below your set point, your brain,not your willpower or your conscious decisions responds to weight loss with powerful tools to push your weight back up to what it considers normal. Slow, gradual weight loss is the key to altering your set point.
What to Do If you don’t want to gain weight back after losing it, you’re going to have to continue to eat fewer calories, & do it slowly. This means dropping no more than 10 percent of your body weight each six months; for a 160-pound woman, that would be 16 pounds in six months.
