What is Body Weight Set Point & How Do You Change It?
Why weight loss can be so hard and what to do about it
When losing weight there are lots of things you need to consider
From your daily calorie and macro intake to the type of cardio you do and of course your strength training. Yet, even when you get it all right, it can still feel like you can never quite lose the weight you want.
Somehow you always end up back where you started.
Swinging back and forth between a set weight range as if on some cruel weight loss pendulum, shedding the pounds only to gain it all back again.
Square one anybody?
Sure, part of this is down to the methods you’re using to lose weight, if you’re binge eating because you’re following a restrictive diet then you’re effectively force-feeding yourself mediocre results and crappy fat loss.
However, even if you’re not doing that, a lot of this back and forth has to do with something call body weight set point theory.
It’s this that often keeps you at a pre-set weight range despite your efforts to change.
Thankfully, this can be changed. Which means even if you’re struggling to get the results you want right now, it doesn’t mean you won’t ever get there.
You simply need to know what you to do.
What is Body Weight Set Point?
Bodyweight set point theory states that your body has a natural weight ‘set point’ that it will try to defend.
This prevents you from creating and then sustaining weight loss and is often one of the biggest barriers to successful fat loss. (1, 2)
Think about it…
How many times have you lost weight only to end up back where you started?
This is your set point at work and every time you lose weight it’s working against you by:
- Increasing hunger and reducing fullness from meals (3)
- Decreasing the amount of spontaneous activity that you perform
- Reducing your resting metabolic rate so you burn fewer calories
Without realising it, you’re having to work against these invisible forces that are constantly trying to undo the hard work you’re putting in.
By eating in a calorie deficit, you create a chain reaction of processes which work against your fat loss goals.
#1: Hunger increases
Key players in this response are the hormones Leptin and Ghrelin:
- Leptin is the hormone responsible for making you feel full (4)
- Ghrelin is the hormone responsible for making you feel hungry
In a healthy person eating around their maintenance calories, these two hormones work to maintain your weight.
However, when you begin eating in a calorie deficit and losing weight your body responds by decreasing its production of Leptin. (5)
As a result, hunger goes up and satiety after meals goes down.
#2: Activity reduces
Couple this with the fact that eating in a calorie deficit reduces the amount of NEAT energy you expend, and it gets harder.
Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is everything you do that isn’t planned exercise, sports, sleeping or eating. It essentially means you do less of all the little things you might normally do when not losing fat.
For most people 2 of the biggest changes are:
- Walking less, opting for escalators and elevators instead of stairs
- Fidgeting less, your body reduces activity to conserve energy
Although it doesn’t seem like much, this reduction in NEAT means you burn fewer calories can eat less food and fat loss gets more difficult.
#3: Metabolism decreases
As if this wasn’t enough, there is also something else at play here.
On top of the increase in hunger and the reduction in activity (NEAT) that happens when you lose fat, another force is at work.
It’s called adaptive thermogenesis and it’s the at the heart of your body’s attempt to maintain its set point.
Adaptive thermogenesis is “the decrease in energy expenditure (EE) beyond what could be predicted from the changes in fat mass or fat-free mass under conditions of standardized physical activity in response to a decrease in energy intake.” (6)
This basically means that as you diet your daily energy expenditure will decrease over time, often by a large amount, making your calorie deficit smaller and smaller to the point you’re no longer in a calorie deficit at all.
On top of this, the greater the size and duration of your deficit the higher this reduction in metabolic rate will be. (7)
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I think you’ll agree this can be a lot to contend with when losing fat, particularly if you don’t expect it or know about it.
However, this situation is usually made harder to manage when you use a restrictive diet in an attempt to reach your goal.
The Effect of Restrictive Dieting on Weight Change
Tell me, does this sound familiar?
To lose fat, you cut out everything you like but think is bad for you:
- Biscuit
- Chocolate
- Alcohol
- Crisps
- Sweets
- Popcorn
The list goes on.
You might even go as far as saying, “no carbs” too even though they’re beneficial for strength training which is important for gym performance and the maintenance and/or growth of muscle mass, both of which play a role in changing your set point.
Whatever you decide to cut out the point is that following a restrictive diet is not the way to go and only makes things harder.
Which means every day millions of people, yourself included are eating diets they hate and cannot stick to.
Sure, in the first couple of weeks, or even months (if you can last that long) you lose some weight.
Things go appear to be working well…so well that you don’t yet see that this ‘all or nothing’ mindset is so completely counterproductive.
When dieting never seems to work it can appear logical to think that having tighter control over what you eat will bring you better results.
It seems normal, encouraged even, to cut out the foods that ‘everyone’ says are the worst for you.
Yet the more you try and regain control of your diet the less control you have and by restricting yourself you end up fighting a losing battle.
Soon your cravings go through the roof and all you think about is eating the exact foods you’ve told yourself are off-limits. (8)
Why Restrictive Dieting Leads to Binge Eating
Unsurprisingly maintaining your restrictive diet becomes too difficult to bear and all caution is thrown to the wind as you unceremoniously stuff your face with everything you’ve been telling yourself you can’t have.
Cue overeating, weight gain and the feelings of guilt from having failed on your diet. Any results you got are short-lived and soon you begin sliding back. (9)
In your frustration, you think you just need to diet harder and train more.
So, you reduce your calories further, which only increases the effects of adaptive thermogenesis and sends hunger through the roof, again.
Then you increase your exercise, usually cardio, which creates a larger and wholly unsustainable calorie deficit.
This only worsens all side effects of weight loss and puts you at risk of eating a very low-calorie diet (less than 800 calories per day) and the consequences that it brings:
- Mood swings and irritability (10)
- Nutrient deficiencies and constipation (11)
- Increased hunger and cravings (12)
- Slower metabolism
- Fatigue
- Muscle loss
- Poor sleep quality (13)
You’re digging yourself a deeper hole.
When it’s all said and done you either find yourself in a cycle of limited weight loss and binge eating, only to overreact and correct course, before quitting, only to try all over again.
The Ugly Truth About Dieting
Most people will never achieve their ideal body and will never know what it feels like to be 100% comfortable in their own skin.
In fact, most people who lose weight, fail to keep it off in the long run. (14)
Worse yet, is a large percentage of people will actually gain back more weight than they lost, making them heavier than when they first started.
It’s all because everything that makes fat loss harder also makes weight gain easier; (15, 16)
- You burn fewer calories
- You’re hungrier
- You’re less active
It’s not really any surprise that you find it difficult to maintain weight loss and change your body weight set point.
So, let’s look at how you can change it.
How to Change Your Set Point
Changing your body weight set point is possible if you apply yourself.
It’s not quick and won’t always be easy, but it is achievable.
However, you also have to realise that this isn’t an overnight process and in the same way, you don’t become overweight in a day, week or month, you won’t lose all the weight you want that quickly either.
Changing your set point is a slow and steady process, that offers outstanding results if you can stay the course.
To do it there are 3 things you need to do:
Step #1: Set & Achieve Your Ideal Weight
The first step is to lose fat and get to your goal weight. Your goal weight is the weight that you want to make your new set point.
This may change over time and that’s ok but your first step in this process is to reduce your body weight.
This is best achieved through calorie restriction, regular strength training and the strategic use of cardio.
Step #2: Build Some Muscle
When it comes to maintaining your new set point muscle is key.
This is because muscle is metabolically active which means it increases your basal metabolic rate (the number of calories your burn at rest) and the total number of calories your burn per day. (17)
The more calories you burn per day, the more you can eat without gaining weight.
In addition to this, research shows that the more muscle you have the less fat you gain in response to overeating which means you have more leeway on the occasion you do overeat (it’ll happen, we’re all human right). (18)
Step #3: Maintain Your New Weight
The longer you can maintain your new weight, the easier it becomes to stay there.
Doing this successfully comes down to calorie management, using a diet that works for you and regular strength training.
If you can do these things and successfully maintain your new weight, you’ll be able to change your body weight set point.
Takeaway Point
Your body has a natural weight ‘set point’ that it will try to defend when you lose weight.
By eating in a calorie deficit, you create a chain reaction of processes which work against your fat loss goals.
- Increasing hunger and reducing fullness from meals (3)
- Decreasing the amount of spontaneous activity that you perform
- Reducing your resting metabolic rate so you burn fewer calories
Without realising it, you’re having to work against these invisible forces that are constantly trying to undo the hard work you’re putting in.
This can prevent you from sustaining weight loss a calorie deficit over time and is often one of the biggest barriers to successful fat loss. (1, 2)
However, you can change your body weight set point by doing 3 things:
- First you need to achieve your ideal goal weight
- Then you need to build some muscle
- Finally, you need to maintain your new weight
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