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(One of NPR's most emailed stories)
Most
people who lose weight end up gaining it back — and it's not just
a matter of
willpower. In fact, once we begin to shed those first few
pounds, says one
expert, "the biology really kicks in and tries to resist
the weight loss."
If you're among the two-thirds of Americans who are overweight,
chances are you've had people tell you to just ease up on the eating and
use a little self-control. It does, of course, boil down to "calories in,
calories out."
But there's a lot more to it than that, according to obesity specialist
Dr. Donna Ryan,
associate director for clinical research at the Pennington Biomedical
Research Center in Baton Rouge, La.
It's a popular misconception, she says, that losing weight is "strictly a
matter of willpower." It's a gigantic task, she says, because not only do
we move through an incredible buffet of food spread before us every
day, but we also face a battle with our own biological responses.
It starts when we begin to shed those first few pounds. At that point,
"the biology really kicks in and tries to resist the weight loss," she says.
Take 56-year-old Mary Grant, who's faced a lifetime battling fat,
beginning in childhood, when her father humiliated her in front of the
family by publicly weighing her every Saturday morning and insisted
on her trying diet after diet.
In the end, Grant unsuccessfully tried "the grapefruit before every
meal diet, Weight Watchers in the early days, when you had to eat
chicken livers, the hard-boiled eggs and salad diet, the tomato soup
diet, the cabbage soup diet, essentially anything," says Grant, "to get
that weight off me."
But the weight did not "come off." It wasn't until after nursing school
that Grant was successful in dropping 100 pounds after a medically
supervised fast. Dramatic as that success was, it didn't last. Grant
gained much of the weight back. Most people do, according to health
experts.
And here's why:
When you begin to lose pounds, levels of the hormone leptin, which is
produced by fat cells, begin to drop. That sends a message to the brain
that the body's "fat storage" is shrinking. The brain perceives
starvation is on the way and, in response, sends out messages to
conserve energy and preserve calories. So, metabolism drops.
And then other brain signals tell the body it's "hungry," and it sends
out hormones to stimulate the appetite. The combination of lowered
metabolism and stimulated appetite equals a "double whammy," says
Ryan. And that means the person who's lost weight can't consume as
much food as the person who hasn't lost weight.
For example, if you weigh 230 pounds and lose 30 pounds, you cannot
eat as much as an individual who has always weighed 200 pounds. You
basically have a "caloric handicap," says Ryan. And depending on
how much weight people lose, they may face a 300-, 400- or even 500-
calorie a day handicap, meaning you have to consume that many fewer
calories a day in order to maintain your weight loss.
This means no more grapefruit or cabbage soup diets:
You u need a diet you can stay on forever. For most people, that means
high fiber, low fat and low sugar. But you can fight back against a
lowered metabolism. You can "kick" your metabolism back up by
exercising every day. One recent study found people were able to burn
up an extra 450 calories a day with one hour of moderate exercise.
It doesn't have to be vigorous jogging. You can walk briskly, bike or
swim. Health experts recommend 30 minutes of moderate physical
activity a day in order to reduce risk for heart disease. But obesity
experts say if you want to lose or maintain weight, you have to double
that and exercise at least one hour every day.
chances are you've had people tell you to just ease up on the eating and
use a little self-control. It does, of course, boil down to "calories in,
calories out."
But there's a lot more to it than that, according to obesity specialist
Dr. Donna Ryan,
associate director for clinical research at the Pennington Biomedical
Research Center in Baton Rouge, La.
It's a popular misconception, she says, that losing weight is "strictly a
matter of willpower." It's a gigantic task, she says, because not only do
we move through an incredible buffet of food spread before us every
day, but we also face a battle with our own biological responses.
It starts when we begin to shed those first few pounds. At that point,
"the biology really kicks in and tries to resist the weight loss," she says.
Take 56-year-old Mary Grant, who's faced a lifetime battling fat,
beginning in childhood, when her father humiliated her in front of the
family by publicly weighing her every Saturday morning and insisted
on her trying diet after diet.
In the end, Grant unsuccessfully tried "the grapefruit before every
meal diet, Weight Watchers in the early days, when you had to eat
chicken livers, the hard-boiled eggs and salad diet, the tomato soup
diet, the cabbage soup diet, essentially anything," says Grant, "to get
that weight off me."
But the weight did not "come off." It wasn't until after nursing school
that Grant was successful in dropping 100 pounds after a medically
supervised fast. Dramatic as that success was, it didn't last. Grant
gained much of the weight back. Most people do, according to health
experts.
And here's why:
When you begin to lose pounds, levels of the hormone leptin, which is
produced by fat cells, begin to drop. That sends a message to the brain
that the body's "fat storage" is shrinking. The brain perceives
starvation is on the way and, in response, sends out messages to
conserve energy and preserve calories. So, metabolism drops.
And then other brain signals tell the body it's "hungry," and it sends
out hormones to stimulate the appetite. The combination of lowered
metabolism and stimulated appetite equals a "double whammy," says
Ryan. And that means the person who's lost weight can't consume as
much food as the person who hasn't lost weight.
For example, if you weigh 230 pounds and lose 30 pounds, you cannot
eat as much as an individual who has always weighed 200 pounds. You
basically have a "caloric handicap," says Ryan. And depending on
how much weight people lose, they may face a 300-, 400- or even 500-
calorie a day handicap, meaning you have to consume that many fewer
calories a day in order to maintain your weight loss.
This means no more grapefruit or cabbage soup diets:
You u need a diet you can stay on forever. For most people, that means
high fiber, low fat and low sugar. But you can fight back against a
lowered metabolism. You can "kick" your metabolism back up by
exercising every day. One recent study found people were able to burn
up an extra 450 calories a day with one hour of moderate exercise.
It doesn't have to be vigorous jogging. You can walk briskly, bike or
swim. Health experts recommend 30 minutes of moderate physical
activity a day in order to reduce risk for heart disease. But obesity
experts say if you want to lose or maintain weight, you have to double
that and exercise at least one hour every day.
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