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| Your Body's Set Point
Set point is the weight range in which your
body is programmed to weigh and will fight to maintain that weight. Everyone has a set point and just like you
have no control over how tall you will be, or what color your eyes and
hair will be, you also have no control over what your set point will be.
Your body is biologically and genetically determined to weigh within a
certain weight range. Set points vary for each individual person.
That is why it's not a good idea to go by the weight charts that you see
in medical books or hanging in your doctor's office. For instance, a woman
at a height of 5'5" with a small frame may have a set point range
between 120-130 lbs, but another woman with the same frame may have a set
point range between 130-140 lbs. Their set points may be different, but
that is the weight range where their bodies will fight to maintain. Everyone that has ever tried dieting knows
just how hard it is to lose weight and keep it off. In the first few weeks
of dieting, weight is usually lost, but almost always gained back. Usually
this is water weight. Many
people become frustrated because after a few weeks of dieting, they
usually stop losing weight or start gaining it back, even though they are
still restricting their food intake. They reach a plateau. That is a sign that the body is
trying to fight to retain it's natural weight. When you go below your body's natural set
point, your metabolism will react and start to slow down to try and
conserve energy. Your body will start to sense it's in a state of
semi-starvation and will try to use the few calories it receives more
effectively. You may start to sleep more, your body temperature will drop,
which is why you hear so many anorexics complaining of being so cold, and
after too much weight loss many women experience the loss of their
menstrual cycle. Basically their reproductive system shuts down because
their bodies probably could not handle a pregnancy. Many people that are
dieting also experience uncontrollable urges to binge. That is because
your body is telling you that it needs more food than you are providing it
to function properly. Just as your metabolism will slow down when
you go under your body's set point, it will also increase if you go above
it. The body will try to fight against the weight gain by increasing the
metabolism and raising the body's temperature to try and burn off the
unwanted calories. There is no test available to tell you what
your body's natural set point is. The best way to determine what it is, is
by eating normally and exercising moderately. If you have been dieting for
years, it can take up to a year of normal eating for your body's
metabolism to function properly and return you to the weight range that is
healthy for you. Learning to accept the fact that your body needs to be at a certain weight is a good way to stop the vicious cycles of dieting. The more you try to go below your body's set point range, the harder your body will fight to retain it's natural weight. Engaging in a healthy eating and exercise routine, will allow your body to go to the weight it wants and needs to be at. Learning to love and accept who you are, will help you to accept your body's natural set point. It is unfortunate that we live in a society that is obsessed with thinness, but we have to stop believing that thinness equals happiness. What everyone needs to do is stop judging people by how they look. If we can all accept each other for who we are, no matter what size we are, people will be much happier. |