Changing Views On Losing Weight.

 

Since there is new research on how the metabolism really doesn't slow in the same way we had thought in the past, we have to look at the process of losing weight differently. It has been observed that people often are able to lose weight but they are unable to keep it off and end up gaining most or all of it back. This losing and gaining back has been referred to as the "yo-yo effect". 

In fact, research indicates that about 90 percent of the people who lose weight through dieting, paid programs, or through some sort of gastric surgery end up gaining it all back.  Many scientists believe this happens because of the way our metabolism works. 

When you go on a diet, your metabolism begins dropping since you are consuming fewer calories because your body burns calories at a slower pace but then it changes and you end up gaining the weight. Unfortunately, they don't exactly know the precise process that causes people to regain the weight but there is a new study starting to follow people who are losing weight.  They'll look at everything from energy expenditure, and changes in blood, brain, and muscles psychology in the hopes that they figure out what causes people to regain the lost weight. This study is expected to take three to four years.

The results will give scientists a better idea if the metabolism stays low during the dieting time but as time passes, the diet triggers some sort of inherent biological mechanism that makes us eat more and our weight goes up.  Or is it that we return to previous bad habits, and caving into social and cultural factors that encourage us to eat more.

At this point, scientists claim that if it is a biological mechanism then people have to figure out ways to prevent weight gain in the first place but if it is bad habits or social or cultural factors, it might be better for people to see psychologists to help modify their habits or other factors so they don't give in to these. But how do the results of the latest study in which they've concluded that metabolism is fairly steady from 20 to 60 effect weight loss views?

Well, the current thought arising from the conclusions of this study is that there are other things such as genetics, hormone changes, stress,  sleep and diet effecting weight especially during middle age. It is suggested that a diet of highly processed foods is one of the major culprits responsible for weight gain. In addition, there is more food available to us everyday than we had available evolutionarily and the highly processed food is designed to be over eaten.

Although there are all sorts of articles out there that tell you how to improve your metabolism using different things including exercise, there is evidence that exercise does not improve your metabolism.  Several studies that compare the amount of calories burned by hunters who walk on average 19,000 steps a day and the average American or European and both groups burn the same number of calories.

There is a group of scientists who believe that the body is designed to keep its expenditure of calories within a certain range each day but the body burns the same number of calories each day however, it adjusts how it uses the calories to meet the lifestyle. One other thing is that scientists have yet to discover what is responsible for the individual variations in metabolism.  

The new research produces some interesting new areas for investigation and we are learning more and more how the old thinking needs to change.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.