Is Your Body Programmed To Be A Certain Weight?

Is there any truth to the idea that your body weight has a "set point" it likes to function at? We asked a doctor to weigh in.

Dr Roshini Raj states that the set point theory is the idea that the body has a preprogrammed weight that it likes to be at to function efficiently. And there is scientific evidence that suggests there is some truth to this; the body uses a variety of metabolic and hormonal mechanisms—like slowing down metabolism when you cut your calorie intake, for instance—to maintain its weight when you try to slim down.

Related: Weight Loss Secret - No One Talks About Part 2

So does this mean that trying to lose weight below your “set point” is futile, since your body will try to fight it and always win? No, weight management is more complicated than that. Many parameters control weight, including genetics, but so do external factors, like stress and your eating behaviors. 

Plenty of people slim down and settle at a lower weight permanently—but you should follow a safe, gradual weightloss plan so that your body can adapt over time. (Plus, you’ll be more likely to keep the pounds off in the long term if you take on sustainable healthy eating habits.) Crash dieting (like restricting your calories too intensely) can cause your body to try to hold on to fat so it stays at its happy weight—don’t try it.

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Weight Loss Secret - No One Talks about Part 2 of 2

Ready for the Big Weight-Loss Secret? 

Your body does not like change. I don’t care who you are; it’s very resistant to anything that takes it out of its comfort zone (a.k.a. homeostasis). When that change occurs—specifically when you try to lose weight—your body does everything in its power to get you “back to normal.” This is a process known as set-point theory.

If you ask me, set-point theory is the reason why so many people fail on long-term weight-loss goals. If more people understood that stagnation is an expected and natural part of the process, then they wouldn’t quit prematurely. Sometimes the scale isn’t moving simply because your body is adjusting to change.

Here’s how it works: We all have a “normal” body weight. Whether we like that weight or not is a different story, but this is the weight that we’ve come to “accept” as our own. We also have a look we desire, whether it’s your college weight, your pre-baby body, or where you were that one time you got super fit a few years ago.

Weight Loss Secret - No One Talks about Part 1 of 2

I’ve been journaling—somewhat consistently—since second grade. While unpacking boxes after a recent move, I found an entry from 1991 (I was 9) that read: “I don’t have to always fit into big pants.”

I was that guy. The chubby guy who needed his pants tailored for his Bar Mitzvah because they didn’t make suits for young men with a waist so big and height so… restricted. Now here I am, still not so tall, but I’m much more fit and determined to help others overcome the same battles I once fought.

If my story sounds cliché, well, it is. But it’s not too good to be true. The part missing from the fast-forwarded version is that I struggled with weight loss and body image for years. I’d go as far as telling people I was allergic to chlorine to keep my t-shirt on in the pool. (I’ll never understand how I thought this explanation would work. It’s not like the shirt protected my skin from the water, but I digress… )

My ultimate success was a byproduct of many (many) failures and learning how to overcome times of despair and lost hope. I shifted away from gimmick diets and “four-week plans” and focused on blocking out my negative thoughts and becoming happier with who I was. Once that happened, I could finally focus on building a realistic weight-loss plan for my body.