Does Your Body Have a Set Point?
No matter what you do, your body sticks to a certain weight?
Have you ever felt like your body hovers around a certain number on the scale — no matter how much you clean up your diet? Even if you increase your workouts or add in more walking, do you feel it stays the same? I can explain, and it’s not all in your head.
When it comes to weight loss, this is referred to as the set point theory. What this suggests is that your body will fight to maintain a specific weight and body fat, which is really spun by your specific heredity and environment, starting back at the moment of your conception. This determines your set point and that you have little to no control over it. One thing to note, is you're over the long term, calories in surplus more than what you need daily and insufficient exercise will override your body's natural tendency to stay at its set point and lead to a higher, less healthy set point. The point here is to make sure movement is a priority.
I find within my coaching practice this tends to happen to a lot of premenopausal women or women in menopause. They experience a slow, gradual weight gain, (typically I see a 20-pound weight gain over several decades) and what happens is this will fool your body into thinking that your set point should be higher – and this can and will reset your set point. As you slowly gain weight over time, when you try to lose weight, your body then defends that higher weight, making weight loss more difficult.
It’s just as possible to reset your set point to a higher point, it's also just as possible to lower it. The secret is to work with, not against, your body's natural tendencies and lose weight slowly.
So, how do you work with your body? How do you change your set point as you’ve gradually gained the weight?
Learn New Habits!
You want to work on fewer calories in and more calories out. It’s simple math, but most times when we eat, we really don’t pay attention to the number of calories each day. If you did, you would see that even eating 2000 calories per day can add up quite quickly if you are eating high fat or processed foods. If your body is getting the food it needs to function, or in this case just a tiny bit less than it’s used to, it’s going to be more willing to release that extra energy which results in more fat burned.
Move More. This is really simple. I just need you to move. Walk, run, bike, boot camp classes, or paddle board outside while connecting to nature which is my favorite activity right now. It ALL matters – Just MOVE.
Increase your NEAT - Otherwise known as non-exercise activity, thermogenesis. You might be surprised when I say the number of calories you burn during exercise is relatively small compared to the calories, we burn through our daily activities like putting away groceries, taking out the trash, outside gardening, playing with your dog, grandkids or children, laundry, or just tinkering around the house. It’s so interesting how smart our bodies really are. When you are trying to release weight and taking in fewer calories, you tend to subconsciously (here’s the good old subconscious trying to keep you comfortable!) move less as your body wants to conserve energy and maintain the weight. Here is your quick fix to that! You simply add in more NEAT to your life. I also do this by taking the stairs any change I get, working at a stand-up desk, walking around the house while I’m on a phone call instead of sitting, and cleaning up around your house when you have downtime.
Sleep more. Aim to get at least 7-8 hours per night. Honestly, 8 is best.
Stress less. You heard me! Yes, stress less. Stress can do a number on your body and nerves. What do you do to take yourself out of the chronic low-grade level of stress each day? This can be as harmful as eating a diet that is not healthy and full of processed food daily.
When I’m working with weight-loss clients, I typically really focus on releasing the weight as opposed to losing it. There is something psychologically about “losing” that your conditioned past self feels it’s actually “losing” something, and for some that makes them sabotage their weight-loss because who are they without all the weight on? What will happen if you are truly SEEN more without carrying the extra armor? Will this make you uncomfortable with the compliments, or excite you? I’ve had clients within my practice not comfortable after some time with losing the weight even though that was their goal, and end up unconsciously sabotaging their progress because of the attention they gain from it.
I personally like the idea of releasing something that no longer serves me to my highest good. Whenever you lose something, our instinctual nature, as humans, is to find it or want it back. If we want to lose something, or to give something up, then we need to RELEASE it.
When you release something, or voice the intention to release, you are truly letting that thing go on an emotional and mental level. This release for me happens spiritually, much bigger than my eyes can see, but I know I can feel it. Through my very own journey of releasing my eating disorder that definitely did not serve me, I knew losing it wasn’t the answer, but releasing it was right for me because I was once and for all releasing everything holding me back from healing. Adopt the language, and you will soon understand the power behind what you are saying.
One of my favorite workouts:
The way we use our voice can be so powerful, and the words we choose to connect through can manifest and proclaim your life. Think about it, when you have been around someone who speaks poorly about themselves. You might hear things like, “I am so fat… I am so broke… I am a starving artist”. When they speak in this way, even when we are conditioned not to hear the words in a conscious manner, you can see how their reality truly reflects what they say. The individual who calls themselves fat continues to struggle with weight. The individual who calls themselves broke continues to struggle with their money or finances. And, the individual who calls themselves a starving artist continues to live as if their big break will never come. When you say something out loud enough times, you begin to bring that into existence in your life. Words can illuminate and create our world, whether you want to believe it or not, our bodies can feel what we are saying. Put simply, your body can be an internal compass for how words are spoken or feel.
While focusing on releasing the weight, tracking what you eat is a proven strategy for successful weight release. Monitoring your calories can help you see if you’re overeating. I also recommend looking at your macronutrient breakdown. Why? Because most people aren’t getting enough protein. Protein is amazing fuel for your body and really keeps you satiated. As you work on ways to incorporate more protein into your daily food consumption, this will make your body also expend more energy digesting it compared to calories from fat and carbohydrates.
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P.S. Any product you use on a regular basis should be cleaned often (psst: your beauty cabinet will look and feel much nicer when you’re finished, too). So, grab the soap, a little water, and get cleansing. As you clean, be sure to check each period-after-opening (PAO) symbol while you’re at it. Beautycounter products specify the number of months that you can expect them to be safe for use. Look for a tiny period-after-opening (PAO) symbol of an open lid pot with a note like “12M”, which means the product’s lifespan is 12 months from the time you open it if it’s been stored and used properly. You may be due to replace some of your old #betterbeauty—which will make it, well, even better.
