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Iâve been journalingâ"somewhat consistentlyâ"since second grade. While unpacking boxes after a recent move, I found an entry from 1991 (I was 9) that read: âI donât have to always fit into big pants.â
I was that guy. The chubby guy who needed his pants tailored for his Bar Mitzvah because they didnât make suits for young men with a waist so big and height so⦠restricted. Now here I am, still not so tall, but Iâm much more fit and determined to help others overcome the same battles I once fought.
If my story sounds cliché, well, it is. But itâs 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. Iâd go as far as telling people I was allergic to chlorine to keep my t-shirt on in the pool. (Iâll never understand how I thought this explanation would work. Itâs 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 âfour-week plansâ 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.
You can transform your body. Most people just do it the wrong way. Too fast. Too impatient. Too generalized. And too unrealistic.
Itâs the same approach Iâve used to coach hundreds of overweight people to better health and more happiness. But it all starts with believing one simple truth that's starting to feel more like myth than reality: You can transform your body. Most people just do it the wrong way. Too fast. Too impatient. Too generalized. And too unrealistic.
Iâve worked with clients who have lost 100 to 200 pounds. And most of the time, it happens over the course of three to five years, not three to five episodes on a television show. At least, thatâs the case for those who successfully keep the weight off.
This is an especially important point, because some research (and recent media coverage) is twisted to suggest that long-term weight loss is hopeless. While many people do, in fact, regain lost weight, itâs not because dropping fat is âmission impossible.â Instead, it starts with changing your definition of âsuccess,â setting aside instant gratification, and understanding how weight loss actually works.
Weight-Loss Dreams vs. Reality
First, some bad news: All nutritional approaches or diet plans stop âworkingâ at some point. Weight loss stops. You donât see changes, and you believe that either you or the plan are no longer functioning.
The good news: When it appears to stop working, itâs actually still working.
Confused? Stay with me and itâll make more sense.
We know that as you lose weight, your metabolism tends to slow downâ"although itâs not absolute. (This research reviewed 71 studies and didnât find a significant drop in metabolism.) We also know that if youâre patient about it (say, focus on losing one to two pounds per week at most), then youâre more likely to keep it off for good. But most people quit before significant weight loss occurs. It usually looks something like this:
The thing is, steps two and three (stalled progress) are often an important part of the weight-loss process. Dropping one to two pounds per week is considered healthy, but itâs also the average. That means you might lose four pounds one week and zero the next. On those weeks, when the scale doesnât change, itâs not necessarily a sign that your body has reached its weight-loss limit.
To put it another way, your plateau is a normal and necessary part of the process. You must stall in order to move forward (again). And when you understand whyâ"or more importantly, accept this realityâ"it changes everything.
Ready for the Big Weight-Loss Secret?
Your body does not like change. I donât care who you are; itâs very resistant to anything that takes it out of its comfort zone (a.k.a. homeostasis). When that change occursâ"specifically when you try to lose weightâ"your body does everything in its power to get you âback to normal.â This is a process known as set-point theory.
If more people understood that stagnation is an expected and natural part of the weight-loss process, then they wouldnât quit prematurely.
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 wouldnât quit prematurely. Sometimes the scale isnât moving simply because your body is adjusting to change.
Hereâs how it works: We all have a ânormalâ body weight. Whether we like that weight or not is a different story, but this is the weight that weâve come to âacceptâ as our own. We also have a look we desire, whether itâs your college weight, your pre-baby body, or where you were that one time you got super fit a few years ago.
Your mind wants to achieve your goals, but your body wants to cling to whatâs familiar. So when you try to change, physiological reactions occur to suck you back into the body youâve known for so long.
The more weight you lose, the harder your body works to resist that change, or even pull you back to your old weight. It does this by slowing your metabolism (comparatively) and increasing your hunger. Sucks, right?
Itâs not all doom and gloom. If you can hang in there and resist the urge to quit, these changes are temporary and can help ease the permanence of your weight loss.
Set points are not carved in stone. You can undo the process by changing your body and then allowing your body to adjust. This is why plateaus can be so deceiving. Your body is just adapting to its new reality. Once it does, thatâs when youâre ready to take the next jump and see a "whoosh" of new weight loss.
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Everyoneâs set point is a little different, so thereâs not one hard rule for how long you have to wait. The more weight you have to lose (say, more than 50 pounds), the quicker it can happen initially without hitting your set point. But if you want to lose closer to 15 or 20 pounds, you might hit a wall after the first 10. This is why so many magazine cover lines read âHow to Lose the Last 10 Lbs.â They should really say, âHow to Be Patient After You Lose the First 10 Lbs.â But that doesnât sound as sexy.
Once you hit your set point, your body likely needs about four to eight weeks to adjust to your new weight. Then youâll establish a new set point, and your body will respond like thatâs your new normal. It doesnât sound that exciting, but itâs better than you think.
If you go from 200 to 180 pounds or 150 to 130 pounds and wait out the set-point process, your bodyâs drive to move back to the old weight has changed. It becomes much easier to stay at your current weight because your body no longer thinks itâs outside its comfort zone. This is when youâre able to start losing weight again.
Long-term fat loss never occurs in 30 days or anything magical. It's a process. Almost any plan can deliver the quick results. Ignore those. Instead, focus on what you think you can do for six to 12 months. When you do, you wonât be as frustrated when you hit the set point. Instead, youâll be buying timeâ"not buying a new approach (literally)â"until the weight loss starts again.
Adam Bornstein is a New York Times best-selling author and the founder of Born Fitness, a company on a mission to cut through the noise and share what you need to know to live a healthy, happy life. He extends that mission even further as Greatestâs Naked Truth columnist. Learn more on his profile page or follow BornFitness on Facebook.
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