Fat Mass Set Point

You know how we've always been told that weight loss is all about cutting calories and exercising more? Well it’s a bit more complicated than that. 

Our bodies have a setting called a “fat mass set-point”. It's like an in-built body weight manager - a system that regulates how much body fat we carry. Basically, it works to keep our weight stable and adjusts our appetite and metabolism based on our calorie intake. 

Think of it this way - when we suddenly go all out on a diet and quickly drop a few KG’s, our body sees it like we're entering a famine. It freaks out and starts slowing down our metabolism to save energy. Creating a calorie deficit may lead to a temporary weight loss, but it follows with a slowing metabolism and an eventual regaining of the lost weight and more.

The flip side is when we have a high sugar, highly processed diet, these chemically trigger the desire to eat more, leading to too many calories. The fat set point now has to defend a higher calorie load and therefore a higher body fat set point. 

So the point to understand is that either a low or high fat set point both lead to fat storage. The challenge isn't just about eating fewer calories, but more about figuring out how to get this set-point system back on track.

If we're going to lose fat and keep it off, we need a plan that:

• Causes fat loss.
• Does not involve deliberate calorie restriction.
• Maintains long term fat loss
• Is not harmful to overall health.

So, how do we do this? Here are some strategies that can help us get there:

• Focus on Whole, Unprocessed Foods: The most scientifically proven factor of leanness is the extent to which your meals are unprocessed, whole foods and cooked at home. Avoid processed, refined products.
• Practice Hormesis: This is the process where mild or acute (short) stressors increase resistance to other stressors, enhancing overall health and vitality. Hormesis includes practices like intermittent fasting, exercise, exposure to red light, hypoxia, heat, cold, oxygen banking, and nutrient cycling. It can have HUGE effects on major hormones (think growth hormone, insulin, adrenaline, cortisol, leptin, hunger/satiety hormones, testosterone and more).
• Maintain Circadian Rhythm: Your feeding and fasting windows, meal timing, and macronutrient timing during the day can influence your circadian rhythm, impacting your body's biological clock and metabolism.
• Increase Energy Fluctuation: Energy fluctuation is the balance of energy coming into and going out of the body. Maintaining this will aid in successful fat loss because it preserves muscle mass, appetite control and appropriate energy intake. Three ways to do this is exercise, proper food, and NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis - the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating, or sports-like exercise). I personally believe that this is a key that most people are not utilising and there are many ways to do this but maybe for another blog or contact me. 
• Manage Leptin Resistance: In obesity, the brain often loses its sensitivity to leptin, a hormone that regulates hunger and energy use. This resistance can raise your body fat set-point, making it more difficult to lose weight. To counter this, ensure your meals comprise of whole foods.
• Modify Food Reward: Train your brain to get satisfied with healthier food options rather than high-calorie, processed food.

Applying the above is the way you cultivate healthy habits, work with YOUR biology, and understand YOUR true root causes of weight gain. Unfortunately for some, you’ve gotten to the end of this and might be feeling disappointed that there is no hidden secret or trick.

The key is to have a healthy obsession with maintaining these habits and strategies in the long run. Remember, the journey of fat loss is not a one-time diet but a lifestyle change.

These are the foundational principles that are a must to implement. If you have further questions, please contact me. As a qualified therapist, I can guide you to an understanding and considerations regarding your  own biology and factors in your environment.