Ep. 53 What is Set Point Weight?

Do you ever feel like no matter how much you diet, cut calories, and workout, your body always seems to go back to a specific “weight”

Maybe you’re like many of my current clients who came to me tired of yo-yo dieting the same 10-30 pounds to no avail. Feeling frustrated and defeated.

Ready to throw in the towel and accept your body as is and give up on your goals?

Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s not your fault and it may be your biology working against you.

That’s what I want to unpack on today’s episode.

What is “Set Point Weight?

Your set point weight is the level of stored fat your body works to maintain by regulating your metabolism and hunger via your hormones, genes, and brain, no matter the number of calories you consume.

This is something I don’t hear many health and fitness experts talking about, and I don’t know why because it’s very important. 

If your body set point weight is set on high, you may spend years stuck in the shame and guilt cycle, wondering what is wrong with you and why you have no “willpower” or “motivation” when in fact, it’s your biology that is working against you.

The only way to burn fat and keep it off is to lower your set point.

This is also known as the “leptin” system.

Leptin is the hormone that tells your brain that you are full and can stop eating.

It secretes your fat cells and helps regulate your body weight.

The word leptin is derived from the Greek word leptos which means thin.

If your leptin is working properly, it’s easy to eat until you are satisfied and not overeat.

If you ever wondered how some people can eat half of their food and then claim to be “stuffed” and not eat anything until their next meal, it’s probably because their Leptin levels are optimized.

Now, you might think that the more leptin you have, the easier it will be to lose weight, but the opposite is true.

Overweight people have too much leptin which leads to leptin resistance.

The brain stops responding to leptin which causes an increase in food intake and leads to gaining even MORE weight. It’s a vicious cycle, really.

Your leptin system functions as a thermostat.

This system stimulates or suppresses your appetite and metabolism in response to how much fat it “thinks” you should store similar to the thermostat responding to the weather outside and regulating the temperature in your home.

When you lose fat, this “lipostat” engages responses that work to increase your energy intake, reduce energy expenditure and regain the lost fat.

This is why it feels like your body fights you every step of the way when you are trying to lose fat- because it does.

If you have an elevated setpoint, your body will fight to hold on to extra fat for its own survival. 

What causes a high set-point?

1. Yo-Yo Dieting

   The more you yo-yo diet, the higher your set point gets because your body adapts to the number of calories you consume and once you go back to eating normally since your metabolism is functioning based on the lower calorie amount, you put on weight much faster. Each time you do this, your set point weight gets higher.

   Studies have shown that people who yo-yo diet burn fewer calories at rest (BMR) than non-starved people who weigh less

   Technically, the more you “weigh” the higher your BMR should be put the opposite happens with yo-yo dieting.

2. Cutting Your Calories Too Low for Too Long

Your body needs fat to survive. When you go on a starvation diet which is basically what you are doing if you’re eating 1200 calories a day, it signals your brain that there’s a crisis and tells your body to burn as few calories as possible and store calories as fat.

This is exactly what happened with most of the participants in the Biggest Loser show. Do you wonder why they never do a biggest loser reunion show? 

That is because most of the participants gain all of their weight back.

Researchers from the national institutes of Health followed 14 former Biggest Loser contestants over the course of six years. The participants had gained back most of the weight they lost on the show and some of them even put on even more weight.

Why?

Because they cut calories so low that it elevated their bodies, set point weight, and basically put their body in starvation mode.

3. Hormonal Imbalances

If your hormones are imbalanced, your body can’t respond to hormones properly and they can’t carry out the proper signals to function in a way that allows your body to burn fat, feel full, decrease cravings and have a faster metabolism.

Hormones become clogged like a clogged sink and until the clog is fixed, the water will always be sitting in the sink and draining slowly.

 The good news is that we can change our setpoint through our diet and lifestyle choices.

How to Lower Your Body’s Set Point Weight

1. Eat a diet that focuses on high-quality foods

   Refined carbs, sugar, and processed foods have been shown to elevate set point weight whereas eating whole, real food has been shown to decrease set point weight.

2. Avoid cutting calories too low

   
   

   When you cut calories too low you trigger your body’s “lipostat” alarm to go off. Since the body always wants homeostasis, it creates a demand for more food and starts burning fewer calories. 

   
   

   Poing being: Cutting calories long-term leads to a slower metabolism and makes you hungrier.

3.  Regulate your hormones

If your hormones are not functioning properly, your body cannot respond to the signals from your hormones and your brain that enable you to burn fat automatically. 

4. Cycle Carbs With Keto

This program will help you lower your body’s set point because you will focus on eating high-quality foods, put your body in an anabolic state during CCD, regulate your hormones and never lower your metabolism by eating too little, which often happens with long term keto. 

Want to regulate your hormones? Get on the waitlist for BSB Tribe HERE where I will show you how to regulate any hormones that are keeping your set point weight high.

Interested in cycling carbs? If you have issues with your adrenals, thyroid, or hit a stall, carb cycling will work for you. Get on the waitlist for my 3-Month Carb Cycling Coaching Program HERE.