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Subscribe to RSSIt’s the first week of January and many of us are gearing up to start our home versions of “The Biggest Loser.”
We’ve got it all planned out: the low calorie meals, the hours pounding the treadmill.
But even if we succeed in slimming down to the size of our dreams, we most likely won’t stay that way. Most people don’t, research has shown.
And why would we expect to? Even contestants from the popular TV show have larded on the pounds in the months and years after slimming down.
The reason for all that weight re-gain, a new article in the New York Times magazine depressingly suggests, is that our bodies are at war with our minds and are working overtime to get back to that plump figure we so despise.
NYT health writer Tara Parker-Pope, who admits she struggles with weight herself, traveled around the country visiting research labs trying to learn why she and so many others have been able to shed flab only to put it back on time and time again. What she learned was discouraging: Our bodies change when we lose weight. Hormones that are supposed to promote satiety become scant. Hormones that stoke hunger flare hotter.
So someone who loses weight to get down to 145 pounds, say, doesn’t have the same metabolism or hormonal make-up as someone who has been 145 pounds all their adult life. Very depressing.
As actress Marissa Jaret Winokur, currently on a weight-loss regimen, tells TODAY: “Everything will work for a day or two or a week or you’ll lose your two pounds like you’re supposed to, but then to keep it off -- you can’t live by those rules forever.”
And, even more demoralizing, the changes scientists see in people who’ve lost weight seem to stick around for a long time, meaning that former chubbies may always feel a little hungrier than those who have always been thin. They may always need to exercise a little more, too.
That’s not to say that no one manages to lose weight and keep it off. In fact, there’s a registry of people who have shed at least 30 pounds and stayed slim for at least a year. Interestingly, the average registry member has dropped 70 pounds and kept it off for six years, Parker-Pope reports.
What scientists have learned from people in the registry is that the original diet is just the beginning of a major life change. People who have successfully lost weight and stayed slim never can return to their former “normal.” For the rest of their lives they know they must remain ever vigilant to make sure they keep calories down and exercise up.
That’s a lesson that NBC’s Dr. Nancy Snyderman knows from personal experience.
“I, at one point in my life, was 50 pounds heavier than I am now,” said Snyderman, NBC chief medical editor. “But I didn’t do it by going on a diet. I did it by changing my life. So, yeah, those demons are there. You have to figure out a way to overcome them. You have to be smart. And it is an every-day job.”
The way to beat America’s obesity epidemic is to change the way we live, Snyderman said.
“If you look back a generation, our mothers were not fat,” she added. “Why? Because they had a baby on one hip and a vacuum in the opposite hand. They were moving. They weren’t going to the gym. They were moving. And we have become a nation that thinks you have to be on a treadmill. Or a stair climber. We have to get back to basics in this country.”
And that’s probably the lesson we all need to learn. We can’t think of our new weight loss program as something to be suffered through for the next several months as we wait impatiently to go back to our old hedonistic ways. We have to realize that this new diet and exercise regimen is a change for life.
Sure, we’ll be able to eat a few more calories and exercise a little less once we achieve our ideal weight. But we’ll never be able to go back to the lifestyle that got us fat in the first place.
We probably won’t even be able to eat as much as people who weigh the same as we do. Our bodies have been altered by the weight we’ve gained and our bodies like the pudgy look. Our brains will have to battle against that for the rest of our lives.
Linda Carroll is a regular contributor to msnbc.com and TODAY.com. She is co-author of the new book "The Concussion Crisis: Anatomy of a Silent Epidemic”
Sign up for TODAY diet expert Joy Bauer's 10,000-pound challenge. You'll get daily weight-loss tips, special menus and a chance to win a trip to New York City and a makeover, courtesy of TODAY. You can do it!
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any success in this endeavor is due to the word "Diet" being replaced with the words "Lifestyle change"
I was always a thin person (100 lbs) up until I had kids. Ever since then its been a struggle, I keep gaining weight no matter how much I exercise or watch my diet. I finally went to a doctor who discovered I had low thyroid levels and a pituarity gland problem. Even with meds I still can't lose anything and in fact just gain another 3 pounds, now I'm 180 lbs!. Very, very frustrating :( since my entire family is obese I guess I'm doomed to be that way too.
If the human body fights to keep weight by design, then either nature screwed up big time or we really are not ment to be as thin as society demands .
Yes, some people are more prone to obesity than others, especially those who have been overweight for most of their lives or who have borderline low thyroid function or other medical conditions. Some people have to work harder than others to keep the weight off, even if they consume the same diet. It's a known fact.
That was a depressing read!! I have struggled my whole life up n down and up and now down.. Its a sad fact that no matter what I do.. I will have to be vigilant not like my husband, daughter and son.. who can eat and eat and eat and never have to worry about placing on a pound ... oh well ... need to just suck it up and do what i need every single day. Good luck to those who constantly fight this issue!
I am 5'4" and weighed 140 lbs when I first went to weight watchers because I thought I was "fat." Looking back at pictures I was not fat. I just wasn't a skinny kid anymore. I wish I'd never heard of weight watchers, never heard the word diet, never seen a television set. I got back to 110 lbs and got a lifetime membership to weight watchers. Gained back all of the 30 pounds plus 10 more. Went back a few years later, lost 35 lbs, gained back that 10 more. I've never been able to lose more than about 30-35 lbs at a time even now that I'm much heavier. I figure I've lost at least 150 lbs over the last forty years, always gained back 10 more pounds. Last diet, lost my usual thirty and gained back an extra twenty, and that's when I said, enough already. No more weight loss. I know all that jazz about changing the lifestyle, but I'm between a rock and a hard place now, fibromyalgia, severe degenerative arthritis, and not surprisingly, I was diagnosed diabetic a couple years ago. I'm also slightly hypothyroid.
I wonder where I'd be if I'd never lost that first 30 lbs. I really wonder. I've been on a downhill plunge for for the last fifteen years or so and I've known things were getting serious for quite a while. Knee replacement in 2008, diabetes diagnosis in 2009, other knee replacement coming this summer. Bummer.
I've always figured this life style change stuff was either a crock or was for rich people. Or someone. Just not me. I was too busy working and raising a family to change my lifestyle. But I'm got a prescription to start physical therapy at the hospital in about three weeks for fibromyalgia and arthritis. I've been very careful with carbs since being diagnosed, but I just haven't been able to exercise very much. Everything hurts way too much. Physical therapist says I'll hate them for the first two weeks, then I'll start feeling better and eventually be able to start exercising without them pushing me uphill.
This appears to be promising. I'm living proof that this weight loss thing doesn't work, and we all know this lifestyle change thing is really difficult. But I might make it this time.
I definitely believe it is harder to lose weight when people have health issues and are on meds for them and they are more likely to put on unwanted weight because of it. I was obese my entire life from the moment I learned what pork, rice, and beans were growing up as a kid. I was teased and bullied my entire for being overweight and once I grew up and hit 220 pounds my doctor told me I was heading down the same path as the rest of my family. I had to make an important decision for my health at 18 years old, and that was to either drop some weight or get gastric bypass surgery.. I was freaked out and scared after my doctor told me that my health issues were worsening (high blood pressure, cholesterol, and hormonal problems).. I had no idea how or where to start, I had no moral support, no one to pat me on the back and tell me it was going to be alright and I could do this on my own. I found a cheap personal trainer/ nutritionist who was in the fitness industry and she was very affordable (about $50-$60 a month).. This included prepared meals, diet, and training 3x per week. It was a complete lifestyle change for me and was EXTREMELY difficult. There were so many times I wanted to give up and say "to hell with everyone and everything, i'm gonna go eat what I want." Since I was a stressful eater, loved sweets, and any type of junkfood, my trainer did not make me stop cold turkey.. I was able to consume sugar free drinks such as Crystal Light and Dove Sugar-free dark chocolate to curb cravings. I was working a minimum wage job and still was able to afford her because I did tons of research and asked everyone I could if they knew anyone that could help me. There are also several resources online to help with dieting, such as www.webmd.com and www.sparkpeople.com and are both tools that I used to connect with others who had endured the same struggles as I once did.
It is more of an emotional transition than anything else. It takes ALOT ALOT of Motivation to stay on top of it, stay focused, and determined.. You have to want it so bad that you are willing to do anything to get there. It is a COMPLETE Lifestyle change.. its a huge challenge.. But I am here to say that I have completed it, i've lost over 100lbs. and to keep the weight off, I became a fitness competitor, which helps to keep me on my toes, helps me continue creating goals to work towards, and gives hope and motivation to others who were once in my position. There are many helpful people and tools out there to help, I am living proof that this can be done and hope I have helped give you all some insight on this subject.
If this is true then I must be the exception to the rule. I went from 165 to 125 and I am 5ft 8 inches tall - kept it off for 13 years and I'm 48. My top weight was 183 lbs. I don't starve myself and I've been known to eat bacon cheeseburgers and donuts on occasion. There are two reasons why I think its been easy for me. 1. It was a life style change and NOT a diet - as a matter of fact I could not loose wieght until I stopped focusing on my size. My home is full of healthy food - very little bread products, no dessert and no chips or snack foods. As a rule I do not snack but I do allow myself the occasional treat such as pot luck at work or going to Wendy's once a month. I never eat dessert unless I'm out. I do not find this hard to live this way. 2. I worked to resolve my emotional issues surrounding food which meant facing some hard truths about myself and my life. I think the trick is you have to want to change with all your heart. I have never looked back at my old way of eating. To those that are wondering if I have good genes I have obesity on both sides of my family. My mother struggled with her weight her entire life.