Body trying to revert back to 'fat' state?!

4.5k rep

MemberDuluth, MN

Hello all!

I've been reading up lately on studies that show that once you've been 'fat' your body will always try to go back to being fat, even if you have lost the weight and kept it off. I am wondering what people think of that, and how you cope, as I've been feeling like I struggle with this quite a bit lately. Here is a bit of a timeline for me:

-Most of my adult life I have been overweight, hitting 200 pounds at 16 and staying around 205-215 from ages 16-22
-At 22 in 2009 I managed to lose about 30 pounds
-In 2010 I lost another 15, getting down to 170
-2011 to now it is a constant struggle to maintain my weight but I have managed to keep it around 175-180
-I feel that for my height and build (I am a 5'9" female and wear a size 10-12) my 'ideal' weight would be around 155-160 and I would like to lose a bit more.

I'm 25 now, and find that this struggle is getting more difficult. I feel like I am ALWAYS hungry. Always. And though I do my part to eat as healthy as I can, I am always craving fatty/sugary/all-around junk food. I don't keep junk food in my home as I'd go out of control (so no pop, chips, ice cream, etc.) but I work with people who are constantly ordering take-out and/or bringing in food to share. It's easy enough to restrict myself at home, but when a co-worker is trying to feed me cookies it is really difficult to say no, much less stop at just one.

Anyway, what do you think about this whole theory that the body is programmed to make me be fat again? Do you believe it? Either way, how do I cope with these feelings? I am far more fixated on food now than I ever was as when I was heavier.

I'm totally fine with not losing more weight, much as I'd like to, but at the same time I REALLY don't want to gain it back. I know I've come a long way and managed to maintain it this long, which is good, but I could use some advice about how to continue to maintain my weight and control my appetite.

Besides, I donated all those 'fat' clothes about two years ago, it would be expensive to have to buy new ones in that size again!!!

31k rep

MemberPort Washington, WI

My mom mentioned that she heard this theory being discussed on the radio. That people who have a history of having been overweight have to be extremely vigilent and generally don't need (can't handle) as many calories as those who haven't been overweight. I don't know that I believe it. Maybe it's true for some people. It hasn't been a horrible struggle for me to get down to my goal, and I did reach that goal fairly recently, but I don't really crave that stuff any more. I have it once in a blue moon and I feel that if I keep up with that and hitting my exercise goals weekly I should be able to hold where I am. I do think that at least in my case it's a matter of making the right choices daily. So, yeah, I guess overall I don't believe it.

2.7k rep

MemberFloyds Knobs, IN

My doctor told me this on Thursday when I saw him. He said not only do you have to eat less calories to maintain your current weight and to lose weight than most people, you also don't burn as many calories when exercising as the average person. Your body is fighting you the whole way. My experience shows this to be correct for me. The science says to maintain my weight, I could eat 2400 calories a day. I will gain weight at 1800 calories, at 1500-1600 I maintain and it takes less than 1500 for me to lose weight.

327 rep

Although I have never heard of this theory, I'm inclined to believe it. I used to be extremely overweight (200 lbs from ages 12-15). Currently, an entire decade later, I struggle to maintain the weight lost every single day. Throughout my time trying to lose weight in high school, I played sports daily and was incredibly active. During college, I stopped playing sports and gained back 30 lbs in a single semester. The effort it took to take all of that weight back off was more than a trainer told me should be necessary.

I'm in agreement with rhea: I eat 30% LESS calories in a day than recommended by a professional health trainer in order to simply maintain my weight. When I attempt to LOSE it, I must reduce that to 40% less than recommended. It can be a very tricky thing to do, just making sure that you're still very healthy about it--you don't want to deprive yourself of essential nutrients and end up passing out while at the gym or afterwards.

In general, I find it much harder to stay within my weight limit, especially when those co-workers eat all that nasty, greasy take-out and junk food. It takes daily determination and the will power when in the gym. It is very difficult but VERY worth the results.

To be able to make healthier choices and, better yet, to be comfortable with yourself is priceless.

49k rep

MemberSmyrna, TN

The theory is related to how long you were overweight. People who were overweight as children, or teenagers are reported to have a more difficult time losing and maintaining weight loss, than those who gained weight later in life, and for a shorter period of time.

That is why, although I am following the fit2fat2fit guy, his experiment of being "fat" for 6 months isn't really going to give him the picture he thinks it is. There will be some things he may understand better about his clients struggles, but there will be a lot he won't.

I am not sure I believe wholeheartedly the theory espoused in the NY Times article (where I read it)-- or maybe I am afraid to-- having been heavy since shortly after I was two years old until last year, and having lost 115# thusfar.

Here are some things I do know, from my own experience: my ideal weight doesn't jive with the charts and the BMI-- I have more lean muscle mass than it says I should have mass!; that I can kill myself to get to a specific number, but I am only gonna visit it-- kinda like my paycheck visits my bank account-- the rest of the time, I am going to be about 15# over that; and the most important thing * no one knows what you weigh as you walk down the street or live your life except you and MAYBE your doctor.*

The article suggests a formerly overweight person needs to stay about 3-500 calories below the "recommended daily calories" to maintain weight loss. That seems to be the case, at least anectodally.

31k rep

MemberPort Washington, WI

That makes sense Vicki- And then in that case you wonder if it isn't a genetic thing too, someone who was overweight as a child more than likely had overweight parents or parent.

I was not overweight as a child or teenager, I was actually quite thin. I yo-yo'ed quite a bit in my 20s. And I do believe that I will probably always struggle to maintain my ideal, but I find that I probably actually need more calories than than is generally recommended for me to maintain my weight, or I just keep losing/shrinking.

Does anyone know if this article showed up in a peer reviewed journal?

2.9k rep

MemberPlainville, MA

I think this can be the case if you went on a traditional diet where you eat very low calories and lose weight fairly quickly. The problem is the you can't continue to live like this and your metabolism will slow down. It's even worse if you don't do any strength training because you will lose muscle along with fat and this means your body will need fewer calories to just get through your day.

If however you made a lifestyle change where you decreased your calorie intake a little and increased your activity and lost weight slowly, you will have a better chance of keeping it off.

The problem with that study is that they only looked at people that did the extreme dieting, not the ones that made small but meaningful changes.

49k rep

MemberSmyrna, TN

Okay Sarah, I tried, but can't seem to cut and paste the URL. Someone, if you go out to http://www.nytimes.com and search fat trap in the box on the upper left, it will take you to the NY Times Magazine article about it-- and the plethora of ill tempered comments. Again, I hope against hope they are wrong (it wasn't a large study) and I can understand the frustration of the other readers.

Sorry to make you dig a little, but forgive please.

17k rep

MemberMadison, AL

I haven't read the article, but this sounds like a classic "chicken & egg" scenario. Being formerly overweight doesn't make it harder to be slimmer. It was always been harder to be slimmer. The difference is you're trying now. The simple fact is we're not all the same. Quite literally every "body" is different. They have discovered a so called "fat gene" (which is common among the Amish strangely enough) that basically makes your body more susceptible to fat storage.

I'm not putting a negative light on any of this, btw. It's just the way things are, and it's something you just have to deal with. My sister and I are the only two people in our entire family not overweight. We both used to be overweight. We managed to drop most of it, but we'll balloon in a snap.

31k rep

MemberPort Washington, WI

I did go in and read that article- I also looked at the original in the New England Journal of Medicine. Like Vicki says- the study was very small, it was based on 50 people. And like someone else mentioned, it was based on an extreme deprivation diet. They admit themselves that it needs to be replicated, which it hasn't. Until they replicate it and do it with a larger number of people, and maybe have some better controls, it looks like pseudo-science at this point.

Like Chris said- every body is different. Yeah, I know darn well that if I just started eating whatever I felt like (even with portion control) and slacked off on my weight training and cardio, I would gain it all, and then some right back. I think it requires daily vigilance and like someone else said- you have to make lifestyle changes that stick for good vs. doing a crash diet (which the 50 people in this study did do.), I mean you can't tell me that such extreme calorie restriction doesn't mess with your bodies chemistry. Even if you do tend to gain it back, if you are monitoring your weight and you notice your pants getting tighter, you start tracking and cutting, not going to the store and buying the next size up and saying you'll deal with it next week.

I think that making a big deal out of these articles (like putting it in the NY times) does people a big disservice, its like saying- yep, you are fat and you always will be so don't bother trying to be healthy. I really hope people don't take it that way.