Did you ever lose weight and before you knew it, the weight came right back? That is because your body is under homeostasis. It has a preferred weight where it would like to stay. If you want to change your weight for good, you will need to change your set point weight.
Your set point weight isn’t fixed forever. Take charge! You can change it!
What is a Set Point Weight?
The set point theory states that each person has a pre set weight baseline which is often set by genetics. Each person’s body weight is relatively stable. Many fear that there is little they can do to change it. The theory states that some people have a higher weight set point than others and each body fights to stay within these ranges.
Despite this theory, you get can override it. In the long term, the amount of food you eat and the exercise you get, will determine your weight set point.
Six Proven Methods How to Reset Your Weight Set Point
You can change the weight set point. You need to establish a goal or reason firmly in your mind. Write that goal down on paper and look at it often. Make it your personal mission statement.
It makes it easier to commit to lifestyle changes when you have a definite goal in mind. The changes you make, you will live with the rest of your life. By making small, consistent changes in your life, you will see lasting results.
Research has shown that losing no more than 5-10% of your body weight at a time is a smart approach to reset your set point weight.
1-Change Your Set Point Weight with a Healthy Diet
One of the first places everyone seems to go when wanting to lose weight is diet. Your metabolism is the internal process of your body expending energy and burning calories.
Those with a fast metabolism can eat what they want and never seem to gain a pound. Those with slow metabolisms find it hard to lose those extra pounds that creep up over time.
Is it Possible to Change Your Metabolism?
You may wonder what is a set point weight. Simply speaking, it is the weight your body is most comfortable maintaining. There are people who have changed their weight by a considerable amount of weight and kept it that way. They did this by changing their set point weight.
You can manipulate your metabolism over time. It is often the small changes that you make that help you burn more calories. Start with a healthy diet. It is like putting good fuel in your engine (body) and allows it to work more efficiently.
Protein is a Good Place to Start
It takes longer for your body to burn protein and absorb it. Adequate protein provides satiety and balances your blood sugar. That alone should help you curb your appetite for unhealthy snacks.
Protein does not have to only include meat. Combining rice and beans make a complete protein as well. Tofu, lentils, nuts, cheese, and eggs are also good sources of protein.
Fiber
Fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole grains are full of fiber and help keep you satisfied for longer periods of time. The amount of fructose in most whole fruit is low and the added fiber which it has slows down your digestion, increasing your satiety.
Fruit and vegetables are not only tasty, but also packed full of vitamins, minerals, and anti oxidants. When you eat high-quality food, you subconsciously eat fewer calories. This results in a calorie deficit. Your body doesn’t fight against weight loss when you are not hungry. Your cells are flooded with nutrients, and your blood sugar levels are stable.
Change Your Set Point Weight by Eating:
- Non-starchy vegetables – eat your greens!
- Protein
- Low-fructose fruit like blueberries, oranges, cherries, and peaches. Avoid fruit juices, give preference to whole food which includes fiber.
- Whole fat foods like coconut, almonds, and flax seeds
However:
Eating more calories than you need is like over-filling your gas tank. Once the gas tank is full, there is no more place for the gas to go, so it spills out of the tank. Just so, too many calories spill into your fat cells when you eat more than your body needs. Use portion control.
2-Regular Exercise
Add Activity to Your Life
Your body was meant to move. Exercise, and particularly strength training is a good way to help you change your set point weight.
Increase Your – Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis – NEAT
There are two types of exercise: planned exercise and spontaneous exercise. NEAT falls into the category of spontaneous exercise.
Your metabolism is always working to burn calories. Simply standing is one form of NEAT exercise that can help increase your daily calorie expenditure. Adding extra steps to your day, can increase NEAT. Carrying in one grocery bag at a time will make more trips to the car and will increase your total daily steps taken.
Clean the house, wash the dishes. Play with your children. Even fidgeting is a form of spontaneous exercise. Use NEAT to your advantage.
3-Stay Accountable
By holding yourself accountable, you take ownership for yourself and the consequences of your own actions. You work daily to accomplish your goals.
Have a Buddy System
Be honest with yourself and your buddy. Set goals and reward your arrival at each goal. Sometimes just a pat on the back will do.
Being accountable keeps you focused and motivated to get results. To lose weight, you must keep your eye on the goal and expect that it is attainable. Create a goal on your calendar. Have an accountability buddy or two.
Track Your Progress
Some people use a journal or post their progress on Facebook. Some people use a fitness tracker. Make a game out of it with prizes or rewards of non-food items. Record your weight to track your progress. Expect it may be slow and have some ups and downs. Just aim for more wins as you watch the scale go down.
Fluctuations are normal. Record your progress. Some weeks it will not change. Weight can creep up over time. As you remember what is a set point weight and why you want to change yours, it will help when you track your weight so you can make immediate corrections if it fluctuates in the wrong direction.
The Biggest thing that is on your side is your determination and steadfastness to a healthier lifestyle.
4-Get Enough Sleep.
Less than 7-8 hours per night increases ghrelin (hunger hormone) Ghrelin also controls many other activities and functions of the body. Two hormones, ghrelin and leptin are affected by our sleep. Ghrelin stimulates appetite and leptin decreases our appetite.
There is also another hormone at work when you do not get enough sleep that makes you hungry for things like chips, cookies, and candy. Sleep deprivation can result in a feeling of constant hunger and a sluggish metabolism. Eating three meals a day will help keep the ghrelin and leptin levels stable.
Stress can be a factor
Chronic stress leads to overeating and poor food choices. When you experience stressful situations in life, your ghrelin levels become elevated. Elevated ghrelin during stress may be your body’s way of trying to help you cope. If you can find ways to reduce the stress it may keep ghrelin levels balanced.
5-Reward Small Victories
Do something kind for yourself to make you appreciate all the hard work you have done. Celebrate each victory. Go for the 80/20 rule. By carefully eating 80 percent of the time, allow for the occasional cheat day. This will help you cut down on your cravings.
Be incredibly careful with your diet at the beginning of the week and allow some slack on one day during the weekend. Expect to lose weight slowly, 1/2 to 1 pound a week. It probably went on slowly. If you take it off slowly your body’s set point weight will be re-set. Lose 5 to 10% of your body weight at a time for lasting results.
Create mini goals. Plan to stay at that weight for a short while and see if you can maintain it. If your weight goes up, find out why. Increase your activity level or see if you are being true to your personal mission statement.
6-Change Your Gut
I will briefly touch on this.
Probiotics – The brain, digestive system, and hormones communicate with each other through a continuous feedback to synchronize their activities. This maintains a specified level of body fat known as set point weight. Some feel that probiotics encourage good gut health and helps with weight control.
Fasting or Intermittent Fasting – By giving your body a break of 16 hours, or what ever amount of time has been designated, it gives the body time to heal itself and reset.
Bariatric surgery – While not the ideal way to go, having surgery to change your digestive track will definitely change your set point weight.
In Conclusion
Changing the weight set point will take some diligence on your part. Six ways to change your set point weight include a healthy diet, regular exercise, and a proper amount of sleep. Rewarding small victories, and for some, changing your gut. These things can help you change your set point weight.
Research has shown that losing no more than 5-10% of your body weight at a time, is a smart approach to long-term maintenance as you change your set point weight.
Please Leave a Comment
I would love to hear from you. There are those who have made great strides in becoming a healthier, happier person. Are you one of them? Can you offer insight into how you changed your set point weight?
Disclaimer: If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional. No content on this site should be substituted for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified healthcare practitioner. The information contained here is for informational purposes only. It is from my research and personal experience.
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Thank you for your post. It is useful for me. I started my online business for a while now and sit in the front of my computer daily for a long time. My belly fat get bigger and bigger. I think about how to reduce my belly fat, but never take time to do the research.
Here comes your article, which provides useful information to reduce my belly fat. I like the idea of changing your set point weight. I do believe that each person has a pre-set weight baseline defined by genetics. However, it is possible to change it by changing your life style, such as modifying the food you eat and enhancing exercises. The six methods you described are certainly the way the go.
Hi Anthony, Thanks for stopping by with a comment!
Sitting in front of a computer is a challenge for the waistline, I know. It takes a combination of things, but most of all determination to change that weight set point.
Diet and exercise are part of the equation. For me, I found that increasing my activity level helps achieve a ‘thin’ mentality. By using Intermittent Fasting (IF) I have lost a considerable amount of weight. My chief goal is to be able to keep it off by changing my weight set point. I believe losing slowly, 5-10% of your body weight at a time has also been the key for me.
All the best! Keep pounding those computer keys, and keep your waistline slim, as well!
Carolyn
Thanks for a very enlightening article on how the body handles weight. I suspected that we had a set point but didn’t know how that occurred.
When I was in my early 20’s my set point weight was 128 lbs. That rose to 135 lb in my late 20’s. Then in my 30’s it went up to 148 lbs. In my 40’s I remember it being in the 152 lbs area then it slowly crept up to 155 lbs where is stayed fixed for 15 years. Near retirement age it rose to the low 160’s, After retirement it went to the hogh 160’s. And now it is dangerously close to 180 Ib.
I would love to loose 25 Ibs and return to 155 Ibs. Your article explained it so clearly the steps needed to achieve that goal. In many ways these steps are like those in the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Instead if creating wealth goals through changing ones habits, those same lessons can be used to change habits to loose weight. In fact, may of the terms you used were similar. That book was published in 1937.
I wish you much success in your online business.
Cheers.
Edwin
Hi Edwin, Thanks for stopping by with a comment! I have heard of the book Think and Grow Rich, now I would like to see if I can find it at the local library.
As far as our set point weigh creeping up on us. We often are not as active as we age. As a teenager, I was quite active. As I aged, my weight went up. My doctor suggested that I lose 20 pounds a year. Another goal to strive for is 5 to 10% of your body weight as a weight loss goal. Then maintain it for a while. Then strive for another 5 to 10% of your body weight.
I am a firm believer in losing weight slowly to change your set point weight. I have done that and have lost a considerable amount of weight over time. That way it becomes a lifestyle change. Not a yo-yo diet.
I am not sure what set point weight really is. But, having read your post, I couldn’t agree more about the importance of eating healthy, getting exercise for the body and getting enough sleep. In fact, that is what I strive to do every day in order to keep my weight under control and stay in shape. I hope that others will take inspiration from reading this post and take action for themselves.
Hi Michael, and thanks for stopping by with a comment. I am sorry I have not explained it clearly enough, but a body-weight set-point is when we happen to be – say 200 lbs. – and we say, that is how large my family is, that is how large I have always been, and nothing can be done about it.
To change that set-point is possible, but many never find that a reality. I personally belong to a weight loss group – TOPS – Take Off Pounds Sensibly. They send out a magazine every two months. There are many, many, many pictures of people who have lost 100 lbs or more, and keep it off. You are, however told that it is just as hard to keep the weight off as it was to take it off. TOPS encourages walking (exercise) and sensible eating as a way to healthy weight management.
Eating healthy, getting exercise for the body and getting enough sleep are important, and it goes a long way in keeping your body healthy.
Howdy Carolyn First off thanks for sharing this! A whole load of tips in here! Glad I came by this. It also explains why I worked out and exercised a few years ago, Gained some bodyweight and muscles! After a while, everything vanished because I got sick and took a break, Lol I never returned to that size ever again. I just gave up!. Your article has made me understand quite a lot.
Hi Vanabell, thanks for stopping by with a comment! Yes, it takes much work to change your set-point weight. Losing weight is only part of the battle, keeping it off takes work, too. I like to use lots of fruit and veggies to fill up on. Having a buddy helps a lot! With effort, you can change your set-point weight!
This has been a really helpful post. Thank you very much. I was wondering if my genetics had the last word on my set point weight. But I figure out that I have a lot of responsibility establishing it in the first place. I have added some jogging to my routine daily and I am feeling way better than before the pandemic. Now, I’ll include more fiber and greens in my diet.
Hi Ann, thanks for stopping by with a comment! Weight gain is a many faceted problem. Genes does have some part to play, but our dedication to a healthy lifestyle goes a long way in helping us have a healthy weight as well.
I have lost 20% of by body weight in 6.5 months (36lbs). Can I still reset my set weight? I lost the weight I think fairly fast. I was 195 before the weight loss and I know about the set weight if I start gaining weight I will not be able to stop it until it gets back to this set weight. Its happened before. Any suggestions on this matter.
Hi Billie, First I want to congratulate you on your success. Losing 20% of your body weight is no small feat.
Losing weight can actually have a positive impact on your set weight. By adopting healthier habits, such as regular exercise and a balanced diet, you can help your body establish a new, healthier set weight. It’s important to maintain these healthy habits even after reaching your weight loss goals to give your body a chance to adjust and stabilize.
To prevent weight regain, focus on sustainable lifestyle changes rather than quick fixes or extreme diets. Incorporate regular physical activity that you enjoy, eat a well-rounded diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains, and listen to your body’s hunger and fullness cues. Lean proteins help curb cravings.
Remember, each person’s weight journey is unique, and it’s important to approach it with patience and self-compassion.
I have found that belonging to a non-profit weigh loss support group, TOPS, Take Off Pounds Sensibly, has helped me immensely to stay accountable to my own goals. There are many others who have lost weight and kept it off for good. Some for 20 years and more.
If you’re concerned about maintaining your weight loss or have specific questions, a healthcare professional or a registered dietitian who can provide personalized guidance based on your individual circumstances.
Keep up the great work, and best of luck on your ongoing journey towards a healthier you! Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions or need further assistance.