Change ‘set point’ to lose weight

Tue., April 15, 2008

Nanci Hellmich USA Today

How's your health? Quiz yourself

Eating

» If you answer yes to many of the following questions, you may be eating too much, eating too quickly, eating unhealthful foods and have a tendency toward mindless and/or emotional eating.

•Do you eat out often?

•Do you often eat fast-food?

•Do you snack or eat a lot after dinner or late at night?

•Do you drink regular soda, flavored coffee drinks, sports drinks, juices, sweetened packaged drinks, milkshakes and smoothies once a day or more?

•Do you often eat fried foods and processed foods (snacks and meats) more than just once in a while?

•Do you often eat baked goods, pastries, bagels and such snacks as cookies, cake and candy?

•Do you eat any main meals or snacks in front of the TV?

•Do you eat while standing up?

•Do you eat in front of your computer?

•Do you eat to make yourself feel better emotionally?

•Do you have trigger foods that cause you to overeat?

Exercise

» If you answer no to most of the following questions, you probably aren't getting enough physical activity.

•Are you physically active at least 30 minutes a day most days of the week?

•Do you enjoy physical activity, and if not, have you tried different types?

•Do you ever wear a pedometer?

•Do you go for walks?

•Do you walk or exercise with a partner?

Sleep

» If you answer yes to most of the following questions, you may not be getting sufficient sleep, which can hamper weight loss.

•Do you sleep less than seven hours each night?

•Do you usually go to bed and wake up at different times each day?

•Do you eat heavy meals or snacks close to bedtime?

•Do you drink caffeinated beverages within six hours of bedtime?

•Do you frequently drink alcohol before bedtime?

•Do you often wake up during the night?

•Do you ever have trouble breathing during sleep time?

•Do you feel fatigued throughout the day?

•Do you think your level of tiredness negatively affects your eating or exercise habits?

Time management, lifestyle and stress

» If you answer no to many of the questions, you could likely benefit from better time management and stress-management skills.

•Do you have time to prepare meals at home?

•Do you have time to exercise?

•Are eating well and exercising priorities in your life?

•Do you pack snacks and lunches ahead of time?

•Do you go to the grocery store at least once a week?

•Do you plan recreational activities on the weekends?

•Do you spend time planning ahead for the next day or the whole week?

•Do you have good time-management habits?

•Do you have a regular work schedule?

•Do you avoid eating in your car or on your commute?

•Do you bring your own food on the plane or when traveling?

Adapted from "Break Through Your Set Point: How to Finally Lose the Weight You Want and Keep It Off" by George L. Blackburn with Julie Corliss..

If you want to lose weight – and lose it for good – follow the 10 percent rule. Try to lower your body weight by that percentage and then stop losing for a while. Fight instead to keep off just that amount.

So if you weigh 180 pounds, aim to lose 18 pounds in the next three to six months. If you weigh 220, your goal might be to drop 22 pounds.

Stay at that level for at least six months to give your body a chance to adjust to its new, lower “set point.” Your set point is the weight that the body has established as normal, and the body has mechanisms that fight to return to that weight.

So says George Blackburn, associate director of the division of nutrition at Harvard Medical School. His research and other studies show that dropping as little as 10 percent lowers blood pressure, cholesterol and the risk of diabetes.

“You breathe so much better, you sleep better. You have less fatigue and more energy. You take fewer medications and have fewer medical problems,” Blackburn says.

Plus, you see the results. “You lose weight from the top down – out of your face, out of your neck, out of your chest and out of the abdomen. So what you see in the mirror looks better. It’s a win, win, win all the way around.”

Blackburn outlines his ideas in “Break Through Your Set Point: How to Finally Lose the Weight You Want and Keep It Off,” written with Julie Corliss (Collins, $24.95). The new book is based on his research with 12,000 to 16,000 overweight or obese patients over the past 30 years.

He says people often try to lose too much too fast. “They try to stretch the rubber band too far, and they gain weight back.”

Your current weight, give or take a few pounds, is the current set point, and it is determined by many factors, including genetics and how you respond to the environment, the kinds of food you eat, how much you eat, how active you are and how you cope with stress.

Many people are at their healthiest set point at about age 18, after they stop growing and developing. But most experience a slow, steady weight gain throughout their lives, causing the body to believe its set point is higher than it really should be, he says.

People’s weight increases over time because they eat or drink too much, aren’t active enough or don’t lose extra weight they gained during vacations, holidays or pregnancies. Women sometimes believe hormonal changes during menopause cause weight gain, but research doesn’t bear that out. Instead, it appears that the middle-aged spread is caused by increased eating and a slower metabolism because of decreased activity levels, Blackburn says.

Once you raise your set point, it’s difficult to lower it because the body has complex systems designed to defend that higher weight, he says.

Those systems include hormones and chemicals that affect appetite and hunger. In fact, your own body fat works against you, he says. Anytime you eat more calories than you burn, the energy goes into fat cells for storage. When all your those fat cells are full, they signal the body to make more fat cells for storage. You can reduce the fat in the cells, but the cells are with you for life, and fat cells have leptin and other hormones that influence your appetite, he says.

Thomas Wadden, an obesity expert at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, agrees that weight is regulated by a complex set of signals and hormones. “While dieters would probably like a repairman to stop by and adjust their set point, it’s not that easy. Dr. Blackburn’s advice to lose only 10 percent of body weight and to increase physical activity is as good as it gets.

“You may want to lose more weight after this, but the first 10 percent is the most important weight you can lose,” Wadden says.

Blackburn says it’s possible to lower your set point. He suggests dieters:

•Consume at least 450 calories at each meal so you feel full and satisfied until the next one.

•Limit your choices at meals. The more choices you have available to you, the more you’ll eat.

•Get plenty of sleep. Studies show that people who sleep less than eight hours a night are more likely to be overweight, Blackburn says.

•Be as active as possible. Stand or pace while on the phone, he suggests. Take short brisk walks and climb stairs. Many people need to be active for 60 minutes or more a day to maintain weight loss, he says.

Once you get to that 10 percent goal, see how it feels, he says. And then if you want to lose some more, by all means, give it a try, Blackburn says. “Involve your family, friends and community. That makes it easier.”