It is so hard to lose, but so very easy to gain back
Why do we gain back weight?
For the 99% that gain back the weight they lose, its simply not a case of being weak or not having will power. Your body is telling you that you are hungry (sometimes it feels like starving) - as it wants to go back to its previous weight.
The weight gain is often worse after GLP1-RA’s (read why here)
Weight loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, has been proven to have positive effects on a person's hormones, appetite, weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, and overall lifespan. (read why here)
Maintenance is often physically harder, longer, and more mentally difficult than weight loss.
Find out more about the facts behind weight gain and maitenance
When does it get easier?
The feeling you are at war with yourself is real. The larger you were, the larger those hunger feelings will be (leptin resistance will benchmark to pre-weight loss).
Studies show after 1 year of maintaining weight, you may become more sensitive to Leptin (you will feel full at the right times) - but this timeline is very difficult in our modern society. Each time you gain weight, its a little harder.
Two factors work heavily against you in this first year
Behavioural Efficacy/Self Efficacy
The ‘obesogenic environment’
When you have other health issues (comorbidities), have been long-term obese, and have consistent weight gain, you should consider a change for you and your family.
Here is what this landmark study says: in obese persons who have lost weight, multiple compensatory mechanisms encouraging weight gain, which persist for at least 1 year, must be overcome in order to maintain weight loss. These mechanisms would be advantageous for a lean person in an environment where food was scarce, but in an environment in which energy-dense food is abundant and physical activity is largely unnecessary, the high rate of relapse after weight loss is not surprising.
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Absolutely not, its the cascade of hormonal changes, some that are very hard to reverse, while we live in an obesogenic environment
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An environment that promotes obesity. Schools, workplaces, homes, neighbourhoods, the media, availability of convenience foods, and portion sizes can all influence a person's body weight
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Regardless of how or why a person has gained body fat, fast or slow, young or old, the hormonal issues are the same
Science describes it as ‘maladaptive’ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9796811/.
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It’s an accepted physiological principle that each time we fail something, we are psychologically more likely to fail next time we try
