Set-Point Theory: Fact or Fiction?

It’s not uncommon to hear both lay persons and professionals matter-of-factly refer to the “starvation response” (also called metabolic adaptation) and “set-point theory” as if they were accepted facts. The supposition of these theories is that the body reacts to reduced energy intake, or weight loss, by lowering its basal metabolic rate in an attempt to maintain the current weight or return to a higher weight.

These theories however, have not survived sound scientific investigation, and those researchers who are familiar with this area of medical literature have known that for almost 20-years. Three comprehensive reviews of the literature in 1992, 1994, and 1995[i]^,[ii]^,[iii] all reached the same conclusions that:

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Would your food log look like a crime scene?

 If you want to lose weight, but are avoiding keeping a food journal you may need to ask yourself why you’re avoiding that task? What you’re eating can all be healthy, while at the same time the amount you’re eating and drinking can be adding up to way too much.

Without keeping a food record it’s easy to not be fully aware of your portion sizes, and it’s easy to forget the extra calories in side items, between meal snacks, and beverages.

For example, years ago when I was a rooky health educator, a patient from the hospital-based weight maintenance program I was working in came to my office asking for help.

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We know cake isn't diet food--but 1,600 calories in a slice!?!

Aside from burning off more calories through physical activity, the only other control you have over calories lies in the food you eat and the beverages you drink.  

Amazingly, most of the thousands of books and programs on weight loss do a very good job of avoiding teaching you anything useful about calories. Most don’t address the subject at all. Worse yet, some tell you that calories don’t matter… that some special combination of foods, nutrients, etc., is the secret to weight loss. Understanding the calories in food however, is fundamental to weight management.

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What would you guess is the #1 predictor of keeping the weight you lose off?

That would be Physical Activity. I know, I can almost hear all the groaning! Here’s the deal. No sugar coating. You can fight gravity all you want, but that won’t change it. There are a few Weight-Loss-Mastery-Skills that do indeed need to be mastered to get and keep weight off. We know that you need to burn a minimum of 2,000 calories a week in physical activity. The good news is that physical activity is like a magnet behavior. When you’re active you will tend to also follow your healthy eating plans and do better with the other factors that support your weight loss.

For more see: How much physical activity is needed for successful weight management?

No “magic formula” here, right?

There are “Masters of Weight Control” who have lost an average of 25% of their body weight and kept it off for an average of 5 years. Data collected on these “successful losers,” was among the first to become broadly recognized for illuminating methods and techniques associated with successful maintenance of significant weight loss. The “Weight-Loss-Mastery-Skills” drawn from this and other data are:

1. Physical activity
2. Food & calories
3. Record keeping
4. Stimulus control
5. Support

No “magic formula” here, right? Right. Nothing sexy, and nothing that gets authors to the top of the “Best Sellers List!” It’s just, roll up your sleeves and get-on-with-it common sense.