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Losing weight isn't easy for biological (not motivational) reasons. Diets fail because low-calorie food, hunger pangs, set point, & body chemistry can inhibit weight loss
You may be one of the many millions of people – mostly women – who struggle with diets, weight loss, appearance, body image, and temptations of food. One magazine stated that over 70% of people surveyed would cut one year from their lives if they could lose five pounds and keep it off. Perhaps others would shorten their lifespan by two or three years if they could weigh ten or fifteen pounds less. Ten years for forty pounds? Hard to believe, but carrying around an extra forty pounds is literally a huge pain in the tush. Losing weight is hard – and keeping it off is even harder. It's not all about lack of discipline, low willpower, or flagging motivation (though those factors can play a role in diet and exercise). Body chemistry, set point, and environment may be more significant, and more difficult to control if you're not aware of how they work. Dieting doesn't work for most people - you can lose weight without dieting! How hunger worksHunger pangs aren't the only (or the main) reason people eat. Lab rats whose stomachs were mostly removed still continued to eat regularly. You can feel hungry even when your stomach is full; in fact, filling up with low-calorie food can make you eat more than if you had eaten smaller amounts of high-calorie food. The hunger pangs of an empty stomach are only one small motivation to eat. Body chemistryYou brain chemistry influences the tastes and textures you prefer. If you feel sad, lonely, or depressed you could crave salty or sweet treats; the carbohydrates in potato chips and the tryptophan in chocolate boost levels of serotonin, which has a calming effect on your mood. Your taste preferences are both genetic and learned. For instance, you may be born with a tendency towards salty crunchy snacks but not sweet, soft, warm, dark chocolate (mmmm….chocolate). You may learn to enjoy consuming more and more salt if you eat North American food because of the high amounts of sodium in the food. Your chemistry affects – but doesn't control – what you like to eat. It's hard to fight the chemicals in your brain, which is why it's hard to lose weight and keep it off. That's also why obesity surgery is on the rise. Set pointThe set point theory states that we're predisposed to keep our body at a certain weight. If we fall below it, our bodies are biologically pressured to restore what was lost. This means your hunger may increase, your energy expenditures decrease, and your metabolism slow down – especially if you lose weight too quickly. Slow, sustained changes can alter your set point – which is why it's important to lose weight slowly! Losing a pound a week is a smart way to keep it off for good. Whether you choose the Zone Diet or small changes in your lifestyle, the best way is to make slow, sure progress. EnvironmentExternal cues make you eat. The smell of freshly baked bread, the amount of food on your plate, your friends or family eating ice cream sundaes, the sizzle of juicy bbq'd steaks or tofu burgers, and the mindless munching in front of the television all pushes you to eat. You eat more, and more often, when these environmental cues surround you. Rising above your chemistryIf you're a woman, you may feel guilty and bad about yourself if you can't lose weight and keep it off. This can negatively affect your body image and self-esteem, which will drive you to eat potato chips or chocolate bars as a way to soothe yourself. It's a downward spiral that's difficult to break out of. It's possible for an eating disorder to develop from one of these downward spirals. The upward spiral, once started, is equally difficult to break away from! This is the good news: once you know how your body and the environment works, you can apply this knowledge to your daily life. For instance, instead of reaching for the chocolate when you feel sad, find something else that will calm you down – a nonedible something, like a walk, bubble bath, or talk with a close friend. Related articles:Semi-related article:
The copyright of the article How Hunger Works in Psychology is owned by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen. Permission to republish How Hunger Works in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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