QUOTE from Dr Fung (emphasis mine):
“So all diets fail. The question is why. Permanent weight loss is actually a two-step process. There is a short-term and a long-term (or time-dependent) problem. The hypothalamic region of the brain determines the body set weight—the fat thermostat. (For more on body set weight, see chapters 6 and 10.) Insulin acts here to set body set weight higher. In the short term, we can use various diets to bring our actual body weight down. However, once it falls below the body set weight, the body activates mechanisms to regain that weight—and that’s the long-term problem. This resistance to weight loss has been proven both scientifically and empirically. Obese persons that had lost weight required fewer calories because their metabolisms had slowed dramatically and desire to eat accelerates. The body actively resists long-term weight loss.”
NOTE (my commentary):
All diets work in the short run. All diets fail in the long run. Our culture is focused on short term results and tends to ignore permanent results. I want results that last.
Long term results require changing the body’s “setpoint” for what the body considers a healthy weight. That’s the setting on the “fat thermostat” – which is controlled by levels of insulin, according to Dr Fung.
Insulin acts here to set body set weight higher.
Short-term diets ignore the fat thermostat and trigger processes to restore body fat the moment that more calories become available. The dieter’s metabolisms had slowed dramatically, requiring fewer calories to function, and so the desire to eat accelerates. Extra calories soon restore fat to and often beyond previous levels. So, the outcome of unwise short-term dieting is yo-yo dieting, rising cycles of inevitable weight gain after weight loss.
Unwise short-term dieting convinces the body that a famine is happening. Metabolism is reduced to cope with fewer calories coming in. When calories become available, physical cravings of hunger are stimulated while metabolism remains low, resulting in rapid weight regain. The body is preparing for survival through the next famine of calorie restriction when there is less food on hand.
However, once it falls below the body set weight, the body activates mechanisms to regain that weight—and that’s the long-term problem.
STRATEGY: I need a long term solution that increases metabolism and does not trigger my body’s famine defense. I need the energy to become a hunter-gatherer.
DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS
What gets my attention?
Do I understand the need or problem?
Do I understand the potential solution?
Do I understand how to apply that strategy?
What questions do I have for the experts? What might be the answers?
Who needs to hear this?
What do I do next?
SOURCE – Footnotes:
[1] “The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss” by Dr. Jason Fung, Timothy Noakes – Page 215.
Image: On-Off Switch.jpg From Wikimedia Commons
Please review the page How and Why We Use Quotes.
Key: Fung01-16.50 Shipped: 05/04/2021. Review: 01/11/2022.