So, how do you find YOUR natural healthy weight?
I don’t advocate for restrictive dieting approaches at Gut Reaction (health and having a healthy, intuitive relationship with food come first here), but I don’t dismiss the appetite for changing body shape and size, held by so many of us living in today’s world.
So, let’s just say that you are someone who longs to find the natural healthy body weight for you, then what does your natural weight really look like, and theoretically, if you’re not there already, how would you get there?
Let’s explore…
INTRODUCING Set-point theory
Natural body weight comes down to set-point theory, a hypothesis that the body has a biologically pre-determined weight set-point that it works to maintain.
Body weight may drift naturally around 10% of this point, so set-point is actually a range that has some give in it. Some scientists estimate it’s a 10 to 20lb (4.5 to 9kg) range. Essentially, every unique individual has a weight range their body likes to comfortably sit at in order to function optimally.
An interaction of hormones, brain activity and genetics act as a body weight ‘thermostat’ to maintain set-point by altering hormones and metabolism. If weight goes too far above the thermostat, the body works to bring it down, and vice versa.
When we pursue intentional weight loss and restrict calorie intake, as diet-industry and short-term diets tend to do, and the body perceives weight going down too rapidly, or even the threat of weight going down, it tends to react in some very interesting ways.
If body fat levels fall below the set-point, the metabolism slows down to save energy and preserve the fat we have. Basically, the human body doesn’t understand dieting - it doesn’t get that food is all around us, it thinks it’s helping us survive a severe famine.
The fear of food-scarcity is one of the most primal fears a person can experience, so it’s no wonder the body has the mechanisms to protect us.
What’s more, when we eat restrictively and body weight does drop, our hunger increases. This is because we naturally begin to produce more ghrelin, aka the ‘hunger’ hormone. We also produce more of the chemical neuropeptide-y, and less leptin, the ‘fullness’ hormone.
In very restrictive, long-term yoyo dieters, leptin levels can become virtually untraceable. This means the drive to eat is high, and the body may not produce ‘fullness’ signals until long after weight has returned to the set-point range.
Can I change my set-point?
Yes and no.
A couple of diets are unlikely to change your set-point/range, although potentially could alter your weight for a while. Remember that your body is always striving to restore balance or homeostasis.
But there is evidence that chronic yo-yo dieting is associated with greater weight gain and increased waist circumference over time. This is because the body starts to adapt to cycles of restrictive dieting by suppressing metabolism, thereby increasing set-point weight.
However, some case studies suggest that given enough time and complete cessation of restrictive eating behaviours, the body may be able to return to an original set-point weight. Interestingly, in my practice (which is now over 10 years) I have witnessed some clients steadily lose significant body fat as a side-effect of our work together on their relationship with food and their body, and maintain a lower weight range. (Notice, I emphasise the words some and side-effect here!).
Beyond dieting, it’s important to understand that pregnancy and other major life events and some health problems are other factors that can have a relatively extreme on affect body weight. So, for a wide range of reasons, there will likely be times in each of our lives when we experience a body weight above our set-point range, and potentially our set-point range shifts too.
What’s more, metabolism, hormones and fat distribution all naturally change as we get older. The potential and perfectly natural impact of ageing on body shape and size means it’s unrealistic for a 40-year-old to strive for the body they had when they were 20. Interestingly, fat is shown to be protective in epidemiological studies, and participants with higher body fat tend to have greater longevity and decreased risk of dying from chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, and kidney disease.
Understandably, this all makes the idea of finding and maintaining a specific weight over the course of your lifetime, particularly if you are a woman, a pretty elusive goal. The challenge for many people, however, is that accepting that our bodies are meant to change and adapt.
So, How do I ‘find’ my natural healthy weight?
Appreciating all the variables above, including your genetic blueprint, and that bodies vary naturally over time, there is no means to calculate your exact natural healthy set-point range. But, you can think of it in terms of the behaviours that you engage in when you’re nourishing yourself well for your personal needs – body, mind and spirit.
Your body is likely to be within your set-point range when you’re:
· Not restricting food groups
· Not bingeing
· Regularly moving your body for fun and joy
· Getting enough sleep
· Managing / handling stress ok
· Not using food to pacify negative emotions
· Spending time with people you like being around
· Eating in accordance with hunger and fullness (most of the time)
· Eating food that makes you feel good
Does it surprise you to learn that your natural healthy weight has nothing to do with the numbers on the scales or your BMI?
how to move forward
The reasons we as individuals are the size and shape we are varies dramatically person to person.
Making peace with your set-point, particularly as it is a range with drift, and as it invariably shifts with life-stage, can be a long and emotional process for some. However, spending a lifetime trying to manipulate body weight, size and shape, and enduring the likely mental and physical consequences of this, is potentially more challenging, as well as counterproductive and damaging over time.
I believe that if we can acquire the skills to drop the struggle with unhelpful patterns, reduce stress around food, and shift our energy towards holistically supporting overall health and wellbeing, then our body’s shape and size will run its own course along the way. Intuitive Eating Counselling is available to help you with exactly this process.
Finally, bear in mind that if you have chronic health challenges or your body is showing ‘signs of struggle’, there may be some hidden factors influencing metabolism at play relating to hormone imbalance, gut health, inflammation in the body, toxicity, or nutritional deficiencies.
The good news is that the very same health behaviours I’ve listed in this blog will likely help support these challenges too. Nutritional therapy is also available to provide gentle, personalised nutritional guidance - without dieting or restriction.
Next steps
Want to get a sense for whether you're an intuitive eater, or if you're showing signs of a struggle in your relationship with food?
Ready to reduce stress around food, reset your eating habits, and restore body confidence?
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