“It’s not hard for me to maintain this weight. I just have to eat ___ calories and exercise ___/day.”
Lets discuss what a body weight that is “easy to maintain” really means.
Our bodies have a weight setpoint. This means that there is a certain predetermined weight that our bodies like to stay at. And here are a few facts about it:
- It is determined by many factors, including genetics.
- Your body can maintain this weight effortlessly.
- Your setpoint can and does change throughout your life.
I personally know many people who say “But this weight that I’m at IS easy to maintain most of the time. It’s just that I don’t always have self control, and when I eat a whole bag of ___ or miss my workout from being lazy, then I gain weight. But as long as I don’t do that, I’m fine and it’s easy to stay this weight.”
Here are a few things you should know about this:
1- Maintaining a setpoint weight doesn’t mean the number on your scale is exactly the same every time you stand on it. Different bodies have different thresholds that they are comfortable with, but generally speaking it would be somewhere between 5-20lbs. That means that your body is happy to go 5-20lbs over or under a set weight before it worries too much and brings your weight back to center. If you are uncomfortable with your weight fluctuating that much, then I would suggest seeking help for disordered eating. (and stop weighing yourself. I’m serious.)
2- Your body has ways to compensate for eating a whole bag of ___. If you are at your normal weight setpoint, your body can handle it. Period. If one bag of ___ (even if it’s 1000 calories all by itself) causes you to spiral into weight gain, that means you are under your setpoint, and I would suggest seeking help for disordered eating. (and stop weighing yourself. I’m serious.)
3- Your body has ways of regulating calorie consumption without you. If you miss a workout, your body will figure it out. Daily workouts can be included in a healthy lifestyle, and exercising every day doesn’t mean your body is below its setpoint. But if missing one day/week at the gym causes you to spiral into weight gain that means you are under your setpoint, and I would suggest seeking help for disordered exercising. (and stop weighing yourself. I’m serious.)
Your body can EFFORTLESSLY maintain your setpoint if you are eating/exercising intuitively. There is no scientific reason to try to fight your body to be smaller than your setpoint.
It is proven to be bad for your health, and it’s just menally and physically exhausting. There are literally no plus-sides besides cosmetic ones. Which…lets be honest… barf.
Just something to think about!
#aBraveNewFoodie
Rhiannon de Vries 