I heard a very interesting science story about dieting on NPR the other day. If you've ever worked to manage your weight through various diets, you're probably familiar with the following scenario: you have done very well getting the pounds to come off. But then you reached your goal weight, you hit a plateau. You couldn't get the last few pounds off your body without taking drastic measures.
According to science writer Gina Kolatafor, this isn't your fault. She has recently written "Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss — and the Myths and Realities of Dieting". In her book, she maintains that our bodies are genetically wired to maintain our weight between a range of values rather than at a single number. Different people have different setpoints that will slow down or speed up their metabolism to keep them within that range. Ms. Kolatafor says that this explains why you can diet down to one weight only to regain what you worked so hard to lose in the first place. While this five minute story made Ms. Kolatafor ideas sound very plausible, I would like to get a hold of the book to learn exactly what she's talking about.
1 comment:
That really sounds interesting. I know that I have not had good luck maintaining any weight loss, and I certainly need to do so now more than ever.
It is click and comment Monday.
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