#31. Maintaining Your Leaner Physique Monday, September 20, 2021 We've spent the last few weeks discussing fat. What it is. What it's for. How to measure it. And how to lose it. This week, let's talk about keeping it lost. Losing weight may feel difficult, but defending that progress is, unfortunately, much harder. What most of us do is loan our fat for a while. And if we wait around long enough, it comes back in full. Sometimes with interest. Approximately one out of every five people who succeed in dropping at least 10% of baseline bodyweight can maintain that leaner physique a year later; 80% of people fail (Wing et al., 2005). Or, if we measure this disappointing fact another way: after two years, more than half of the total weight lost will have found its way back home (Hall et al., 2018)... and no one rejoices upon the return of their prodigal pounds. "Why is it so hard?" is a reasonable question. It's one that researchers have been investigating since the beginning of the obesity epidemic (Mitchell et al., 2011). And they've come up with a few explanations. Some of it is obvious and out of our control (e.g., genetics matter). But other parts are controllable, like the gut microbiome (see blogs 21 and 22). And hormone balances, which can be greatly permissive or prohibitive. In short, our environments influence our behaviors, our behaviors elicit short-term outcomes, and how we respond to those outcomes affects long-term results (MacLean et al., 2015; Evert et al., 2017). Remember that adipose tissue (i.e., fat) is an endocrine organ, with numerous regulatory roles (Kershaw et al., 2004). Depleting fat stores can create mechanical stresses that inform the hypothalamus (important regulatory brain region) that we are losing energy storage, and, for the sake of self-preservation, our hormones are adjusted accordingly (MacLean et al., 2015). But(!): there are ways to approach weight loss like a burglar. An especially sneaky one who can navigate the course of weight loss without setting off the metabolic alarms. We've covered one of these ways in a previous blog (Blog 27, Tip 3): pacing. Don't lose more than two pounds per week. One is great. So is half a pound. Three pounds is less great. In most situations. And four pounds should be met with concern, not celebration. Our resting metabolic rates are as vulnerable as they are precious; as soon as your body perceives inadequate nutrition as a threat, it adjusts its budget. No more generous spending. At that point, further weight loss is extremely difficult, and weight maintenance is pretty tough, too (Evert et al., 2017; Fothergill et al., 2016; Trexler et al., 2014). Short-term goal attainment is what most diets, supplements, and exercise prescriptions promise ("six-pack abs in six weeks!" or some such claim). This can be pretty harmful to long-term goal maintenance. So if a program promises "rapid results!", it's also promising a disheartening rebound. It's far better to stay steady than to get greedy. With that in mind, let's start tippin' for the long haul: Tip 1) Self-assessment. It's important to weigh yourself. Or monitor yourself somehow. But "somehow" has to be more objective than a mirror. Waist circumference is good, assessing body composition is great. Whatever mode you choose, regularity is key. This can be uncomfortable at times, occasionally discouraging, and usually boring, but routine self-monitoring is one of few behaviors practiced in nearly every success story. Conversely, any bliss promised to you by ignorance is likely to be short-lived (Hall et al., 2018). Tip 2) Nutrition. First, any intervention should be viewed as a lifestyle change, not a diet. It's not temporary. There's no finish line. If your plan is to arrive at a goal weight, and then return to pre-intervention behaviors, a difficult struggle awaits. Additionally, it is important to be consistent. Having lax dietary control on holidays and weekends (rather than just being consistent all the time) associates with poorer long-term outcomes. So does eating out. People who make their own food fare better than those whose outings commonly involve restaurants. However, there are times when we can't control our food as effectively. There are circumstances that insist we be more flexible with our behavior. Maybe it's a family gathering or a trip or a work event. The most successful people are never caught off guard by these or other challenges. They anticipate them and come up with a plan ahead of time. Lastly, we all slip up now and again. That's okay. What's important is to catch these moments early and get back on course straight away (Hall et al., 2018; Wing et al., 2005). Tip 3) Cuddling, mindfulness, and mindful cuddling. Sometimes, when people embark on a weight loss journey, they don't feel like themselves. Customs change ("I used to eat out most nights"), comfort foods are nowhere to be found, and we're constantly subjecting ourselves to the criticism of a bathroom scale. This can get hard. But there are a couple of behaviors that might help us feel a bit more like us. First: practicing mindfulness. There are numerous psychological factors (e.g., depression and anxiety) that can predispose us to weight gain (Sawamoto et al., 2017). "I stress eat!", admits nearly every rebounding dieter. The least helpful response to that admission is: "Don't stress eat." A much better way to take control of our behaviors is to be mindful about the moods and thoughts that influence them (Brewer et al., 2018; Godfrey et al., 2015). So try practicing mindfulness, especially during meals (Nelson, 2017). And should you ever grow tired of your inner self, and prefer to be comforted by someone else, there is emerging evidence that oxytocin (the cuddle hormone) plays helpful roles in metabolism, eating behaviors, and body composition (Lawson et al., 2017; Roberts et al., 2017; Crockford et al., 2014). The research is promising, but even if oxytocin doesn't quite deliver on its promise, at least you got in a few good cuddles.