Weight loss tips: shifting your set point weight

Do you struggle to lose weight and maintain your weight loss for a long period of time despite following weight loss tips? Do you feel like you’re hovering around a certain number on the scale despite your weight loss efforts? Then maybe it’s time to shift your set point weight.

Read more:5 important things to know about weight loss

What is ‘set point weight’?

Our body weight is determined by various factors including our hormones, genes and the environment. The set point weight theory relies on the concept of the genetic pre-set weight range.

The Set point weight theory suggests that our bodies have a predetermined weight embedded into our DNA, and our bodies are programmed to ‘fight back’ when we try to change our weight. This means your weight may go up or down temporarily but ultimately, it will return to its pre-set weight. So, whatever strategies you try to lose weight, your body will try to maintain the set point weight. Since it’s tightly regulated by our genetics and differs for everyone, we have very little control over it.

Read more: Why are you gaining weight while working out?

5 ways to shift your set point weight and achieve your weight loss goals:

Here are a few weight loss tips you can try to shift your set point weight to align with your goals.

1. Lose weight in Phases

If you’re losing weight and constantly returning back to your set point weight, try losing weight in phases. For example, if you want to lose 15 kgs, try losing 3 kgs initially and maintain your new weight for 3 months before starting your next phase. This way you give time to your body to adjust to the new weight.

Read more:Losing fat vs losing weight

2. Remember the 5% – 10% rule

The 5% -10% rule states that a smart approach to weight loss is by losing 5% -10% of your total body weight at a time. Because, losing more than 10% of your body weight at a time would be a big change to your body and naturally, your body’s metabolism will urge the body to fight back Thus, it will back the weight to the set point range. So, always follow the 5% -10% rule.

3. Increase your daily activities

One of the weight loss tips we keep hearing about is about increasing your workout if you want to lose more weight. Meanwhile, most of us would be surprised to know that the number of calories we burn through our daily activities is more than what we burn during our workout. Even small activities we do daily like cleaning our bed, walking to another room, and cooking burns more calories than a 1-hour workout period. So, if you increase your daily activities, your body will adapt to losing more calories daily and it will eventually impact your set point weight.

Read more:5 simple ways to prevent weight gain while at home

4. Try losing 1 kg per week

Health experts say that losing 0.2 kg – 1 kg per week is realistic, and anything more you set would result in failure. Even with all the strict diets for weight loss and hard workouts, it is less likely that you would lose more than 2 kgs per week, and more often, the weight loss you experience due to your crash diet in a short period of time is definitely not permanent. So, aim for realistic goals and try not to lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time.

Read more: Can you overcome a weight loss plateau?

5. Concentrate on your sleep schedule:

Your set point weight is controlled by biological signals. Thus, it becomes important to balance your hormones to maintain your weight at a steady level. A regular sleep cycle not only refreshes your body but also balances the hormones that support your weight-loss efforts. So, try maintaining a regular and quality sleep schedule to shift your set point weight to align with your weight loss goals.

Read more: How to deal with weight fluctuation?

Whatever strategies we try to lose weight, our body fights to maintain the set point weight hardcoded in our DNA. But with a little effort, we can manage to shift our set point weight to align with our weight loss goals.

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