Metabolic Set Points??? Can't get below certain weight??

Hi ladies and gents!!! Wow, it has been FOREVER since I have been on this board.

Had my surgery in July of 2006, dropped from 280 to 157-58 and held steady at that weight for 6 months or so. Got pregnant in Jan 2008, had baby in Sept. 2008 and at about 4 weeks post partum was at my lowest weight ever of 145. Yeah!!  It was short-lived.

Now at 8 months post-partum I am back at 157-58. It seems as if my body just doesn't want to stay below that weight!! Even when pregnant, I lost weight and then gained but never went above 158lbs. So for the last several months I have been holding steady at this weight again.

I desperately want to lose another 15-20lbs. At my current weight I am right at the top end of the "normal" BMI range. And I know for my frame and muscle tone (lack thereof!) I could easily look great at 130 lbs or so. I do have probably 8-10lbs of excess skin all over my saggy waggy bod but I also still have significant fat to lose (belly, back, thighs).

What do I do????  If I could, I would just eat salads and fruit all day long but I can't eat ANY salads or raw veggies. Unfortunately, it gives me horrible diarrhea (and lots of pain!). I soooo miss my salads!!

So, other than exercising 2 hours/day (not reasonable workin full-time and have 2 kids) what can I eat or do to get this last bit of weight off?????

And the big question.....if I do manage to lose it will it just come back becaue my body "wants" to be at this weight??? Is there any truth to that?

why 2 hours a day?  can you take a walk at lunch or in the evening after dinner with your family?  what about on the weekends?  I know I am pre-op, but exercise doesn't have to be that intense.  If you have bad muscle tone, just a little effort would go a long way in your apperance.

 I would focus on strength training. It will tone you up, giving you a smaller appearance, plus build some fat-burning muscle! I bet if you had more muscle, you would look great even if you didn't lose another pound.

And it sure doesn't have to be 2 hours a day! aim for maybe 30 minutes, 3 times a week. Anything is better than nothing (says the girl currently doing the latter...).

Hi Maryanne!

It's so good to see you!    I hope life with the new baby in a new part of the world is treating you well!   To answer your question, I tend to think we have a set point and we have to work extra hard to get below it.    I guess it's a matter of priorities, and right now, your kids are taking up a lot of time.    Maybe just some modest changes will help.   I'm sorry you can't eat salads - I'd miss them too! 

this question is one I have been struggling with for 3 months.  I am only 13 months out of surgery and have been stuck in between 183-187.  I am told by powers more knowledgeable than myself that I need to stick to carbs below 30 a day, protein at 90 a day and eat plenty of fat.  So for the last two days I have done so, and will continue for as long as I can reasonably try.  I would be happy just to get to a normal weight as well but I look and feel so much better now than I did last year that I almost feel ungrateful to ask more.  I have different bathroom issues than you do and sometimes blame my lackluster loss on that so I eat salad every day and two colace just to keep things moving in the right direction.  I just think we are all different even though we've all had the same surgery.  It does seem the same rules apply to everyone though - this was the Grammar Queen's advice to me

strength training
30 gr of carbs a day, no more (actually the first day I hit 50 and still considered that pretty good)
90 gr of protein a day
up your fat

Hope it works for you - post over on the food and fitness thread - it does help to keep track and write it down, do it and we'll see if that set point is reality or myth

Very good questions, of which I have also asked of many "experts" in the nutrition and fitness profession as well as people here. I've never gotten any solid answers, but have come to some conclusions of my own based on my years of experience and what I've learned and been told by so many different people. So for what it's worth; here's my $.02:

1. Body set points are real and powerful. To change them takes a long time; remember they took a long time to get set in the first place. 

2. You can and probably do have more then one "set point".

OK, so now that you know that yes you do have set points and that they take a long time to change; how do you change them?

1. Make a permanent change in your behavior (either increase activity or reduce food / calorie / carb intake) while making sure you get plenty of proteins, vitamins, minerals and fluids.

2. Wait, be patient and stick to the permanent changes you made.

Now here's what I've seen so far:

My DS surgery was on Sept. 17, 2008; I weighed 283 then and I lost over 40 pounds the first month; then the weight loss slowed and then stopped cold at 219. It stayed between 219 & 222 for two months, then I dropped another 16 pounds in less than one month to get to 203. I'm still stuck between 203 & 207 and since I've been there for almost 2 months, I expect that I will soon start losing again.

The two stall weights; 219 & 203 are both weights I was at for a very long time in the past and the permanent change I've made is not in what I eat, it's in what I do. I'm much more active now that I have been and I'm committed to staying active.

The reality of all this is that it's still just my opinion of how this works for me. I also believe that you will need to find your own truth in this matter and find a way that works for you; I'm in no way suggesting that what I'm doing is right for you, or that it would work for you. It's just what I think and what I'm doing and so far it seems to be working and seems reasonable and to make sense to me. I'm also pretty sure that this whole process will be something I will always have to deal with.

Good luck to you and what you discover; please let us know what you do find and how if works!

Kerry

 I believe in Set Points. I have weighed my current 210 about 3 other times, for a long period of time.
I also sat a long time around 180 lbs. And never could maintain 172 for more than a few days.
So, my first goal is 180 lbs. But, I have to get past the 210 lbs. Actually, I need to get to 199 lbs before my weight loss passes the set point.

It has always been work for me to get past 210 lbs. Luckily I wear a size 16/14 and look fairly shapely at this weight so I can grin and bare it and move the way I want.


Stringent application of the rules. Protein first, Lots of Fat, Low carb is key one. Then, activity as you can fit in, priority two. So, even if you just Do some extra walking at work, Do Chest presses lifting your new baby up and down for a few minutes several times per day, Mowing the lawn, Walking in the evening with the family, sit ups and leg lifts before bed, etc. You will see some results.
I volunteer to mow the lawn now...just to fit in more exercise. And I hand trim the yard with clippers.
Thats a good waist work out, leg work out and arm work out. :)

I agree with Kerry.  I think that it's possible to have more than one "set point" based on my own experience & what I've read on the subject.  I believe that a set point is based one one's typical eating pattern & activity level, which is one factor in setting your metabolic rate - how fast you burn calories, genetics is another factor that contributes to your metabolic rate, which in turn, affects your set point.  So, if you change either your eating pattern &/ or activity level AND type of activity, you can change your set point.  Due to the genetic component affecting this, some people DO have to work harder via diet &/or exercise to maintain a comparable set point to someone else of the same gender & basic build.

I bolded & italicized type of activity, because, as others have mentioned, building muscle is one of the best ways to lower your set point.  Cardio burns calories, which is also good, but does NOT affect your set point, it just burns calories.  Each pound of muscle needs about 40 calories/day just to survive.  Therefore, every pound of muscle you add, you raise your resting metabolism - how many calories you burn regardless of exercise. 

I would suggest researching how to optimally lift weights b/c there IS an optimal way to do it, though, of course, any exercise is better than none.  Briefly - to maximize, you should not be able to do more than a certain # of repetitions per set, where "set" is actively lifting & then you have a rest period.  This # of repetitions depends on the muscle group you're working, but the general rule of thumb is to aim for 8-10 reps per set with about a 2 minute rest in between sets.  Start with TWO sets only!!!  Trust me on this, you will be sore the next day!  Also, don't start at the maxiumum weight you think you can handle for the same reason.  Once you can do your 2 sets without being sore the next day, do 3 sets.  If you can still do 3 with no ill effects, up your weight amount & do 3 sets.  Goal is 3 - 5 sets per muscle group.  How to pick the right weight?  NEVER pick a weight that is so heavy that you don't have good control over it b/c if the weight jerks suddenly (free weights, not the machines), you can easily rip your muscle.  The weight should be to the point that you can get 8-10 reps.  Once you get to the last rep, the weight should feel so heavy that takes concentrated effort to get that last rep in.  If you can easily do more than 8-10, you need a heavier weight.  Again - this is how to maximally build your muscles.  Others who pick lower weights with higher reps are still doing good, but honestly, that's not maximum-muscle building.  Most women therefore pick the lower weight with higher rep b/c they don't want to get "too big"/ muscley.  Fact is women do not produce sufficient testosterone to build massive muscles.  Those women who do it as professional sport, train for hours every single day for years on end & at least some likely do take steroids of some sort.  The bigger muscle will also help to fill out some of the skin laxity on your upper arms, back, & thighs.

If you do this & your weight isn't changing for awhile, don't be alramed!  If you are visibly building muscle & feel that you are stronger, yet your weight hasn't changed, that absolutely 100% means that you've lose an equivalent amount of fat for the muscle that you gained.  One pound of muscle takes up less than half the space of one pound of fat & doesn't jiggle.  Go by your clothes.  Eventually (1-2 months), all the added muscle will raise your resting metabolism (LOWER YOUR SET POINT) & even if you don't change anything else, you will slowly start losing weight again.

One other strategy that I've often used in the past was that if I knew I ate more calories than I wanted (here, I guess it would be more carbs than you want), then I would purposely tack on another 10-15 minutes to my cardio session that day, or the next day since your cardio will burn off extra calories.  The muscle building will lower your set point.  The combination of both is optimal for reasons I just explained.

 Love your post. 
Copied it to a Notepad. May add it to my personal OH blog. Just to keep. 
Gotta go back to the gym and do my weight lifting. 
:) 

Love the weights. 

Thanks!  Glad I could help.  I thought after I posted that I should have also mentioned that I have heard of (not read myself, though) studies that compared people who either lift weights only, cardio only, or do a combination of both.  The group that only lifted weights increased their muscle mass.  The group that had a combination also built muscle, but the group that only did cardio actually lost total muscle mass.  I heard this on an education video on exercise, so it's nothing that I am personally sure about, but I would think/ hope that if someone is making that type of video that they accurately representing the study.

In any case, cardio is good for your cardiovascular system, so I'm not saying to ditch it.  I truly believe that a combination is best.

The other thing I forgot to mention with weight lifting is never lift weights that target the same muscle group 2 days in a row.  Here's why.  When you select the heaviest weight that you can safely handle & then exercise it (lift) to the point that you're not sure you could really get that last rep in - that's called "muscle overloading" or overloading your muscle.  If I remember right, I think glucose is extracted from your muscle fibers to finish the movements at the point of muscle overload/ exaustion.  The result is that your muscle fibers literally break down on a small scale.  Over the next 24 hours, your muscle fibers are built back, except more densely = more muscle.  Therefore, if you weight lift targeting the same muscle group 2 days in a row, you make it impossible for your muscle fibers to grow back more densely, so you actually inhibit the formation of new muscle.  The workouts that I personally think or optimal?  30 minutes of upper body strengthening with 30 minutes of cardio on the same day.  Cardio usually utilizes your lower body muscles more than upper.  The next day, do 30 minutes of lower body strength training.  Repeat.  I've do lower body strength training on the same day in which I jogged & it's probably not the best to do while trying to build muscle & your legs get SORE, even if you're used to both individually.