Like our body temperature, sleep schedule, and blood pressure, the make up of our body craves balance, normalcy, and stability. Our habits and lifestyle dictate where we settle. Despite the variations from day to day, week to week, and even month to month, in the amount that we eat and how much we workout, typically the human body continually strikes a comfortable weight and/or look, the “Set Point”. The Set Point is your homeostasis stabilized weight. The weight that your body settles at and resists changing.
You can try to “keto”, “calorie count”, “paleo”, or “weight watchers”, your way to a new set point, but unless you can live in the confinements and restriction (a.k.a prison) of never breaking free from the rules that these programs prescribe then you will never change your Set Point. A Set Point can only be changed by lifelong sustained habits that you make second nature in your lifestyle. These habits become natural and non-negotiable. These habits become you. Be for-warned: It takes a year at your new weight or “look” to convince your body to change your Set Point. “YoYoing” will not lead to a change. It takes consistent changes to reset. Improving your lifestyle can alter it, just as adopting detrimental lifestyle habits can change your Set Point for the worse.
I strive to help my clients change their Set Point and improve their fitness. It is 100% about creating a new personal normal.
Personally, although I no longer attach my weight/a number to my self worth, I have been able to improve my fitness and change my Set Point. I once settled in around 142. My habits were: overdoing cardio, calorie counting, defining food as good/bad, and not strength training. At 43, I am settling in at 132. These are the daily habits that have helped me change my set point.
- Strengh Train Most Days: Imposing stress to your muscles with resistance loaded movements and adapting to that stress has so many benefits. When you increase your muscle mass you increase your metabolism. Muscle is HUNGRY!! It takes calories and energy to keep your muscle alive, whereas fat is happy being unfed. The more muscle you have the higher your metabolism. With regular strength training eventually the composition of your body will change, as well as your Set Point. Not only does strength training have a long term change for your metabolism, it has an immediate impact. When you strength train hormones are released that make your body burn more energy. You become a fire. Do this on multiple days per week and the results are compounded over time. Strength training is integral in changing a Set Point. You cannot “cardio” your way to a new one.
- Counting Nutrition not Calories. You can eat 2,500 calories and still be malnourished. If you are working out hard and eating food with little nutrient value your body will crave more and more…throwing you into a cycle that may make you hold weight. Since I have placed my focus on eating whole foods and listening to exactly what my body needs…despite the calorie content, I have been able to change my Set Point. This has been a game-changer in coaching my clients as well. Universally it is beneficial. The smoothies I make have many calories, and I slam them down without a thought post workout when my body is a sponge and needs the fuel. No issue when you eat a whole avocado with lunch if that is what your body needs. It has 250 calories and 21 grams of fat and your body will thank you for the nourishment by sending fewer signals of cravings. Over the span of days and weeks your body balances out on its own. If you want to make your body perform like a Ferrari…only high grade fuel will let you place such a strong physical demand on your body.
- Change your narrative around moralizing food. DO not let “perfect” be the enemy of “good“. “Good” will take you the distance, “perfect” will sabotage you. Condition yourself to not have stress and constraints around what you eat: Personally, because I generally feel so much better eating whole foods and not counting I naturally gravitate to eating this way 80-90% of the time. The other smaller percentage is full of “fun food”. Back when my Set Point was much higher, I would beat myself up over not eating perfectly within the healthy parameters I set for myself. Leading to a shame cycle. Eat, label, guilt, overcompensate…Now if I eat a little too much over consecutive days, or go on vacation, or feel bloated, I have faith that my body will balance out to my new normal Set Point….and guess what, it ALWAYS does. So stress and guilt is never an issue. Start to recondition your thinking to do the same. When you hear yourself attaching good/bad to certain foods or certain food choices, reframe your thoughts positively. Start making choices based on how that food decision will make you FEEL. Generally we want to chase feeling GREAT. If a food serves you for another reason (social, emotional, etc.) know that that is normal and healthy, and do not feel guilt or remorse. Just reset and make your next decision one that will provide you good feelings.
