Genetics vs Personal Desire

In my last post I told you I would explain why your genes decide what weight your body wants to be at so let's chat about the "Set Point Theory".

Some of you have heard about this before but to some of you this is a very new concept so let me explain. Your genetics decide on your eye colour, height, hair colour and yes, even your weight! The weight your body wants to be at is called your set point. Therefore, trying to change your weight to a number that you think is better for you will be working against what your body wants. For example, you may dye your hair but it always grows back to its original/natural colour. The same goes for your weight or set point. You can over-exercise, restrict calories or go on any diet you can think of but your body will fight you to stay at the weight that it wants whether you like it or not! It then becomes a full time job to try to maintain a weight that is not natural for you and for some people that can become a lifetime of yo-yo dieting or even an eating disorder. Have you ever noticed that people who don't try to change their weight tend to eat what they want, when they want and their weight stays stable?

How does your body fight it? Well, if you try to decrease your weight to below your set point, your metabolism will slow down to try to hold onto whatever energy it is getting. If you try to increase your weight to above your set point, your metabolism will speed up to burn the excess energy. Our bodies are so amazing eh? It's hard to trust that our bodies know what they are doing because it may not be what we want them to do but I'm telling you...TRUST YOUR BODY!!! It will correct any "mistakes" made! So how do you start liking and trusting your body? That will be a topic for future posts!