Why do weights always rebound after weight loss? Decreased basal metabolic rate and muscle loss.

Why do weight always rebound after weight loss?

The American reality TV show "The Biggest Loser" features mostly severely obese individuals who must lose as much weight as possible within 30 weeks. The contestant with the largest weight loss wins the championship and a prize. Many contestants manage to lose half their original weight during this process. Everything seems rosy, but a follow-up study of 14 contestants revealed that six years later, only one successfully maintained their weight loss; the rest regained it all. Furthermore, this rapid weight loss significantly lowered their basal metabolic rate, requiring them to skip approximately one meal a day to prevent further weight gain.

"When I was young and naive, I also tried to lose weight by dieting. As a non-professional, how can I determine if my basal metabolic rate has decreased? How can I avoid lowering my basal metabolic rate through diet in the future?" someone asked.

Successful weight loss means that after reaching your weight loss goal, you stop the unconventional methods used during the weight loss period, return to a normal life, and can basically maintain the weight loss results for 6 months without any damage to your health.

Before starting a weight loss program, people often only care about how much weight they lose each month; some even wish they could wake up the next day with a slim figure. Because of this, many weight loss methods and products use promises of rapid weight loss to attract people, and impatient dieters often flock to them, believing they've found a shortcut. Even if they end up with a sallow complexion and withered skin, they continue like moths to a flame.

Such reckless weight loss has a cruel ending. Once you stop those methods and return to a normal life, your weight will rebound mercilessly. Worst of all, you can't lose weight even by starving yourself, and you gain weight rapidly once you start eating normally. In less than six months, the weight loss you achieved after gritting your teeth and persevering for three months will essentially be lost.

"Why do I gain weight back after losing it?" "How can I prevent weight regain after losing it?" These are questions that have long troubled dieters. In fact, simply reaching your target weight does not constitute successful weight loss. True success lies in maintaining your weight loss results long-term without harming your health.

In the long run, the effects of rapid weight loss methods are no better than those of slow weight loss methods that combine a healthy diet with appropriate exercise. While rapid weight loss methods may result in quick initial weight loss, a constant battle against rebound follows, ultimately leaving only partial results or even leading to weight gain. Comparing the effects of these two methods, the differences in appearance, health benefits, quality of life, and psychological well-being are vast. The former leads to a sallow complexion, dry skin, hair loss, loose skin, dull eyes, weakness, and feelings of depression and anxiety, while the latter results in smooth skin, a toned figure, and a vibrant, confident appearance.

The reality show "The Biggest Loser" uses highly unscientific and unhealthy comparison criteria. They select overweight individuals who would normally need 2-3 years to lose 50-60 kilograms, but the show requires them to lose weight within 30 weeks. Therefore, contestants inevitably choose unhealthy rapid weight loss methods to accelerate their weight loss. As non-professionals, they don't consider whether such methods will lower their basal metabolic rate, nor do they consider the possibility of rebound weight gain or health problems a year or two later. Their only focus is on losing weight as quickly as possible.

Those methods for rapid weight loss are unsustainable in the long term, let alone for life. It's expected that the vast majority of dieters will experience weight regain after using rapid weight loss methods; this is a scientifically determined phenomenon. The truth is, a large portion of what they lose isn't fat, but rather useful body tissue, especially protein-rich muscle.

As I've explained many times before, when dieting or exercising intensely but with insufficient nutrient intake, the body breaks down not only fat but also protein. The amount of protein in the body is directly related to the basal metabolic rate; in other words, less protein in the body inevitably leads to a lower basal metabolic rate. When the body enters "thrift mode," it burns less energy for everything, making it easier to gain weight after resuming the pre-diet diet.

Extreme, rapid weight loss can lead to malnutrition, causing a sudden and uncontrollable increase in appetite. An unbalanced diet, failing to provide the body with essential nutrients, results in both weight rebound and malnutrition. Despite eating a lot, the person remains exhausted and looks unwell.

If only I had known this would happen, why did I do it in the first place?

Actually, I don't really like the explanation that "a low basal metabolic rate makes the body prone to excess energy, and it's easy to gain weight even if you eat less." I prefer to explain this to everyone in a different way, which is the quality of life and the vitality of the body.

If a person has sufficient and balanced nutrition, and all organs function well, then the energy ingested through food will become the body's vitality. It can maintain body temperature, keeping the body warm and preventing cold; it can become strength, enabling one to run, jump, lift, and carry heavy loads; it can become the energy needed to maintain the nervous system's function, supporting the brain's efficient learning, thinking, and work; and it can support the normal functioning of the immune system, eliminating pathogens, viruses, and mutated cells. Because the body uses the energy it needs, there is no excess energy to be converted into fat, so normal eating will not lead to obesity.

Dieting can completely disrupt bodily functions, causing a decline in the function of all organs. When malnourished, the body lacks many essential raw materials for metabolism, including sufficient protein for repair. The energy from ingested food cannot be effectively converted into vitality, immunity, or positive energy for thought and emotion; instead, it accumulates and ultimately turns into fat.

To a large extent, true obesity is caused by malnutrition. Natural foods are not the enemy, nor is the energy in food.

Some foods are high in energy but also high in nutritional value, and can be fully utilized by the body, so they won't cause weight gain. The most dangerous foods are those that are high in energy but low in nutrients; these are commonly known as "junk food." They don't increase the body's vitality; they can only be converted into fat in the body.

Instead of racking your brains looking for quick weight loss methods, it's better to think about the root causes of obesity, how to ensure you eat nutritious meals, how to exercise moderately, and how to develop healthy eating and lifestyle habits to maintain your physical health. Trying to take shortcuts and using unhealthy methods to lose weight will only lead to a vicious cycle of weight loss and rebound, leaving you physically and mentally exhausted, looking haggard, and aging prematurely.

Returning to the initial question, everyone needs to maintain their own basal metabolic rate, which is essentially maintaining the body's metabolic activity. Basal metabolic rate is related to factors such as gender, age, muscle mass, body surface area, physical fitness, and climate, as well as disease conditions, thyroid hormone levels, and medication use.

In short, the younger a person is, the higher their basal metabolic rate; the more active and energetic a person is, the higher their basal metabolic rate. For the same basal metabolic rate, the larger the body size, the more energy the basal metabolic rate consumes.

Adult women vary in height, weight, muscle mass, and basal metabolic rate. The energy required for an adult woman to maintain her basal metabolic rate ranges from 1100 kcal to 1500 kcal per day.

After dieting to lose weight, the body loses protein, and the basal metabolic rate will decrease to varying degrees.

So, how do you determine if your basal metabolic rate has decreased? Besides taking measurements, a simple method is to observe the following changes.

(1) Check if your body has become loose. If you have less muscle, your body will become loose; if you have more muscle, your body will become firm.

(2) Check if you are becoming increasingly sensitive to cold. Feeling cold indicates that you are using less energy to maintain your body temperature. People with well-developed muscles and good blood circulation are usually not afraid of the cold, but those who lose protein, reduce muscle mass, and have insufficient blood circulation will become more sensitive to cold.

(3) Check if you often feel tired. Frequent fatigue indicates decreased physical vitality and that the energy from food cannot be fully converted into energy, which is a sign of a lower basal metabolic rate.

(4) Check if you have indigestion. If you can't digest anything or your stomach and intestines feel uncomfortable no matter what you eat, it means that your gastrointestinal function is not being repaired and maintained, which is also a sign of a low basal metabolic rate. Or if you don't feel hungry all day and always feel full even if you don't eat, it means that your body has lost the ability to efficiently convert food into energy.

(5) Check if you are prone to catching colds or getting sick. When the basal metabolic rate decreases, the immune system cannot get enough nutritional support to function properly.

However, this process is reversible. People whose basal metabolic rate has already decreased should immediately stop dieting and replenish their nutrition. Maintaining a regular fitness routine, improving nutrition, gradually increasing muscle mass, and restoring organ function can, to some extent, increase the basal metabolic rate.

In short, people with a low basal metabolic rate need to pay more attention to the nutritional quality of their food and improve their diet. Those with a very low basal metabolic rate not only need today's nutrition but also need to gradually replenish the nutrients they previously lacked. Because the body loses a lot of protein, it's essential to increase protein intake, for example, by adding one egg, one cup of milk, and 50 grams of meat daily. Avoid sweets and fried foods, leaving room in your stomach for more nutritious foods.

Six months later, once your body has gradually returned to normal, you can begin a new weight loss plan (if you genuinely need to lose weight due to excessive body fat, and not just aim to become extremely thin, like skin and bones). At this stage, be patient and reduce your calorie intake by 10%, decrease your staple food intake, but don't reduce your protein and vegetable intake at all, maintaining adequate nutrition. Simultaneously, increase your exercise by half an hour to an hour. If you use a 1600 kcal nutritionally balanced weight loss diet, losing only 1-2 kilograms per month, focusing on reducing pure fat without losing muscle, this type of weight loss will generally not negatively impact your health.