Energy balance
Weight loss interventions trigger physiological countermeasures, specifically adaptive thermogenesis (reduced resting energy expenditure) and increased appetite drive, which persist long-term and make weight maintenance difficult.
Understand that after losing weight, your body will biologically fight to regain it by lowering your calorie burn and increasing hunger. This is a normal physiological response, not a personal failure. Long-term maintenance requires strategies that account for these biological changes, such as higher protein intake or resistance training, rather than relying on willpower alone.
Dietary-induced weight losses have been shown to lead to decreased resting energy expenditure (EE)... Resting EE dampening is often more pronounced than what could be anticipated from changes in body weight and composition, an effect that has been coined adaptive thermogenesis... the depression in EE seems to persist for as long as 6 years... the reduction of energy stores apparently also powers an augmented drive to eat... This increase in appetite lingers for as long as 1 year after the intervention
Why this rating
Based on multiple cited metabolic ward studies and long-term follow-ups (e.g., Fothergill et al. 2016, Sumithran et al. 2011).
Source
Emerging insights in weight management and prevention: implications for practice and research
Éric Doucet et al. · Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism · 2020
DOI 10.1139/apnm-2020-0585
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