Hormonal
Weight loss triggers compensatory metabolic adaptations (hormonal and energy expenditure changes) that promote weight regain, making long-term maintenance difficult.
Expect that maintaining weight loss will be biologically challenging. Your body will fight back with increased hunger and decreased energy expenditure. This is normal and not your fault. Long-term success requires ongoing strategies to manage these biological drivers, such as regular self-monitoring and possibly higher protein intake to combat hunger hormones.
The increasingly high rate of failure to successfully maintain weight loss, approximated to be over 80%, has been attributed to aspects that include metabolic adaptations and different compensatory mechanisms... The upregulation of the ghrelin hunger hormone and cortisol levels, alongside considerable reduction of testosterone, anorexigenic hormones that include CCK, insulin, leptin, PYY and GLP-1... and amplified perception of the foods reward values are some of the notable compensatory mechanisms following weight loss
Why this rating
Supported by meta-analysis of long-term trials and physiological studies cited.
Source
The Effectiveness of Nutritional Strategies in the Treatment and Management of Obesity: A Systematic Review
Oluwakemi Lois Adeola et al. · Cureus · 2023
DOI 10.7759/cureus.45518
More from this paper
- Macronutrient composition (low-carb vs. low-fat) has no significant difference on weight loss outcomes when total caloric intake and adherence are controlled.Strong
- Reducing dietary energy density (consuming larger portions of lower-calorie foods) improves satiety and aids weight loss maintenance, regardless of total caloric intake in the short term.Good
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