It is not easy to lose weight and science now shows us that it is even harder to keep it off once we have lost it! Recent studies have shown that our bodies change when we diet and that these changes make it extremely difficult to keep the pounds from creeping back.
Everyone has a resting metabolism. That is, their body burns a certain amount of calories when they are at rest. Science has known for some time that when people diet, their metabolisms slow down. But what the latest research has shown is that your metabolism stays slow even after you have lost the weight and you return to a normal diet. As the years go by, your metabolism apparently continues to slow thus making it more and more difficult to keep the weight off. We are basically fighting biology when we try to lose weight and then maintain it. For some reason, our bodies want to return to that previous weight. It is not a lack of willpower!
According to doctors and scientists, this shows that we need to look at obesity as a chronic disease and to look for new and different ways to treat it. Unfortunately, more than a third of American adults are classified as obese. Obesity is responsible for a host of life threatening diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and heart ailments.
Another thing that seems to make it harder to avoid gaining the weight back is that the amounts of leptin in our bodies plummets during and after dieting. Leptin is a hormone that helps control hunger. With less leptin in our systems, hunger and cravings increase making it harder to eat less and to resist foods that we really should avoid.
As a result, drug companies like Pfizer are testing a drug that imitates leptin and could help control cravings in humans. Additionally, some people have found that bariatric surgery that reduces the size of their stomachs has helped them to lose and keep weight off. Because the size of their stomach is reduced, they feel full more quickly and of course, eat fewer calories.
Additional ways to keep a hard won slim silhouette include liposuction, the HCG diet, and B-12 injections. If you have recently lost weight or are trying to lose weight but feel like your body is plotting against you, you are not paranoid! Your metabolism has probably slowed down. As science continues to study obesity, more and more options will become available to help slim down and stay slim but in the meantime, there is help available. If you feel like you are fighting a losing battle against your metabolism, contact DreamBody Medical Centers to find out about the safe and healthy options they offer.