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Why The Biggest Losers Become The Biggest Gainers
Metabolic adaptation and being well and fit
Our neighbors, a “snowbird” family from Minnesota, recently went on a 10-day cabbage soup diet. They all lost weight, most averaging about a pound a day during the course of the strict, low-calorie diet.
They are presently in the process of gaining it all back: and perhaps, even more.
The scientific evidence seems clear: 20th century style dieting produces short-term weight loss and long-term weight gain.
You’ve probably heard about the NIH study that showed that 13 out of 14 former contestants from The Biggest Loser had regained all the weight they’d lost, and some were even heavier.
The study only covered 14 people, contestants from a single season, but the metabolic changes they experienced have also been documented in other, larger studies that identified and confirmed the phenomenon of metabolic adaptation.
Metabolic adaptation is a natural mechanism that our bodies use to keep us alive. When we diet, our body perceives it as “starvation,” and adjusts our metabolism downward. In wilderness or hunter-gatherer conditions, this natural tendency is very important.
