Set Point


Everyone has a weight regulating system in their brain, which maintains the fat content of the body at a certain level or ‘SET POINT’. The level of this ‘SET POINT’ results from the interaction of several factors…genetics, environment and behavior. You can vary your ‘set point’ depending on what and how you eat, as well as what kind and how much exercise you do.
Now to lower your fat ‘set point’ you do not have to starve yourself. In order for your body to perceive itself to be in a state of starvation, all you have to do is miss a couple of meals. When this occurs the body begins to preserve as much fat as possible. It sacrifices muscle for caloric energy and slows its metabolic rate to conserve energy.

Now, when the body is being deprived of food energy, a very high percentage of the lost weight will be muscle tissue rather than fat. The reason for this is simple. Under these semi-starvation conditions the body will do everything it can to conserve energy and return its weight back to the original ‘set point’, so it sacrifices muscle. Muscle as you know burns calories, so when you have less muscle you burn fewer calories. Also the dieter will feel tired and fatigued and become less active, therefore using less energy.

Since a large portion of the weight you lost was muscle, when you stop dieting (nobody can fad diet forever) and return to your ‘set point’ almost all the weight gained back will be fat therefore changing your lean-to-fat ratio.

So how do you lower your ‘set point’?

Well you first have to understand the body’s supply and demand system. For example, you can eat (supply) all the protein you want and it won’t turn into muscle unless there is a demand and that demand comes from the stimulation of weight training (exercise). The body works the same when it comes to energy. Anaerobic exercise burns stored carbohydrates (glycogen) while aerobic activity is able to use fat to supply the needed energy, and burning fat is what it’s all about. Now you can eat more because excess calories will be metabolized to provide energy rather than stored as fat. Since you’re eating more, your metabolism speeds up again resulting in more energy expended and less energy stored as fat. Since plenty of energy is coming in on a regular basis, the body sees no reason to maintain high levels of body fat and your ‘set point’ is reduced. Now changing your ‘set point’ permanently will not happen overnight. It takes time so be patient.
