Why Those Who Lost Weight Quickly Gain Weight Again

The article discusses why obese people who lose weight regain weight and tells the fate of reality show contestants who struggled with their fatness for many years in front of TV audiences in the US.

For many people who struggle with their obesity, the cast of the show "Weight and Happy" are role models. For 13 years, there has been a reality show in the world in which fat people compete to lose weight faster. The American show is broadcast in 90 countries, filmed in 25 countries. The winners receive a significant cash prize and a slim figure in addition. But most of them return home and the former excess weight returns to them. Why? A participant of the show shares his personal experience.

From size L to XS

When Ann Miranda, a participant in the American reality show "Biggest Loser" chooses new clothes for herself in the store, she always reminds herself that she no longer needs to look for size L (44-46). Miranda is now a size XS. At the same time, she says that she still sees herself as a "full woman", despite the fact that she lost almost 34 kg 3 years ago! It is difficult to get used to your new figure, admits the participant of the American show.

Miranda is now a size XS. At the same time, she says that she still sees herself as a "complete woman".

"For the first time after I finished participating in the program, every morning was like Christmas: I put on clothes and they fit me perfectly or were even a little too big for me," Ann Miranda remembers about the time when she lost a lot of weight. "I don't want to go back to the days when I was very fat."

 Miranda, 57, came from her hometown of Folsom, New Jersey, USA, to hear Dr. Armando Gonzalez talk about how drastic weight loss affects the human body.

Deception of TV viewers or the harsh truth of weight loss

Gonzalez consults under the name Dr. Mondo. Just a few weeks after the launch of a new study on the reality show "Lose More" on the American TV channel NBC, Armando said that many participants who lost weight during the program regained it after returning home! An article in the American newspaper New York Times, which published the results of the study, caused a violent reaction among the viewers of the show.

Similar facts flashed in the Ukrainian press. For example, the winner of the first season of the show "Weighed and Happy" Mykola Voroshnov lost 85 kg, but a year later he gained extra weight. However, now, judging by the photos on social networks, he has lost weight and is fit again, fighting in the ATO zone. Show participant Mykhailo Repeh, who was 18 years old at the time of the competition, lost 63 kg. But at home he quickly gained too much.

Gonzalez conducted his own research on the reality TV show Lose It All while writing his dissertation in 2009. He interviewed the participants of the show more than once. During the interviews, the doctor found that about 50 percent of people were able to keep their weight within the norm after returning home. At the same time, the other half of the respondents again found themselves involved in a battle called the "war with fullness".

Half of the participants of the show were able to maintain their weight after returning home. The rest are again involved in the battle called "war with completeness".

In the new study, Dr. Gonzalez focuses on the physiological factors that influence rapid weight loss, slow down metabolism and reduce leptin, the hormone that makes us feel full after eating. The expert also draws attention to the psychological problems of people who face such a phenomenon as weight fluctuations (in the English language there is a special term weight cycling, which means jumps in weight).

At the same time, over the years, the problem with the personal affairs of a small number of people turns into a national disaster.

A report by the American Medical Association says that in the United States:

• in 2006, 34 percent of adults were obese;
• in 2014, 38 percent already faced the problem of obesity.

At the same time, the USA has already received the "palm of primacy" in terms of the number of obese people to Mexico, the countries of Oceania and Australia. There are regions where two out of three people are obese.

According to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, obesity was diagnosed in 2016:

• in every fourth woman;
• every seventh man

"Of course, we all try our best to keep the weight at the same level," says Gonzalez. "Everything is important here: you need to learn the basics of proper nutrition, train your body regularly, count calories... But in order to keep the weight off forever and at the same time maintain your health, you must get to the root of your problem," explains the expert.

How to lose weight and stay healthy

 

During discussions on how to lose weight, doctors often talk about self-discipline, but rarely about motivation. While someone can give up junk food to achieve the ultimate goal of a slim figure, there are people who can be inconsistent in their actions.

Gonzalez talks about his personal weight loss experience: how he got better again and again while under stress and suffering from loneliness. After several years of being a "ridiculous fat guy", he was determined to lose weight, but ... constantly struggled with weight fluctuations. He gained and lost 35-45 kg 6 times in 10 years! And then he figured out the psychological reason for his overweight.

"The reason I'm fat isn't just because I like cheeseburgers," the doctor said. "I have developed a peculiar relationship with food for a long time. I was able to lose weight only when I realized that fullness gives me, what I am guided by when choosing this or that food. And I also learned not to eat stress and please myself not with deliciousness, but with other pleasures.

Losing weight is like getting a divorce

Gonzalez developed the "Weight Loss Road Map" program. The weight loss training course is divided into 8 stages. Step by step, the participants are taught to look for the psychological roots of their fullness, the real motivation for losing weight. After all, the desire to please loved ones or show off can be satisfied quickly by losing weight, after which a person will start gaining it again, since he has no long-term goals to stay slim. Another matter is the desire to lose weight for the sake of health, to give birth to a child, to do sports or a favorite hobby that is hindered by obesity. But that's not all! The most important stage is to accept yourself as thin. It would seem that what should be accepted here is an achievement, not a defect? If a person feels like he is fat or "small", he will again start to gain the pounds that are missing for this method. According to Gonzalez, too often coaches know

Losing weight should be seen as a major life change, something like a divorce or the birth of a child, Gonzalez says. He found out during an interview with the participants of the reality show "Lose more than everyone" that people who lose weight dramatically in a short time do not know about psychological changes, although they should know about the stress to which they expose themselves. Strangers will begin to pay more attention to them, acquaintances will start to flirt, if there was a permanent partner, he will start to behave differently... People simply do not know how to react to all this, the tension increases. And subconsciously, they want to return to their usual, understandable state, so they begin to eat more and gain weight.

According to the doctor, it is customary to congratulate people who have lost weight, and consider this moment a happy ending to their efforts to fight weight. In fact, this is just the beginning of a new life stage, because life in a slim body will certainly bring new challenges. And only if you deal with them and adapt to physical lightness and increased attractiveness, excess weight will never return!