Your brain also has its own senseof what you should weigh,no matter what you consciously believe.This is called your set point,but that's a misleading term,because it's actually a rangeof about 10 or 15 pounds.You can use lifestyle choices to move your weightup and down within that range,but it's much, much harder to stay outside of it.The hypothalamus, the part of the brainthat regulates body weight,there are more than a dozen chemical signalsin the brain that tell your body to gain weight,more than another dozen thattell your body to lose it,and the system works like a thermostat,responding to signals from the bodyby adjusting hunger, activity and metabolism,to keep your weight stable as conditions change.That's what a thermostat does, right?It keeps the temperature in your house the sameas the weather changes outside.Now you can try to change the temperaturein your house by opening a window in the winter,but that's not going to changethe setting on the thermostat,which will respond by kicking on the furnaceto warm the place back up.Your brain works exactly the same way,responding to weight loss by using powerful toolsto push your body backto what it considers normal.If you lose a lot of weight,your brain reacts as if you were starving,and whether you started out fat or thin,your brain's response is exactly the same.We would love to think that your brain could tellwhether you need to lose weight or not,but it can't.If you do lose a lot of weight,you become hungry,and your muscles burn less energy.Dr. Rudy Leibel of Columbia Universityhas found that people who have lost10 percent of their body weightburn 250 to 400 calories lessbecause their metabolism is suppressed.That's a lot of food.This means that a successful dietermust eat this much less foreverthan someone of the same weightwho has always been thin.
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Sandra Aamodt: Why dieting doesn't usually work | TED Talk ...
