Why eating less and exercising more doesn’t always work for long-term weight loss

http://bretcontreras.com/why-eating-less-and-exercising-more-doesnt-always-work-for-long-term-weight-loss/

Start with the LAW of THERMODYNAMICS; calories in / calories out:   "[I]t’s well established that weight gain results from an imbalance between how much energy we consume and how much we expend. However, this basic fact doesn’t tell us anything about why we actually overeat."

So why is it hard for some people to lose weight?  Because the brain works on maintaining homeostatic regulation of bodyfat levels:  "The amount of fat mass we carry is biologically regulated, and the brain tries to keep body fat within a certain range by influencing our appetite, body heat production, metabolic rate, and whether energy is directed towards fat tissue or lean mass."  (like the thermostat in your house)


But if the brain tries to maintain homeostasis, why doesn't it decrease hunger and increase fat-burning in people who have high levels of fat? 

"Part of the answer to this question is found in the negative feedback system between fat stores and the brain. Signaling hormones travel between fat cells and the control center in our head and enable the brain to measure and regulate the amount of body fat we carry.

The key hormone involved in this process is Leptin. Leptin is produced by the body’s fat stores which then travels to the brain where it produces a response at the receptors in the hypothalamus. A high leptin signal is supposed to ramp up the use of stored energy and trigger less interest in food, while a low leptin signal should initiate food seeking behaviour and energy conservation (3,5).

Since leptin production correlates with with the size of the fat stores, people who carry plenty of fat mass produce a lot more leptin than someone who is lean. So, why isn’t the brain responding to these high concentrations of circulating leptin by decreasing interest in food and burning more stored energy? Studies have made it clear that overweight and obesity are characterized by decreased leptin sensitivity, which means that the brain doesn’t respond adequately to the signal from leptin."

So what can you do to restore leptin sensitivity and lower your bodyfat setpoint?
1.  Avoid the highly-processed, addictive foods that the leptin system is not equipped to manage.

2.  Take care of your gut biome, since it's involved in bodyfat regulation.

3.  Exercise to improve leptin (and insulin) sensitivity.

4.  Eat protein.

5.  And finally:  "Several other factors such as insufficient sleep (35,36,37), high omega-6/omega-3 ratio (38,39,40), low vitamin D levels (41,42) and high cooking temperature (43,44,45) have also been associated with increased low-grade inflammation and/or obesity. While probably not as important as the major factors above, these things also play a role."