Why Is Weight Loss More Difficult for Some Than Others?

You might know of someone who eats whatever they want without gaining much weight.  While you only have to look at a restaurant menu for your clothes to feel tighter.

Frustrating isn’t it.

In most cases the assumption is that the person has a “fast metabolism”.  In reality there is more here than meets the eye. 

At the most basic level, changes in body weight are governed by energy balance. When more energy than the body needs is consistently taken in, some of that excess energy can be stored. To lose body fat, that balance has to change.

But we are not playing on an equal field when it comes to weight loss because everybody’s body and circumstances are different. 

Energy balance is only one part of the bigger picture.

Saying that weight gain requires an energy surplus is rather like saying that a bank balance grows because more money entered the account than left it.

Mathematically, that is correct.

But it does not tell us why more money came in, why less went out, or what influenced either side of the equation.

Body weight is similar.  It is all good and well to know there is a surplus of energy but the more important considerations include things like:

Why are you hungry all the time?  How often do you move your body during the day?  What is the quality of your sleep most days?  What medication are you on? Etc.

This can make weight loss different from person to person.

Genetics can influence the hand you are dealt

Genes do not make behaviour irrelevant.

But they can influence characteristics involved in body-weight regulation.

Appetite, food preferences, metabolic rate, body-fat distribution and other physiological processes involved in energy balance can be influenced by ones genes.

That does not mean that somebody with a genetic predisposition cannot lose weight.

It means that the amount of pressure working against them may not be identical to somebody else's.

The practical question therefore becomes less:

“Why can't I eat like that person?”

And more:

“What does my body and my life require for me to make progress?”

That is a much more useful question.

Your metabolism is not identical to somebody else's

Your body uses energy to keep you alive.

Your organs, muscles and other tissues require energy at rest. You then expend additional energy through normal daily movement, exercise and the processing of food.

People differ in these areas as well.

Body size, lean body mass, age, activity and individual physiology all affect total energy expenditure.

Two people eating similar amounts of food do not necessarily have identical energy requirements.

There is another complication.

When you lose weight, your energy requirements generally decrease. A smaller body requires less energy, and the body can also make physiological adjustments that oppose further weight loss.

That is one reason the strategy that produced progress at the beginning does not necessarily continue producing exactly the same result indefinitely.

Your body situation has changed and your approach needs to change with it.

Hormones matter — but not in the way they are sometimes portrayed online

Body-weight regulation involves multiple interacting systems.  Hormones are involved in appetite, metabolism, fat storage and many other processes related to body weight.

There are also medical conditions that can contribute to weight gain. Examples include hypothyroidism, Cushing's syndrome and polycystic ovary syndrome.

Assuming that every difficult weight-loss experience is the result of a hormonal disorder could make the situation worse.

If there are symptoms suggesting an underlying medical problem, investigation belongs with an appropriately qualified medical practitioner.

For everybody else, blaming or attempting to “hack” a single hormone is unlikely to explain or solve the entire problem.

Then there is the environment you live in

Biology does not operate in isolation.

Factors like working hours, stress, sleep, availability of food, family environment, social life, everyday movement, etc. all play a role.

On top of that the amount of thinking, planning and decision-making required to maintain your eating pattern on normal days and disrupted days can be quite burdensome.

That is why simplistic instructions like “just eat less and move more” become far less useful than they initially sound. 

Also, regaining weight after dieting is not evidence that somebody suddenly lost all discipline.  The conditions they are operating under may have changed.

What happens when the weight is lost?

This is something people rarely think about when they begin.

Your body is not a passive container from which fat simply disappears.

As your body weight changes, energy expenditure, appetite and other physiological signals change as well.

This is an important consideration because losing weight and maintaining a lower weight are two very different tasks.

What does one do with all of this?

Use it as information that can help you discover what produces a measurable response in your body and whether you can repeat it inside your everyday life.

Simply copying somebody else's diet tells you very little about yourself.

Useful questions that are much more specific can go a long way.  For Example:

• Are your portions appropriate for you?

• Are you getting enough protein?

• How is your hunger behaving on good days and bad days and why is this?

• What happens to your energy during the day?

• Are cravings becoming quieter or stronger?

• What happens over weekends?

• Are your clothes fitting differently?

• Are your measurements changing?

• What does your weight trend show over several weeks rather than one morning?

• How are you recovering from training?

• And when progress stops, which variable actually needs changing?

That is where weight loss becomes less about collecting more advice and more about gathering evidence.

To make progress, first understand the body you have.

Some people may have biological, environmental or behavioural factors that make weight regulation harder.

Others may have fewer barriers.

The question is not:

“Why can somebody else get away with eating more than I can?”

The question is:

“What does my body need from me for my weight, measurements, hunger, energy and performance to start moving in the right direction?”

That is a question you can actually do something with.

— Janine, Maria-E

Fuel Better. Feel Better. Live Better.