Why is it so hard to lose weight but so easy to gain weight

[Appleday11]

I have been trying for the last two years to lose weight. It took me about six months to lose three pounds. Then I went to my parents for Christmas, ate more than I usually would and I put on three pounds in one week. Three months later i havent been able to shift the three pounds. I go out walking every day, I go to the gym three times a week. I eat pretty healthily. I only let myself have snacks one day a week. The rest of the week is soup, salads, chicken etc. I hate the mental exhaustion of trying to lose weight.

Why does it take so long to get weight off, but so little time to put weight on.

The article states "In fact, starvation mode is a misleading term. Something like “metabolic adaptation” or “metabolic slowdown” would be much more appropriate".

Starvation mode is not a thing. Your bmr lowers as you need less calories as you get smaller. The less you eat, the more weight you lose once you're in calorie deficit. Eating too little that you can't lose weight just isn't a thing.

A) You have a strange idea of aggressive.

B) You have a strange idea of evolution and genetics. I don't believe the study says what you think it says. Can you link to it?

Writing "did your grandfather get pregnant then".

What was your aim of writing that,if not to be rude.

Also I didnt write the article, Im not that invested in it, I simply brought up that I had read it.

How do I have a strange view of genetics, and not the people in the University who did the research?

Oh wow! That sounds horrendous. At least you gave them a try and you did well sticking with it for 3 months whilst they were having major side effects.

Three stone isn’t too bad. That’s just 42lb. Aim for losing 1lb a week. I recently used a free app called MyNetDiary (fyi logo is Apple with measuring tape around it) and loved it. You scan the barcodes on packaging and it knows all the stats. You can adjust, should you be weighing for one portion. You set your daily calories and just scan. It shows you what you need more of (ie protein) and less of (Sat fat) so you can adjust your next meal. There’s a community on there too, all posting and cheering each other on. With only three stone to lose you’ll be one of the lightest! I set my calories with a 500 deficit and lost 10 in 4 weeks and ate really yummy food, mostly healthy but also my Sunday fry (just more selective and aware of what I was eating). It became really enjoyable. I highly recommend.

@Appleday11Its hard work, I know. I never had a weight problem until 10 years ago when mobility issues, and getting older meant my weight crept up.

I'm now on monjaro which is working. However for it to work properly and for it to stay off you need to retrain your mind, and body to eat properly, steadily, and less.

Often people barely eat anything so the body isn't getting the fuel it needs, and then wonder why it goes back on after.

I use ChatGPT to log my food, and keep an eye on calories, etc etc.

It's working for me however if you don't address how you eat it will go back on after. I've no intention of that happened.

EDITED cos I've just read you tried monjaro, and it didn't work for you. I'm sorry to hear that

My aim was to show in simple terms how ridiculous your claim was. You clearly have no idea what you are talking about.

Perhaps the researchers have indeed discovered some new evidence that blows apart everything we know about evolution. If you could link to the research, we could all have a look.

Until you do, it makes much more sense to me that you misread or misunderstood the article. There's no shame in that, we all make mistakes. You should be at least a little bit ashamed of your "sucks to be wrong" outburst, though.

Yet again, it's not MY claim.

I mentioned that I read an article by medical researchers.

It's their claim.

Why are you so angry by the way. Everything you write is so angry.

So where is this article? The line you quoted before makes no claim about a genetic basis to this

Give me two seconds to get it? Wow

The article I quoted was this one.

https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/study-shows-how-effects-starvation-can-be-passed-future-generations

Whether you diet, exercise, use injections or surgery doesn’t matter - it’s still a case of calorie deficit
To OP you are obviously not in enough of a calorie deficit to lose weight, but sometimes over indulge and the calorie surplus results in weight gain
I have battled with my weight all my life and have to accept that I cannot eat what I want to if I want to be thinner

Human bodies don’t like to die. So they store energy in case of famine.

In terms of weightloss, one factor is calories, but also hormones. The reason the weightloss jabs work is because they impact on the hormones. The same thing can be done with eating specific foods, i.e. going zero carb / keto to also affect GLP-1. That is a choice - it’s upto you how important the weightloss is.

Your claim: Studies say that we can inherit genes like this from both grand parents

Article actually says : One study says that intergenerational transmission may have occured through RNA in roundworms.

OP please don't let the thread get derailed, ignore unhelpful posts and just concentrate on ones that are giving you the advice you asked for.

I agree with a PP, you probably just need a bit of help with logging. So digital scales, and measuring spoons and jugs for liquids.

And weigh and measure everything that goes in your body. If you're buttering toast, put your toast on your scales before you apply the butter to get a proper idea how much you're using. Use tea and tablespoon measures to measure condiments. Use a measuring jug to figure out how much milk you put in your coffee/porridge and the scales to see how many oats you put in your bowl, and truthfully log every single last thing on MFP to the last calorie, even a stolen chip off your friends plate or if you eat your kids toast crusts.

You will be surprised about the little things we mindlessly eat and how it all adds up and also how much we underestimate our portion sizes. For example I used to eyeball a bowl of muesli, or how much peanut butter I put on my toast, both things were 3x more than I had estimated and logged when I eventually started weighing everything. 🫣

Dieting is a slog but its worth it. Remember to set yourself mini goals though. Maybe rewards for every 5 pounds lost if you have the means, perhaps a new book or a manicure. I also like to set myself realistic dates for achieving my mini goals and ultimate goal to keep me motivated, like an event or a holiday. Xx Good luck OP.

The op hasn’t actually lost any weight therefore there wont be any effect on her bmr.
She has lost 3lbs in 6 months which will, according to this article, reduce her calorie burning by about 18 calories which is negligible, probably none at all.
All diets slow the metabolism slightly due to a number of factors, so for example weight training is recommended because all diets reduce the amount of muscle we have, unless we’re really careful, to counter this effect.

But you have to lose weight for this process or phenomenon (whatever it is) to take place.

Starvation mode is from an experiment, I think it was called the Minnesota experiment, where people were calorie restricted until they were at something like 5% body fat the the body tried to hold onto that fat to keep them from dying. At 3 stone overweight this would not happen.

The op needs to figure out her tdee and track her calories to eat in an actual deficit, as she loses weight the calories need to be adjusted for the decrease in caloric need as weight goes down. Do weight training to try to keep some muscle mass and eat protein etc. At goal weight reverse diet by increasing calories figuring out where you maintain and where you gain weight etc, that’s the number of calories to be eaten everyday for the rest of your life.

The article also talks about humans. Why did you leave that part out?

Because in the part where it talks about humans, no claims about genetic transmission of life-acquired characteristics are made.

The reason is, It’s nice to be full and horrible feeling hungry

No, it's not this.

I have no advice but can empathise. I lost a lot of weight before Christmas and have really struggled to get back to my pre-Christmas weight so that I can keep heading in the right direction.

There is this part.
However, events like the Dutch famine of World War II have compelled scientists to take a fresh look at acquired inheritance,” said study leader Oliver Hobert, PhD, professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator at CUMC. Starving women who gave birth during the famine had children who were unusually susceptible to obesity and other metabolic disorders, as were their grandchildren.

Again I have no idea why you keep writing "your claim" over and over. Its so bizarre. I just mentioned that I read about it.

If I read an article on research about treating Cancer, is that now 'my claim'?

You have now read the article above. By you reading it, is it now "your claim?"

No we're not. This is completely made up and perpetuated by fitness influencers telling us what we want to hear.

Hi OP

I feel your pain, I often ponder this question too! I seem to get hungry a couple of hours after eating so it’s so hard to create a calorie deficit. My plan is when cravings hit to eat high protein, tasty snacks that are relatively low in calories. If its’s not tasty then I won’t be satisfied and will find myself nibbling on something else shortly. I have ordered high protein crisps and chocolate wafers from a website online and see how it goes!! 🤗

I’m sure it is genetically harder for some people than others to lose weight. But it doesn’t help to think that way because it is not like anyone can change it.

i am struggling with it too. It is tough! When I have been successful in the past I looked at my habits not just calorie counting. I bet if you think about it you have ‘bad habits’ too. If you can identify one bad habit you do every day worth about 300 calories and swap it for a new better habit of 100
calories and then add in a new positive exercise habit which burns 300 calories then you can get to 1lb per week loss with just those changes. If it is just 2 things it feels less miserable.

If they are habits that can keep up permanently it will be easier to keep the weight off too.

I have realised that I only need to think about one day at a time.
If I plan ahead too far it makes me focus unhelpfully on whether I can stick to it for x number of weeks/months and then it feels impossible. So tonight I know what I will eat tomorrow and I can do it, it will be fine. Thursday I won’t think about yet!

Other things I do: plan my shopping/meals properly, especially on work days. I work shifts, so it’s hard sometimes.
I try to eat 3 meals, roughly within a 10 hour period. So not intense fasting but 14 hours without food, I think it is helpful for me.

The extract does not say what you claim it says. (It's not the first time your reading comprehension has been challenged on this thread.)

The extract says they have observed something in humans and don't know its cause. They have then done research on simple life forms that shows there may be (it's one study) transmission of genetic information of this sort through RNA.

You are the one who has interpreted that as saying: Studies say that we can inherit genes like this from both grand parents

That is your claim. The article does not claim that. Your grandfather was not a flatworm.