Out of interest, KD, do you know if the time taken to reach a new setpoint is less if you're younger? (pretty please say yes
)
x
The longer you are at a setpoint, the more 'stuck' it will be. I don't know whether there is any threshold there though.
But it sounds logical to me that if you haven't been on your 'bigger setpoint' for as long, you'll get down to the new one with more ease.
On another note, haven't read anything scientific to support this (or not support it), but I think we often have different setpoints along the way.
I know that when I was on the 'up', I sort of hovered for a while around the 13st mark. Then again at the 15 stone mark, and another at the 18st 12 mark. At each point, I could have probably stayed there without too much trouble, but by the time I was bigger, I had already made a fair few bad connections; forming new poor eating and lifestyle habits, which pushed it up further.
When I lost weight, it was those marks (with non VLCD diets), that I had huge plateaus. So they appeared to be my
various setpoints.
Something to remember though. As girls, we reach out natural setpoint at about 18 years old....assuming we haven't already raised it by then with poor eating habits.
Biologically, left to its own devices our setpoint goes up about a pound every year for the next 20 years. It's due to natural cell disintergration or something it doesn't work so well. But it is very precise and turns out that our bodies desire an extra 10 calories a day, either by slowing the metabolism a little, or asking us to eat more
Of course, 10 calories a day is nothing. We are talking about needing equal to one jellybean less a day to STS. Unfortunately, pregnancy changes the body setpoint, and then childrens dinners need finishing up
Around the house for longer and often in charge of the cupboard contents and shopping. It's not surprising that we push that body setpoint up unnaturally.
What was the question again Jenni (scrolls back up)...oh yes, think I've answered it.
"Yes....probably"
...but remember that you may need to take into account the extra pound a year since you were 18, to find your natural one.