October 1, 2024

What is “Set Point Weight” and Why Do Fad Diets Make it Worse?

By Rebecca Appleman, RD

As nutrition counselors, it’s important to emphasize that there is no such thing as a universal ideal weight or body type. While society can make us feel like we need to lose weight to be healthy, as nutrition experts, we are firm believers in Health At Every Size and the idea that best practices in nourishment are what matters for long term health.  And further, that these best practices may not always lead to one’s lowest weight status.

With that in mind, we know that many people try to lose weight in order to change their body shape and size. If you’ve tried this in the past, then you’ve also likely noticed that – if you’ve lost weight – it can be difficult to maintain that weight loss for very long. Many people go back to their previous weight or, more often, they may actually gain weight beyond what they had weighed originally.

One of the reasons for this is known as the theory of “Set Point Weight.” It is a concept in physiology where our bodies always try to maintain a specific weight range, and will adjust itself in order to get back to that weight.

If weight management is important to you, then “losing weight” has to be achieved with this set point in mind. Unfortunately, “fad diets,” which are gimmicky diet recommendations often sold online or perpetuated on social media platforms, not only do not address the issue of a “set point weight,” but their endorsed methods can actually raise the set point, causing excess weight gain once you quit the diet. That is why it is so critical to avoid these dietary recommendations and work with an experienced nutritionist instead.

Who We Are

Appleman Nutrition is a nutrition counseling and consulting practice with a presence in three states: New York, Florida, and Connecticut. Our team of Registered Dietician Nutritionists are able to see you in person or remotely. Please reach out for personalized information and recommendations.

How Does a Weight Set Point Work?

To understand why fad diets can be so problematic, we first have to understand what the set point weight is and how our bodies react to changes in our dietary habits.

Our bodies have one job: keeping us alive. Our bodies do not care if we fit into our jeans or if we feel confident at the beach. Our bodies know exactly what size fits for each of us . And our bodies know how much fuel from food they need in order to operate optimally.

The “Set Point Weight” is a specific weight range that the body will defend to maintain regardless of how we manipulate our food intake.  This range is regulated by complex interactions in the brain and multiple organ systems.  The idea is that your body has an internal “thermostat” for weight, and when you deviate too far from this range, it activates mechanisms to bring you back to it. It does this by:

• Increasing Hunger – You may get more or less hungry as you deviate from this set point.
• Slowed Metabolism – You may not be converting food into energy as efficiently
• Adjusting Energy – You may feel tired or desire laying down more to use fewer calories.

These are all examples of how your body will make changes in order to find your way back to its set point weight.

What Counts as a Fad Diet?

If weight loss is a goal, it is one that does not come with any shortcuts. Any diet that mandates eating a specific food or taking a specific supplement or prevents specific foods typically causes someone to lose weight in one of two ways:

• Severe Caloric Restriction – Diets that advocate for elimination of entire food groups or recommend eating only very particular foods at specific times, advocate for fasting, or otherwise reducing your caloric intake dramatically are causing weight loss through caloric restriction. These diets may promote eating large quantities of high volume, low density foods, which we often see leads to binge behavior when normal eating resumes.   Remember, you can feel full and still be calorie deprived. This type of eating is unsustainable and never leads to long term healthy weight maintenance or long term health.
• Ketogenic Diet – Diets like the keto diet, and like the Atkins diet before it, can lead to weight loss, but often do so in unsustainable ways. For example, most early weight loss with the Keto diet is a result of fluid loss. Ongoing weight loss via this method may put strain on specific organs and also eliminate foods from the diet that protect your heart, brain and bones.

If weight management is important to you, then there are safe ways to do it. But these advertised diets are typically using only unsustainable processes and potentially dangerous caloric restrictions.

How Do Fad Diets Raise the Weight Set Point?

People decide to go on diets because they feel they should lose weight. Unfortunately, fad diets not only do not help achieve long term weight maintenance – they often function to *raise* the set point weight, leading to additional weight gain beyond the initial baseline.

They do this for a variety of reasons, including – but not limited to:

• Metabolic Adaptation and Slowed Metabolism – When you engage in a fad diet that involves severe calorie restriction, your body senses a state of starvation and reduces your resting metabolic rate (RMR) to conserve energy. This metabolic adaptation process means your body burns fewer calories at rest. Once you stop the diet and return to regular eating habits, the reduced RMR can lead to rapid weight regain. Over time, the body adjusts to this higher weight, and your set point can shift upward as your metabolism remains sluggish even after you resume normal eating.
• Hormonal Imbalances and Increased Appetite – Fad diets often trigger changes in hormones that regulate hunger and satiety, such as leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is a hormone that signals satiety and helps regulate energy balance. When you lose weight quickly through a fad diet, leptin levels drop, causing the body to feel hungrier and less satisfied. After weight regain, leptin levels might stay elevated, signaling the body to maintain a higher weight. Ghrelin is referred to as the “hunger hormone,” ghrelin increases during calorie restriction. Elevated ghrelin levels persist even after the diet ends, making it easier to regain weight and potentially raising your set point over time.
• Loss of Lean Muscle Mass – Fad diets, particularly those that are extremely low in calories or cause tiredness that make people less physically active, can cause significant muscle loss. Muscle tissue is metabolically active, meaning it burns more calories than fat tissue. Losing muscle slows your metabolism, making it easier to regain fat weight when you return to regular eating patterns. Since the body now requires fewer calories to function, any excess intake contributes more readily to fat storage, which can increase your set point.
• Psychological Impact and Compensatory Behavior – The restrictive nature of fad diets can lead to psychological stress, which contributes to overeating or binge eating once the diet is over. This cycle of deprivation and overeating not only results in weight regain but also teaches the body to store more fat in anticipation of future periods of restriction. Over time, this can contribute to an upward shift in set point weight, as the body “learns” to maintain a higher weight to protect against future caloric deficits.
• Adaptive Thermogenesis – Adaptive thermogenesis refers to the body’s ability to alter its energy expenditure in response to changes in diet and weight. During extreme dieting, the body becomes more efficient at storing fat and conserving energy, which means that even modest increases in calorie intake can lead to more rapid weight gain. As the body adapts to this higher level of fat storage, it may begin to “defend” a higher set point weight.
• Insulin Resistance and Fat Storage – Some fad diets, particularly those high in refined carbohydrates or extremely low in nutritional value, can lead to insulin resistance. When cells become less responsive to insulin, the body stores more glucose as fat. Increased fat storage, particularly around the abdomen, can raise set point weight because the body becomes accustomed to functioning with a higher level of fat.

Every fad diet is different, which means every fad diet may trigger different actions and reactions. Nevertheless, no popular fad diet has led to sustainable, long term weight loss, and the result of trying these diets may be to actually increase set point weight, leading to the opposite of the desired effect.

What Can Be Done to Reduce the Weight Set Point?

First, weight management should never be driven by a number on a scale. We can be healthier and lead better lives without focusing on an arbitrary number, that reflects neither our health nor our fitness.

With that in mind, if you feel like weight management is important to you, including reducing your fat storage and honoring your set point weight, then the process typically needs to be more intentional, and designed for long term sustainability.

Working with one of our nutritionists in NYC, you will receive customized nutrition counseling to improve your relationship with food, and a plan with tailored recommendations that will help you eat what you like and manage your weight more effectively.

We teach and encourage dietary habits that maximize metabolic efficiency, improve nutritional intake, and sustain a comfortable weight in a manageable way. If you’re interested in learning more, contact Appleman Nutrition, today.  We have an expert team with offices in New York, Florida, and Connecticut, and we can work virtually with clients in any location.

If you would like to learn more about our weight management services, please contact Appleman Nutrition, today.