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Have you ever faced a problem: strictly follow a diet, honestly load yourself with sports, and the weight, as luck would have it, does not go away. It is logical that in such cases the question arises: why is this happening, what am I doing wrong? Most often, the reason for this lies not in the fact that a person eats too many calories or burns very little, but in the specific work of the brain. It’s time to find out in which cases the brain interferes with our weight loss and how to deal with this problem.
Reason One: Ancient Instincts
At the heart of the work of our body are primitive instincts. Although the way of human life has changed beyond recognition since the Stone Age, the brain still continues to control us according to the ancient scheme laid down by nature.
For millions of years, ancient people survived by gathering and hunting wild animals. During this time, most of our modern nutritional habits were formed. Despite the fact that in our time any food is constantly available to a person and, as a rule, in unlimited quantities, our brain is still adapted to the way of life of gatherers and hunters, when food was in short supply. It is the primitive instincts that control a person when he finishes his dinner through force, although he no longer feels hungry. So did our distant ancestors – who knows when they will have to eat again. With this lifestyle, almost all the food taken turned into reserves. And this allowed the ancient people to survive. In our time, similar processes occur in the organisms of lovers of “hungry” diets. When our brain understands that the body is critically low on calories, it gives a signal to accumulate reserves in the form of body fat. So it turns out that you can sit on a low-calorie diet for weeks and at the same time not lose weight, but accumulate reserves.
In order for the diet to start working and the brain not to interfere with this process, it is necessary to convince him that hunger does not threaten the body. That is, it is absolutely impossible to tighten the diet even more, as well as skip meals. On the contrary, the brain must understand that a person receives food regularly, even in small quantities. That is, the advice of nutritionists to eat 4-5 times a day makes sense.
Reason #XNUMX: Hormones are to blame
Losing weight is really hard. Studies show that approximately 80% of people return to their previous weight within a year, even if they did everything right in the process of losing weight. The only reason is that the brain does not want you to lose weight.
The human body does not like change. Take, for example, the change in temperature. If it changes by at least 1 degree, the body does everything to return itself to a comfortable 36,6. If the body temperature rises, the capillaries expand, the person begins to sweat intensely to cool off. If we are cold, the capillaries, on the contrary, shrink, we begin to tremble and thus warm up.
Something similar happens with weight. The brain of each person has a setting for what he considers healthy for himself. If a person reduces the caloric content of the diet, then, most likely, he begins to lose weight, and this usually happens at the expense of body fat. When we lose fat, the level of leptin in the body, one of the hormones that regulate the feeling of satiety, also decreases. While its quantity is normal, the body understands that everything is in order with energy reserves. As soon as the concentration of leptin decreases, the brain perceives it almost as a signal that starvation is near. As a result, the body begins to save itself from possible death: a brutal appetite wakes up, and metabolism slows down. But interestingly, if a person has a lot of excess weight, the brain simply stops noticing leptin levels and constantly lives, as it were, in a state of deficiency of this hormone. And this is another reason why it is difficult for obese people to deny themselves food.
But the role of hormones in the process of losing weight does not end there. The scientists tested two groups of laboratory mice. Animals from the first group received fatty food, from the second – healthy. After some time, the activity of mice from the first group decreased markedly. But what surprised scientists the most was that the rodents switched to a sedentary lifestyle long before they began to put on weight. The answer to the question of why this happens, the researchers found in the hormonal background of animals. It turned out that in mice from the first group, while eating fatty foods, the level of dopamine D2, also known as the pleasure hormone, decreased. Simply put, the mice stopped enjoying movement. Scientists suggest that similar processes occur in human organisms. Therefore, without willpower, it is very difficult to overcome the biochemical processes occurring in the brain.
Reason Three: Your Brain Thinks You Shouldn’t Lose Weight
This explanation may sound like a joke and look implausible, but still, the researchers are talking about it in all seriousness. And the reason is this. Regardless of what you think is your ideal weight, the brain has its own opinion on it. The body of each person determines for himself the so-called fixed physiological weight. This figure can fluctuate within plus or minus 4-7 kilograms. As long as the weight does not go beyond these limits, the brain does not give alarms. But as soon as body weight drops below the norm determined by the brain, the hypothalamus gives the body dozens of signals about the need to increase weight. It is also interesting that if you ignore the requirements of the brain, then during sports training or other physical activity, the body will begin to burn fewer calories than before. Scientists at Columbia University have found that people who lose about 10% of their weight burn 250 to 400 fewer calories as their metabolism slows down. In this way, the body tries to restore its previous weight, which it considers comfortable for itself.
What is interesting: if, due to certain circumstances, a person gained extra pounds and maintained this shape for several years, the brain begins to perceive this weight as normal and in every possible way prevents weight loss.
Reason four: bacterial
According to another theory, the brain receives signals about satiety and hunger from the intestinal microflora, after which it already gives instructions on what to do next: eat or stop.
There is an opinion that directly during the meal the body cannot accurately understand whether it is full or not yet. For adequate perception, nutritionists advise waiting 20 minutes. The researchers determined what the secret of these 20 minutes is and why the feeling of fullness does not appear immediately. It turned out that after eating any food in the intestines, the process of reproduction of bacteria begins and it lasts exactly 20 minutes. At the next stage, intestinal microorganisms begin to produce a specific protein, the structure of which resembles a hormone responsible for feeling full. If this process occurs correctly, then after 20 minutes, even after a loose snack, hunger will pass.
But sometimes this scheme does not work, and scientists also explained why. Sometimes the protein substance in the intestines is produced not by beneficial, but by pathogenic bacteria. In this case, this protein is perceived by the body as something alien, with which it is necessary to fight. As a result, not only protein is blocked, but also the hormone responsible for satiety. A person constantly feels hungry and develops bulimia. It is clear that with such a deviation it is almost impossible to stay on a diet and lose weight.
Reason Five: Neurons are to blame
Scientists from the University of Cambridge, using the example of mice, studied the effect of hypothalamic neurons (AGRP group) on appetite and the number of calories burned. They found that the activation of these neurons causes a feeling of hunger, and when AGRP is suppressed, appetite can completely disappear (in such cases they speak of anorexia). In the course of the study, it turned out that in the case of insufficient food intake (with a deficit of calories consumed), AGRP neurons activate a kind of thermostat in the body of mice, which prevents the burning of calories and causes the body to save energy. But as soon as the body again receives food in the usual mode, the neurons are activated and no longer interfere with the burning of calories. In other words, against the background of a strict starvation diet, neurons transfer the body to an economy mode without wasting energy, that is, without burning fat reserves. The researchers suggest that neurons work in a similar way in human bodies. This is why deliberate weight loss is not always effective.
How to Tell Your Brain That You’re Not Killing Yourself By Dieting
The only way to diet and continue to lose weight is to negotiate with your brain. In this case, it is necessary to “explain” to the think tank that the diet is not starvation and you do not intend to harm the body. This can be done in several ways.
Anyone who wants to lose weight should aim for slow and steady weight loss.
No “5 kilos in 5 days” or “10 kilos in a week”! First, it is basically unrealistic. And secondly, after a sharp weight loss, the lost almost always returns, and even with “friends”. After such stress, the brain will definitely give a setting to restore lost reserves, so it will not be easy to cope with appetite.
Want to trick your brain? Then make sure that the diet menu always contains fruits, vegetables, cereals and a lot of protein. Try to keep your body in good shape, exercise regularly, avoid stress and let your body rest.
An interesting discovery was made by Irish scientists from the University of Ulster. They claim that staying on a diet helps … silence. It turned out that in the noise of 88 decibels, our brain sends signals to the body that we need to eat and drink more. No matter what the source of the noise is, the result is the same – overeating.
People on a diet deliberately force themselves not to think about food. And experts from the University of Minnesota call it a huge mistake. According to scientists, such people usually buy/eat 30% more food. And again, the impulses sent by the brain are to blame. To avoid overeating, experts advise not to resist the brain, but before going to the store, eat an apple or a handful of nuts. Thanks to this trick, it will be easier to stay on a diet.
But perhaps the most intriguing discovery was made by scientists from Harvard. Two groups of maids took part in their experiment. The first scientists said that the work of the maid contributes to weight loss. Women in the second group were told nothing about the relationship between work and weight. At the end of the experiment, it turned out that the representatives of the first group, who received a special installation, actually lost weight, while others, with a similar physical load, remained in the same parameters. Conclusion: To lose weight, you need to believe in the effectiveness of your diet and exercise.
Those who want to lose weight, the researchers also advise to remove the scales from view. It has been established that women who weigh themselves every day or several times a day lose weight more slowly than those who simply follow the chosen weight loss program and only occasionally weigh themselves for control. And that’s why. From a physiological point of view, our weight is not static, but fluctuates within 2%, even when we are on a diet. From a psychological point of view, the weight gain seen when dieting is stress, against which the brain produces substances that increase appetite. That is why on a diet it is worth weighing yourself no more than once a month.
In addition, you can stay on a diet and continue losing weight with the help of smells. Someone might think that this is some kind of mistake, because everyone knows that pleasant smells only increase appetite, but do nothing to eliminate hunger. Of course, the aroma of fresh pastries or fried meatballs will awaken the desire to eat even the not hungry. But if you inhale the aroma of grapefruit, then hunger, on the contrary, may disappear. The essential oil of this citrus affects our brain in a special way, causing the release of leptin, the very hormone that is responsible for feeling full. Thus, you can easily outwit the brain and resist the culinary temptations.
Researchers who study the human body say that it is an amazingly perfect system in which everything is interconnected and works for self-preservation. Our brain itself determines the optimal weight for the body and it decides whether we need to lose weight or not. That is why attempts to part with excess weight for many end in nothing. The brain will do everything to slow down metabolism, increase appetite, reduce calorie expenditure if it considers your diet to be evil.