You are about to read one of my most recent and brand-spanking new theories that just might change the way you think about weight management. I call it, Bodyweight Memory.
The idea came about on Friday the 13th (how ironic eh?) when I was looking at some hard data of my own bodyweight over the years along with some of my logs. I’m one of those people that writes everything down… if I had troubles, it’s going in the log. If a workout was awesome and I had no problems, then that shit is also going in my log also. One interesting thing I found was that when I wanted to fluctuate between my previously acquired weight, it wasn’t much of a problem. Could be done within a month or two. But when I wanted to beyond what I had achieved in the past… now all of a sudden the task was exponentially harder. Let’s look into an example.
My weight and body fat rangers between these two levels: 130 @ 6%BF & 150 @ 7-8%BF. The picture most of you see of me is of when I was at 140 at around 6%BF… and my protocol to get there is simple. Bust my ass and feed for about 6 weeks till I’m 150, then spend 2 weeks cutting down to around 145-140 so I can look lean, mean and sexy for the camera. I’ve done this for years and the odd thing is that it doesn’t matter if I’m at 130, 135 or 140… getting to 150 never takes me more than 6 weeks. It’s like my body knows…
However, when I once tried to go above 150 – it was fucking hell. It was not impossible (I hit 153) but the effort required almost doubled. I had to stuff my face even at times when my stomach feels full and while it was no fun, it was the only way to see results. On the contrary, I’m sure if I ever tried to drop below 130 my body would tell me to go take a hike and/or jump off a bridge… but not that I would, it’s too light even for power tumbling reasons.
Now, I figured this might just be me or whatever and so I didn’t pay much attention to it. But then I got curious and started to look at the data from my E-Training clients. What I found was that my little “hunch” was true across the board. Those that said they were “fit” in the past actually saw progress much faster, had less challenges and therefore sent me less “I’m having trouble with this…” type emails than than those that had never been in shape before. Don’t get me wrong, both groups saw progress, but one group was clearly ahead in terms of speed. Hmm… interesting.
Its Like Muscle Memory
I concluded this data into my new little theory. You see, just like Muscle Memory (which as been proven), I believe you possess something called Bodyweight Memory. If there was a weight you’ve been at before, then your body remembers all the physiological conditions and nuances that need to be true in order to be at that weight… which could explain why weight loss (or gain) can be challenging for most people. Add this to the fact that your body loves to be at homeostatis (the weight you’re currently at) and that once you gain fat cells you can never get rid of them – just deplete them, and you soon realize why people like Oprah and Kristie Alley bounce back to their floor-shattering weight. Now, some even manage catapult beyond because they obviously eat more… which we know as the yo-yo effect.
“Where Is The Scientific Proof?”
Well that’s the damn problem, I was hoping that there would be actual scientific data backing this up but apparently I’m the first person to dream up this little hypothesis. Or the first to publically write about it… either way, the data from studies isn’t there to support this exact theory. But I’ll tell you what is there – real world experiences. I’ve run this little theory by a few extremely smart individuals and each have reported back saying something along the lines of “now that you mention it, I too have noticed this… it’s much easier for me to reach a weight I’ve been at before”, and it’s comforting to hear this because now I know that I’m not talking out of my ass.
So where does this leave us? Well… realistically speaking it leaves us all hanging. I don’t have the massive amount of cash necessary to fund a study like this because truth be told, designing one to try and prove this theory would not only be intensive, it would take a while (and I’d want it peer-reviewed!). These are important factors that would jack up the cost for whoever is funding it – but I believe the conclusive data would be very revealing and quite beneficial to this whole weight loss field (Hey universities – are you listening?)
As it stands right now, I’m fairly convinced that Bodyweight Memory is a very real, and that most people will experience this phenomenon. It gives me a whole new understanding of how people lose weight which in turn will help me refine my program and products even further so people can look as sexy as possible in the shortest amount of time.
However, I do need to end off by saying one thing to those that don’t know what I’m all about… DO NOT USE THIS AS A FUCKING EXCUSE!
I always have some trepidation when writing about such new ideas (of which I have lots) because many will misinterpret the information and then use it as a crutch to justify why they can’t reach their goals; “Oh I can’t lose/gain weight because of Bodyweight Memory… I just can’t do it… my body’s never been there before!” – If I catch you spewing this nonsense, I’ll kick your ass. Seriously.
Even if a study comes around in the future and proves the concept of Bodyweight Memory to be true (or untrue), there is no reason you need to use this as a crutch. I’d say it solely exists as a teaching concept for program designers and coaches then for the average person who has a life outside of health, sports and weight management. Which means you really shouldn’t be reading this in the first place… shit. Oh well.
- FitJerk
Discuss: Have you experienced this theory to be true in your own life? Comment below and let me know.
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I think what you are looking for is called Set-Point Theory (http://medweb.mit.edu/pdf/set_point_theory.pdf) There are numerous facets to it including a set point of weight, but also that the body "settles" in a certain range of weight and fat %. Don't know if hard science backs it up , but having the name might help with your searches.
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