Thoughts: Calculating the Set Point?

I have been thinking.. Part of the most ambiguous, aggravating part about diet and diet recovery is the prospect of weight gain. How much will you weigh? What is your happy place? Is it really xxx pounds?

What if there is a scientific approach to determining and calculating where the weight set point falls?

This concept came to me merely from an observational standpoint. I began thinking.. If bodies did, in fact, have a set point, it would seem as if the body structure would be predetermined to accommodation the weight with build. Body structure, sturdy bone structures, larger feet, whatever. Otherwise, how exactly would a forensic pathologist be able to determine the weight of a decomposed body, if not through measurements?

Then, I was browsing through the fourms of CalorieCount (as I do on occasion), and stumbled upon a statement made by a recovering anorexic’s experiences in inpatient recovery: (note: She was on a 3400 calorie recovery meal plan, prior to lowering to the 2500 plan when her weight gain slowed)

It is generally fairly complex and varies from person-to-person and can’t really be determined by an online calculator. My treatment team determined mine based on my body type, response to calories during refeeding, weight history, pediatric growth history, family history, etc. My weight had fluctuated a LOT in the past (from >150 down to ~80 lbs), and my setpoint was somewhere in between. They estimated that my setpoint weight would be 125-130, but my weight started to level off before then. I was able to maintain 120-125 lbs on 2500 calories, so this ended up being my setpoint. I am able to maintain on this level of calories and not feel hungry. When you say you ahve been maintaining for 6 months, do you know approximately how many calories you’ve been eating? Has it been easy to maintain, or have you been fighting it? Do you feel hungry/deprived? Do you have energy? Are you obsessive about food? These are all ways of potentially gauging whether or not you’re at your setpoint.

Gwyneth of YourEatopia also seems to believe that the research suggests that people tend to stay within the same percentiles as their youth weight birth charts, excluding times of stress/lack of sleep where the weight may temporary rise/fall.

So at the very least, treatment facilities are aware of the set point and do calculations based on the above criteria. Barring major stresses, can anyone verify this through personal experiences and/or have tried to study this?

• This topic was modified 10 years, 1 month ago by OmNomNom.