Nancy Clark
Photo by Samuel Ramos
“I lost £ 10 and vowed to prevent them, but I had no luck. I’m very disappointed.”
“I shed 7 pounds to reach the weight class and then regained everything after the boom, regatta.
“This is my third time losing £ 20.”
If any of those stories sound familiar, you are not alone. Studies show that people on a diet tend to regain weight loss within two to five years, if not early. This includes many rowers struggling to maintain their target weight.
If you are afraid to regain your severely lost weight, this article will help you understand why maintaining lost weight requires effort. Paul McLean, a professor of medicine and pathology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, carefully studied weight recovery. He identifies three reasons why a dietist regains weight: biology, behavior, and the environment.
1. Biology: The body usually has a strong biological urge to regain lost weight through loss of appetite and reduced metabolic rate. Depending on your diet, your body learns to store fuel very efficiently.
2. Behavior: After 3-9 months, dieters tend not to be strict with a low-calorie diet and often report that their weight has peaked. Despite the self-reported allegations that they are on a diet enthusiastically (and still only maintain weight), these dieters can be discouraged and unwilling to stick. (Note: It’s difficult to see the anecdote of “diet hard”.)
Environment: We live in an obesity-induced environment and are easily exposed to weight-gain-contribution chemicals such as ultra-processed foods, sedentary lifestyles, and upholstered furniture, pesticides, and cosmetics. You can access it. Weight is much more complex than self-induced overeating and lack of exercise. You should not blame yourself for 100% of your excess body fat.
• Some people lose weight and others gain weight by adding exercise. Rowing alone does not guarantee a loss of fat. Rowers who lose weight tend to lose weight if they stick to an exercise program. High levels of exercise lead to greater success. This is good news for rowers who train regularly. That said, there is a delicate line between compulsive rowers (exercising to burn calories) and dedicated rowers (training to improve their performance). Fear of weight gain can affect both groups.
• Questions arise:
1) Is it more important to adhere to a restricted diet than exercise to maintain weight?
2) Do rowers who adhere to a strict diet avoid regaining weight?
3) Are rowers more likely to continue a weight loss diet than non-athletes?
4) Does exercise produce beneficial metabolic adaptations to maintain weight loss?
Research using rodents
Finding answers to these questions is difficult for humans to do because of biology, behavior, and the environment. So McLean turned to a study of previously obese rodents who lost weight and were allowed to eat as needed for the next eight weeks (recovery). Some rodents that lost weight remained prone to sitting while exercising.
• The fancy cage accurately measured the energy intake and energy expenditure of rodents. McLean was able to see how many calories the rodents burned and whether they preferentially burned carbohydrates, proteins, or fats as fuel.
• Pre-exercise obese rodents ate less and lost more weight than the sedentary rodents. The exercise seemed to curb their willingness to overeat. In short, they felt less biological pressure to quit eating. With exercise, their appetite was more closely aligned with their energy needs. • Exercise promoted the burning of dietary fat for fuel. Therefore, exercised rodents converted less dietary fat to body fat. They used carbohydrates to replenish depleted glycogen stores. Note: Carbohydrates are inefficiently converted to body fat. That is, when you convert carbohydrates (and proteins) into body fat, about 25% of the calories you ingest are used to pay for that energy store. Converting dietary fat to body fat requires only about 2 percent of the calories you consume. Given the metabolic costs of converting carbohydrates to body fat, in addition to the calorie burning of exercise, the weight of exercise rodents has decreased.
• The sedentary rodents ate from the bottom of their hearts and were pleased with their inactivity. Their bodies efficiently converted dietary fat into body fat. They used carbohydrates and proteins to support their limited energy needs. They easily regained weight.
Melancholy news
Over time, the longer the previously obese rodents lost weight, the stronger their appetite and motivation to regain weight. They quickly regained weight when allowed to eat as needed. “At least people can be taught to change their feeding behavior to help counter their biological pressures compared to rodents,” McLean said. For example, people who lose weight can stop buying fried foods, keep snacks out of sight, and restrict eating in restaurants.
More Depressing News for Women: Most of McLean’s data comes from less obese male rodents. Women who exercised recovered more weight than men who exercised. Female rodents seemed to know that they needed extra energy to exercise, so they ate more and regained weight. Further research is needed to understand the apparent differences in the biological urges to regain weight, McLean said.
Glitter of hope
The best way to maintain weight is not to gain weight in the first place. Yes, it’s easy to say, but at least a rower who maintains a consistent exercise program can reduce weight recovery. You can also change your behavior to minimize weight recovery by prioritizing sleep, controlling unconscious diets, and choosing minimal processed foods.
Is it possible to change the rowing culture so that the rower can focus on performance rather than weight? Rowers, like dogs, come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Some rowers are like St. Bernard. Others are like greyhounds. Hungry St. Bernard is not a Greyhound, but a miserable and weakened St. Bernard.
By fueling your genetic shape and focusing on how well you can work, you become stronger, stronger, and perhaps better at your rowing goals. You can enjoy being able to. If leanness means a lifelong sentence to a food and exercise prison, may you want to think again? A better fuel rower is better than a depleted but lighter rower.
Nancy Clark, MS, and RDC SSDs provide counseling to both fitness exercisers and competitive athletes in the Boston area (Newton; 617-795-1875). Her best-selling sports nutrition guidebook is as popular a resource as her online workshop. For more information, please visit NancyClarkRD.com.
