Columbia University researchers published a study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. They discovered that when you lose 10% or more of your body weight, production of leptin — a hormone secreted by fat cells — plummets, setting off a series of physiological changes geared to restoring weight. Our skeletal muscles become more efficient while thyroid and other hormones are reduced, so the body burns as much as 20% fewer calories. There’s also evidence that the brain’s hunger centers are stimulated, producing a strong desire to eat. Been there. 

A thousand years ago, when we didn’t know where our next meal was coming from, this physiologic response was a helpful survival tool. It’s only become a problem in the last 50 years, as cheap, calorie-dense food is around every corner (and we typically drive to get to it), sending obesity rates — and accompanying chronic illness — soaring worldwide. 

You Can Fight Mother Nature

But she has a huge advantage. Not only is our physiology working against us, but our modern convenience habits — ingrained over years or decades — can be extremely difficult to break. It’s like being in a tag-team wrestling match, but you’re facing The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin alone. 

The good news: there are enough successful, permanent weight loss examples to confidently draw a path to long-term weight control. Data from the National Weight Control Registry — the largest ongoing study of significant weight loss — is enlightening. Here are some of the findings for individuals averaging a 67-pound weight loss over 5 years; they:

• Exercise 60-90 minutes a day
• Burn 400 calories a day through exercise (the equivalent of walking 3.5-4 miles)
• Maintain a relatively low-fat, low-calorie diet
• Weigh themselves regularly
• Eat breakfast
• Track what they eat.

All of the above can be summed up in a word: vigilance. A habit becomes a habit through ritual and repetition. Taking your shower, having your morning cup of coffee, and sorting through junk email first thing at work are habits because they’re done at the same time and in the same way every day. For those who want to lose weight and keep it off, exercise, healthy breakfast, weighing, and mindful food choices need to become rituals reinforced through daily repetition.