Your body and its "Natural' composition/weight

Hi guys -

So, I get lots of different emails and blog posts I check and like to share them with you at times when I see one that truly makes me think - hmmmmm I like that one - let's share it.

This comes from a IF (intermittent fasting) author Brad Pilon - he has years of experience in the supplement industry, plus took a shot at bodybuilding. He has some great things to say a lot of the time, and has given up the supplements, and the bodybuilding - he is into IF, and having a healthy functional lifestyle. I have included his link at the bottom of this post written by Brad.

I like this a lot, because you will hear us in the box talking about being "happy" at our natural weight - or that our bodies are at their genetic size. We of course say this after our lifestyle changes, including functional movements, great foods, and all around good lifestyles.

Do you believe in set weight theory? I thought maybe, so I asked around, and it's a popular idea.
But here's the rub, people with 30% body fat are telling me that they are at their set weight.
A woman 5"3 weighing 210lbs told me she had lost 30lbs, and this was what her body really wanted to weigh.

Is this true?

I figured it there was a "set point" it was at least a healthy one with 20-ish% fat or less?

Here is my answer:

There are actually TWO set points you need to be concerned with...

The first is your GENETIC set point that determines how much lean body mass you carry.
The second is your ENVIROMENTAL set point for your body fat levels.

Your genetics determine how much muscle and lean body mass you are capable of carrying. This is mostly tied to your final adult height.
Your enviromental determines how much body fat you carry.

This includes: How you were brought up, your daily activities, the friends you have, where you live, your economic and social status.... These are the things that determine how much body fat you have.

Both set points are CHEAT-ABLE TO A DEGREE.

To change your body fat set point you need to change your enviroment. You need to change your HABITS. You need these changes to permeate through your friends and family. Everyone needs to except the changes you are making in your lifestyle. Losing weight without changing your lifestyle habits is like helping a drug addict recover, then throwing them back onto the streets, with the same friends, and same money issues = same lifestyle.
They are bound to become drug addicts again.

The same thing happens when you loose weight.
If you loose 20 or 30 pounds, then go back to your old lifestyle, eating the same food and amounts you used to eat, no matter if its with your same friends, or doing your same exercise you used to do before you lost weight then you are GOING to gain the WEIGHT BACK.

Long term weight loss, and healthy lifestyles requires a complete shift in how you live.

Bottom line, there ARE such things as "set points", however ENVIROMENT is the main component of your body fat set point and no matter what your genetics are, your enviroment is the biggest challenge in maintaining a healthy level of body fat.

CHANGE YOUR HABITS AND LIFE STYLE long term, and you can lose weight and keep it off long term.

YOUR BODY DOES NOT WANT A SPECIFIC LEVEL OF BODY FAT - BUT YOUR LIFESTYLE DOES!

Brad Pilon
http://www.bradpilon.com/


So, this is the jist of his post - I thought I would share it for those of us who just started the Paleo Challenge, and for those of us who have that few extra pounds we may or may not need to loose. Whatever it may be, by changing your lifestyle, giving up those processed foods, and carrying on with CrossFit, or the functional movements you may be doing in your garage - it will change! YOU WILL SEE IT AND FEEL IT!!!