• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workouts
      • Best Whey Protein
      • Best Creatine
      • AG1 Review
    • Equipment
      • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
      • Best Home Gym Machines
    • Certifications
      • ISSA Review
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

The 6 Factors Making Weight Loss So Bloody Difficult

People spend years dieting, exercising, and doing their best to try to lose weight, but they barely see any results for their efforts.

Written by Andy Peloquin Last updated on August 3, 2017

As so many people will attest, weight loss in the modern day and age is so darn hard. People spend years dieting, exercising, and doing their best to try to lose weight, but they barely see any results for their efforts. But why is that? What is making weight loss so challenging in our modern society?

A paper from The Endocrine Society lists a few of the most common factors:

Imbalance of the body’s energy systems. Minor weight loss can slow the metabolism, leading to reduced energy expenditure even during exercise. However, it can also increase hunger, causing you to eat more. With less energy burned and a higher calorie intake, you’ve got the ideal conditions for weight gain—exactly the opposite of what you wanted.

Genetics. There are many genetic factors that play a role in our modern obesity epidemic. People can pass on their propensity for obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other problems to their children. Though not all genetic factors have been identified, it is well-documented that genes can play a role in obesity and weight loss difficulties.

Environment. Given our low-activity lifestyles and our food-promoting environment, we’re already at a disadvantage before we even begin trying to lose weight.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Chemicals like Bisphenol-A (BPA) can disrupt the delicate endocrine balance in the body, leading to a higher risk of weight gain and obesity.

Diet composition. Our modern diet is heavy in carbs, many of which contain little nutritional value for all the calories. Thankfully, healthy fats are once again becoming common on the menu, so we’re encouraging our bodies to adapt to be more fat-burning than they once were.

Gut bacteria. The more research that’s done into the gut microbiomes, the more we understand how important the bacteria is for our health overall. Gut bacteria play a role in everything from cognitive function to immune health, and obesity/weight gain/loss is definitely one of the factors affecting and affected by our weight loss efforts.

So, we can be certain that, sadly, there is no diet, exercise, prescription, or surgery, that will change the way the body conforms to its perceived norms, generally the highest weight it has been over time. Which is why the long-term it is so bloody hard to lose weight. Delving into neurobiological solutions has to be part of a longer term solution for anyone dealing with obesity.

As the authors of the study say, “The identification of neuromolecular mechanisms that integrate short-term and long-term control of feeding behavior, such that calorie intake precisely matches energy expenditure over long time intervals, will almost certainly enable better preventive and therapeutic approaches to obesity.”

Reference:

1. Michael W. Schwartz, Randy J. Seeley, Lori M. Zeltser, Adam Drewnowski, Eric Ravussin, Leanne M. Redman, Rudolph L. Leibel. “Obesity Pathogenesis: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement.” Endocrine Reviews, 2017.

Andy Peloquin

About Andy Peloquin

Sports and exercise have always been a huge part of my life. I played my first basketball game at age 6, and have tried just about every sport on the planet -- save golf and croquet. Being a large, hefty lad (currently standing at 6' 6" and weighing 275 lbs), I am passionate about weights, cycling, running, sprint training, and practicing martial arts. I'm currently a green belt in Karate, Taekwondo, Hapkido, and kickboxing, and work hard to take my skills to the next level. Fitness and health are my passion, and I love writing and sharing what I know. I am a certified Professional Trainer and always looking for ways help others meet their health and fitness goals.

View All Articles

Recommended Articles

Hugh Jackman Deadpool 3 Workouts Spring:Winter 2023
Hugh Jackman Returns to Wolverine Condition in Workouts for “Deadpool 3”
Method Man Incline Dumbbell Presses December 2022
Check Out Rapper Method Man Cruising Through 120-Pound Incline Dumbbell Presses for 10 Reps
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Leg Workout
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Crushes 5 “Monster Sets” of a Leg Workout
Michael B. Jordan poster for Creed III
Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors Look Like Shredded Boxing Stars in “Creed III”

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

Blessing Awodibu Set to Compete in 2023 Chicago Pro 

Iain Valliere Reveals Shredded Legs as He Preps For 2023 Toronto Pro

How to Do the Hex Press for Chest Size without Shoulder Pain

Daiki Kodama (83KG) Bench Presses 230.5 Kilograms (508.1 Pounds) for IPF Raw World Record

Latest Reviews

Athletic Greens AG1

Athletic Greens AG1 Review: Is This Greens Powder Worth It?

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

Best Whey Proteins for Packing on Muscle, Shredding Down, Meal Replacement, and More

Best Pre-Workouts for Building Muscle, Running, Taste, and More

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2023 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About