How to Reset Your Body Weight Set Point and Achieve Long-Term Weight Loss
Have you ever felt like your body is fighting you when you try to lose weight? Do you cut calories and exercise more, but the pounds stubbornly stick, or worse, come right back?
Having embarked on an endurance training regimen, I thought, 'In a few months, I will be the weight I was when I was 15!’ ;-). All of this running, biking, and swimming will have me at that weight in no time. My experience? Although I initially lost weight, the pounds crept back to my “normal” weight. Although my body shape has changed significantly, my weight is exactly where it was when I began this journey. What was happening? I found answers in the book, The Obesity Code, written by Dr. Jason Fung. Jason Fung is a Canadian nephrologist who advocates for low-carb diets and intermittent fasting. His books, including The Obesity Code and The Diabetes Code, challenge conventional thinking about weight loss, weight gain, and obesity, and propose dietary strategies for managing these conditions.
This book has completely transformed my perspective on weight management.
According to Dr. Jason Fung, the weight loss struggle isn’t about willpower or calories alone. It’s about hormones. It’s about managing your body’s insulin levels and, in doing so, resetting your body’s “set weight.”
So, what is set-weight?
Your set weight is the weight that your body actively defends through changes in metabolism, hunger, and hormones. If you cut calories (either through calorie restriction, exercising more, or other means) without changing the underlying weight set point, your body responds by trying to return to homeostasis by:
Slowing your metabolism
Increasing hunger
Burning fewer calories at rest
According to Fung, this is why diets focused on calorie restriction and/or increased physical activity may enable you to lose weight in the short term, but they often fail in the long term. To lose weight and keep it off, you need to lower your body’s set point weight.
Dr. Fung’s core idea is that obesity and weight gain in general are primarily a hormonal issue, rather than a calorie issue. The problematic hormone is insulin. Insulin is the body’s fat-storage hormone. When your insulin levels are high, your body tends to store energy as fat. High insulin levels also raise your weight set point, making it harder to lose weight.
According to Dr. Fung, lowering insulin levels over time is necessary for sustainable weight loss.
“High insulin levels drive fat storage and raise the set weight. By lowering insulin levels,
you can reduce your body’s set point, making sustainable weight loss possible.”
Resetting your set weight
So, how do you lower Insulin levels and reset your set weight? Dr Fung believes you must take a multi-pronged approach. You must change both the foods you eat, and reduce the frequency and timing of your meals.
Let’s start with the food you are eating.
Dr. Fung recommends:
Reduce insulin-spiking foods
Cut refined carbohydrates (such as white bread, pastries, and sugary cereals)
Avoid sugary drinks like soda and juice
Choose whole, unprocessed foods rich in healthy fats and high in protein.
These changes in food choice help reduce insulin spikes and regulate blood sugar levels.
Change the frequency and timing of eating
In addition to eating whole foods and avoiding sugar, the timing and frequency of your meals are also key. It is also important to increase the time that insulin levels are low in your body. Here is how.
1. Avoid Constant Eating and Snacking
Eating frequently keeps insulin levels elevated all day. Dr. Fung suggests eating 2–3 meals per day with no snacking. This allows insulin to fall between meals, promoting fat burning.
2. Use Intermittent Fasting to allow insulin levels to drop
Another powerful tool is intermittent fasting, as Dr. Fung notes that fasting allows insulin levels to drop for extended periods. Fasting also helps break insulin resistance and mobilizes the use of stored fat.
3. Choose Whole, Low-Glycemic Foods
Benefits of whole, low glycemic foods are many in terms of controlling insulin levels. For example, high-fiber foods slow glucose absorption and reduce insulin response. Minimally processed foods help stabilize blood sugar. Healthy fats (like olive oil, avocado, nuts) don’t spike insulin.
4. Manage Stress and Sleep
Chronic stress increases cortisol, which can lead to elevated insulin levels. Poor sleep leads to insulin resistance over time. It is important to manage stress to support your weight management or loss strategy.
Putting it All Together
By targeting the hormonal drivers of weight gain—especially insulin—you can lower your body’s set weight and achieve lasting results. Counting calories or exercising yourself to the point of exhaustion is not a long-term strategy for reducing your weight, reducing your weight set point ,or maintaining a lower set point in the long term.
Weight loss isn’t just about eating less. It’s about eating smarter, balancing your hormones, and giving your body the chance to heal. Fung’s core prescription, in simple terms, is to cut sugar and refined carbs, stop snacking between meals, reduce stress, and eat real, whole foods while incorporating periods of fasting to lower insulin levels for extended periods.
