It’s Not Willpower, It’s Biology

The evidence is clear. Diets don’t work. 

Many of your employees are probably familiar with the cycle of trying a new weight loss program: losing a few pounds, and then either getting stuck or regaining the weight, putting them back where they started. This doesn’t happen because they’ve done something wrong or because they don’t have willpower. Instead, studies show that it’s because each of us has a “set point,” which is the weight our bodies work to maintain—whether or not that weight is actually healthy. 

Set point: a primer

Set point is determined by an individual's biology, genetics, and environment, and it is regulated closely by the brain. 

Our body’s system is so committed to keeping us at this “target” weight that if we reduce the amount we eat for a sustained period of time, our bodies will operate as though there’s a food shortage. Here’s what happens:

• Metabolism (the process of turning food to energy) slows down. The body is programmed to use energy as efficiently as possible. When there’s a decrease in the amount of energy coming in, metabolism slows in an attempt to conserve it.
• We feel hungrier. The body begins to produce more of certain hormones in the stomach that signal hunger to the brain. 
• We also feel less full. Because satiety (fullness) hormones are produced in fat tissue, as we lose weight, less fat is available to make these hormones. 
  

Metabolic health: What it means to improve health from the inside out 

Luckily, set point isn’t permanently fixed. It bears repeating that none of this is dependent on willpower alone. This is what’s been shown to work:

GLP-1s: The medications that kickstart the process

GLP-1s are powerful hormones that naturally occur in the body, made by the gut, that send signals to the brain to regulate metabolism, reduce appetite, and help us feel full. Research suggests that people who hold onto more weight experience reductions in GLP-1 signaling. 

But GLP-1 medications only work as long as individuals  are able to take them—and cost and coverage can create access barriers. To put this in perspective, GLP-1 coverage can cost over $10,000 per person per year. The cost of lifelong usage creates unsustainable financial burden for most individuals, employers, and payors. These financial limitations make it difficult for an individual to remain on medication forever. This makes it imperative that GLP-1 usage be paired with lifestyle changes and habit formation—so that when someone transitions off of the medication, they won’t gain the weight back. 

Lifestyle changes: The toolkit that sustains results

While individuals can’t change their genetics, they can influence their  environment and how their biology responds to it. Here are four key factors:

Food: What we eat impacts metabolism, hormones, and gut microbiome. Sugar and processed foods trigger fat, muscle, and liver cells to hoard energy (so the body can’t burn it), and also prevents the breakdown of fat (so the body can’t burn that either). Foods that are rich in protein, fiber, and healthy fats, by contrast, keep the body working optimally.

Sleep: The quality, duration, and consistency of sleep can directly influence the body's system and alter appetite. Lack of sleep throws off the balance of the hunger/fullness hormones, changes the ability to maintain normal blood sugar levels, and makes the brain’s response to food overactive.

Exercise: Activity is important for mental, physical, and metabolic health. Exercise doesn’t just burn energy, it also makes the heart, muscles, and bones stronger and even lowers blood sugar. 

Emotional Health: Your mood and stress levels can influence hormones that affect eating habits—and, over time, weight. In fact, studies consistently show that recording meals and eating patterns leads to both weight loss and better health. 

Calibrate: The combination that works

At Calibrate, we combine GLP-1 medication and lifestyle changes into a unique, science-backed program with proven results. Our members use GLP-1s as training wheels to kickstart deep changes to their physiology. At the same time, members work 1:1 with our coaches on structured curriculum designed to make these changes last. This approach helps them lower their set point and improve not just metabolism, but also metabolic health. Through our program, we’re delivering more than willpower; we’re changing the way the world treats weight.