Does the Setpoint Diet Work?

If you’re reading this article, it’s a good bet you typed, “Does the setpoint diet work?” or something similar into the Google search bar. Prior to searching online, you may have even asked others, “Does the setpoint diet work?”

Whatever manner you used to arrive at this article and at our website, we are glad you’re here. We know when you asked, “Does the setpoint diet work?” it was probably more than an academic question. You likely want to know if the setpoint diet will finally be the answer you’ve been seeking for the past 10, 20, or 30 years or more.

We feel your pain. We know how difficult it is to lose weight and keep it off. More than 100,000 U.S. adults are dieting on any given day. If losing weight were easy, nobody would be overweight or obese.

Setpoint Diet: an end to yo-yo dieting

Have you been on 6, 10, 12 diets or more? Have you lost weight, sometimes a lot of weight, only to gain back every pound — plus a few more? Are you now an experienced yo-yo dieter, a skill you never wanted to achieve? Well…join the crowd. Statistics show that more than 95% of dieters gain back all the weight they lost within 2 years. And it happens every time they lose weight on the next diet…and the next…and the next.

You are now a yo-yo dieter, and that’s never a good thing.

What is yo-yo dieting?

Yo-yo dieting, also called weight cycling, is a pattern of repeatedly losing weight and then gaining it back so that your weight is constantly fluctuating. Research shows that yo-yo dieting may be harmful to your health, increasing the risk for heart disease and high blood pressure. It also leads to more weight gain and a higher body mass index (BMI) over time. It is also depressing and frustrating for the yo-yo dieter.

You want to lose weight, and you know you need to lose weight, but it just never works for you. Perhaps you feel the most recent diet just wasn’t the right diet for you, so you moved on to another one. But they all led to the same result. You lost 10 or so pounds quickly in the beginning, the weight loss slowed down to nothing, you went off the diet, and then gained all the weight back in a fairly short period of time.

The good news is that going on the setpoint diet involves easy work that lowers your setpoint weight and ends yo-yo dieting.

But, in case you’re still wondering…

Will the Setpoint Diet work for me?

The answer is yes, yes, YES. More than 100,000 people who have done the setpoint diet have experienced astonishing changes in their health and in their bodies. These individuals have effortlessly lost 20, 30, 100, or more pounds effortlessly. They have lowered their cholesterol,  blood pressure levels, and/or blood glucose levels. Many of them have reversed serious diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s.

The setpoint diet isn’t a fad. It is scientifically proven to clear hormonal clogs, lower your setpoint weight, trigger fat-burning hormones, facilitate long-term weight loss, and treat or heal many obesity-related health problems. What other diet can boast such positive effects or such high success rates?

Plus, the setpoint diet is the only diet endorsed by top doctors at the Harvard Medical School, the Mayo Clinic, UCLA, the Cleveland Clinic, and Johns Hopkins.

How does the setpoint diet work? Well, this diet works with your body to lower your setpoint weight, which promotes natural and effortless weight loss. More importantly, the weight you lose will be permanent. The setpoint diet is not just one way to lose weight. It is the only way to lose weight permanently.

It is unlike any diet you’ve ever tried because it’s not really a diet, per se. It’s a lifestyle change, one that is painless, frustration-free, and amazingly easy to do. Perhaps for the first time in your adult life, you’ll have the body of a naturally thin person, something you could only dream about before going on the setpoint diet. But it is not a dream. It is yours for the taking.

Before discussing the exact strategies that make the setpoint diet work so well, let’s talk about why you might want and/or need to lose weight.

Psychosocial problems being overweight or obese in today’s society

Let’s face it, it’s not fun to be overweight or obese in today’s society. In fact, being “fat” is the last acceptable form of discrimination and bullying allowed today. The “unspoken” truth in our society is that it is okay to treat overweight people as less than human. It is okay to treat them with disrespect. Shame them. Bully them.

You see it on TV shows and in the movies. Heavy people are often the butt of jokes. They are usually the ones who don’t get the “girl” or “boy.” After all, the unspoken message says heavy people are not deserving of love. This media bias against overweight people carries over into the workplace, where heavier people are routinely passed over for promotions. That is if they are lucky enough to make it through the interview(s) to be hired in the first place.

Overweight people are mocked as lazy gluttons with no self-control. They are blamed for being overweight, and it is this bias that has led to the blatant discrimination and mistreatment of overweight people. For instance, various studies show overweight people earn lower salaries, don’t get promoted much, or have jobs with less customer contact than their naturally skinny co-workers.

To say this mistreatment of overweight individuals is appalling is an understatement. It is cruel and sadistic to treat fellow human beings like that, and yet it happens all the time to overweight individuals. And what type of effect does this have on them? It has quite a large and varied effect, as you might image.

Here are just a few problems overweight or obese individuals face in our society.

Low self-esteem

To be mocked because of your appearance — or any other reason — naturally affects self-esteem, especially if it happens often. To be constantly told or treated as if you are “less than” any other person tends to lower your self-esteem.

If you have low self-esteem, you are more likely to become involved in unhealthy romantic or other interpersonal relationships, abuse drugs or alcohol to soothe the pain, become an underachiever professionally, suffer from depression, have an anxiety disorder, develop an eating disorder, attempt or commit suicide.

Depression

Low self-esteem is often the trigger for depression, a mood disorder characterized by a persistently low mood that continues for an extended period of time. Clinical depression (major depressive disorder) affects the way you think, feel, and behave and is considered to be a serious mental illness.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, major depressive disorder affects more than 16.1 million American adults in a given year. It is the number one cause of disability for those ages 15 to 44.3. However, major depressive disorder is but one type of depressive disorder. There are several other types of depression that have a profoundly negative effect on millions of people’s lives.

We do not know the exact cause of depression, nor do we know what percentage of people who are depressed have been “fat shamed” or even what percentage of them are overweight. But what we do know is one of the triggers for a major depressive event is personal conflicts/disputes with others, major events (bullying, maybe?!!!), or other “personal problems.”

Anxiety

Low self-esteem is also often a trigger for anxiety, especially when you are confronted with an anxiety-producing event, such as having to attend a social function or walk past a group of people you know are going to verbally insult you.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S. Every year, 40 million adults in the U.S. suffer an anxiety disorder.

Like depression, the exact cause of anxiety disorders is unknown. But what we do know is they often arise from a combination of factors, such as genetics, brain chemistry, personality — and life events (being bullied, ostracized, maybe?)

Suicide

Suicide, as the saying goes, is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. That is correct, but for many obese individuals, suicide may seem to be the only way out of a life of continual pain, torture, bullying, and insult.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the U.S. In 2016, there were twice as many suicides (44,965) in the U.S. as there were homicides (19,362). The most common trigger for suicide is severe depression.

Though it is not known how many of those who committed suicide were overweight, it is not a stretch to theorize the depression caused by low self-esteem (due to being bullied) may have led to a significant number of suicides.

Dating and marriage

Those who are overweight or obese often have trouble dating and/or finding that perfect marital partner. Research shows that although most women in the U.S. do not automatically reject an overweight man as a potential partner, many men still will not date overweight women. This makes it very difficult for overweight women to meet and marry the man of their dreams.

And research shows if a woman gains weight after taking her vows, it often puts a huge strain on the marriage. This is true even if he packs on the pounds after marrying her. Overweight and obese men don’t have an easy time in the dating and marriage department either. Men who are morbidly obese, defined as having a body mass index greater than 35, often find it very difficult to find a romantic/marital partner.

Sexual issues/dysfunction

People who are overweight or obese frequently experience sexual issues. Because of their weight, they may have trouble finding an appropriate sexual partner. Also, obesity has been linked to a lack of sexual desire in women and erectile dysfunction in men.

Studies show the degree of obesity in men correlates with lower testosterone levels. In other words, the greater the level of obesity, the lower the level of testosterone. (Testosterone is the male hormone necessary for proper erectile function.) Obesity can also cause other health problems, such as high blood pressure, that can also affect erectile function.

Eating disorders

Though it is not publicized much, eating disorders are a huge and growing problem in our society today. An eating disorder is a condition in which a person has an unhealthy relationship with food. With anorexia, the person has a distorted view of their body.

There are three main categories of eating disorders: anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder.

• Anorexia occurs when a person has a distorted view of their body. They see themselves as fat, for instance, when they may be sickly thin. So, they starve themselves to lose weight.
• Bulimia occurs when a person obsessively focuses on their weight. This eating disorder is characterized by consuming a large quantity of food in a short period of time and then purging it by vomiting, using laxatives, or excessively exercising.
• Binge eating disorder involves uncontrollably eating large amounts of food.

According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, at least 30 million Americans suffer from an eating disorder. The obsession to lose weight that this disorder causes is not a small concern. Rather, eating disorders have the highest death rate of any mental illness. (Source: National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders)

The exact cause of eating disorders is unknown. However, genetics, personality traits, and environmental factors have been shown to play a role. It should also be noted that many eating disorders begin after somebody teases the person about being “too fat or chubby.” In her BBC interview, Princess Diana said her bulimia began after Prince Charles teased her about being a bit chubby.

Health problems associated with being overweight or obese

If you think the psychosocial problems you experience being overweight or obese are terrible — and they are — the health problems can be even worse. After all, obesity underlies most health conditions and diseases. It either causes these health conditions, contributes to them, or worsens them.

Health complications associated with being overweight or obese include:

• Type 2 diabetes
• Stroke
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Some cancers
• Osteoarthritis
• Fatty liver disease
• Sleep apnea
• Gallstones
• Physical discomfort

Plus, obesity increases your risk of premature death from ALL causes.

Obesity and type 2 diabetes

Notice how type 2 diabetes is at the top of the list of health problems associated with being overweight or obese? That’s because obesity is the number 1 risk factor for type 2 diabetes. The Centers for Disease Control reports that 90% of obese individuals will eventually develop type 2 diabetes. And guess what? About 90% of diabetics are obese.

The link between obesity and type 2 diabetes has been obvious for decades. Medical doctors undoubtedly noticed a high percentage of their obese patients developing type 2 diabetes. But it wasn’t until the mid-1990s that peer-reviewed clinical research studies absolutely verified the link between these two diseases. Actually, it’s more than a link. Obesity and type 2 diabetes are so interrelated that the term “Diabesity” — a condition in which obesity and type 2 diabetes occur together — was coined for it. What is the relationship between these two diseases? They are symptoms of the same underlying disorder involving insulin.

While we don’t yet know why some people develop type 2 diabetes first while others develop obesity, we do know that when one shows up, the other is almost guaranteed to follow. That’s because of the insulin connection.

Insulin’s Role in Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes

You see, type 2 diabetes is a condition in which insulin builds up in the bloodstream. Since insulin is a fat-storage hormone, having an excess amount of it hanging around makes it almost impossible for your body to burn stored fat for fuel. Obesity, of course, is the almost inevitable outcome. Similarly, if you’re obese, one or more components of your metabolism cannot do their job to regulate your weight. This causes insulin to build up in your bloodstream, eventually leading to type 2 diabetes.

Diabesity affects more than 1 billion people globally, including 50% of Americans over 65. According to a 2017 report published in Clinical Diabetes and Endocrinology, Diabesity is the largest health epidemic in human history. Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death globally. It contributes to many of our most deadly chronic diseases.

Health complications of diabesity

Some of the health complications of diabesity include:

• Heart Disease
• Stroke
• Blindness
• Neuropathy (nerve damage)
• Amputations
• Kidney disease/failure
• Gallbladder disease
• Alzheimer’s

The real reason you have not been able to lose weight

Okay, you probably know most of what’s been written here so far. You know you have problems with your weight that you’ve never been able to solve. You know the physical, mental, and emotional pain being overweight or obese often brings. Though you may not have experienced all of the psychosocial issues of obesity, such as perhaps anorexia or bulimia, you have almost certainly experienced some of them.

Low self-esteem. Depression. Shame. Embarrassment. And much more. You also know the health risks of being overweight. After all, you can’t escape the dire news about the many obesity-related diseases. You want to reduce your risk of these diseases, and the only way to do that is to lose weight permanently.

But you don’t know how to do that. Every diet you’ve tried was a huge disappointment. You blamed yourself. You blamed each diet and their creators. But after a few dieting “failures,” didn’t you have a feeling, somewhere deep inside, that you’re missing a piece of the puzzle?

You’re correct. You’re actually missing a HUGE piece of the puzzle…and no, it isn’t your fault. You have simply been given incorrect information from every diet plan you’ve ever tried. Because true information wasn’t easily available, you had no choice but to keep trying other diet plans, hoping they would work for you.

That can change in an instant once you learn the correct information. When you learn the correct information revealed here and learn how to make the setpoint diet work for you, you will lose weight effortlessly and, more importantly, permanently.

To lose weight permanently, it is necessary to shatter some well-worn dieting myths.

Dieting myths you need to shed before you can shed pounds

Though there are many dieting myths, these three are the most harmful to long-term weight loss.

1. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie

According to this myth, all calories are the same for your body. They all affect your body in the same way. So, if you’re trying to lose weight, you can eat anything you want as long as your total calorie intake for the day doesn’t exceed 1,200 calories, for instance.

Most traditional diets follow the “calorie is a calorie” myth…and they’re all wrong. Many peer-reviewed research studies show calories affect your body differently depending upon which foods they come from. It takes more calories to digest protein than it does to digest carbohydrates or fat, for instance, making protein a calorie-saving choice. Additionally, protein triggers short- and long-term satiety signals, meaning it fills you up fast and keeps you full longer.

Compare that to what happens when you consume starchy carbs, which are digested and turned into glucose quickly. The glucose is then dumped into your bloodstream. Insulin is released to take the glucose to your cells for energy. However, if there is too much glucose in your bloodstream — which often happens with starchy carbs — insulin takes most of it to your fat cells because it must clear glucose from your bloodstream quickly before it reaches toxic levels.

You feel a rush of energy immediately after consuming starchy carbs because of their immediate conversion to glucose. But half an hour later, you experience an energy crash because the excess glucose was removed from your bloodstream so quickly. And guess what? You are also starting to get hungry again. You have to eat a lot of starchy carbs or sugary foods to get full, but it doesn’t last. Within a short time, you’re hungry again.

Protein and starchy carbs. Two foods that prove a calorie is not the same as every other calorie.

2. Creating a calorie deficit is the way to lose weight

Almost every traditional diet is also based on the theory that you must create a calorie deficit to lose weight. Though there is some truth to this — a calorie deficit is necessary to lose weight — the way it is being practiced is way off base.

The calorie-deficit theory of weight loss says you must starve your body to force it to lose weight. Starving your body means depriving your cells of the nutrition they need to do their jobs well and to keep you alive.

Starvation dieting never turns out well because the body fights against it. You will lose weight on a starvation diet — though not nearly as much as the calorie-deficit theory of weight loss says you’ll lose — but it will just be short-term. Plus, the weight you lose will come primarily from water and muscle. As part of its defense against starvation, the body suppresses fat burning. It also sends most of the calories you consume to your fat stores because fat is essential to survival in a famine.

When you go off your diet, you’ll regain all the weight you lost because the body overreacts to the recent starvation. Research shows people who go on starvation diets have elevated levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, for several months after the diet ends. So, if you ever wondered why you seemed to be unusually hungry after a diet, now you know why!

3. You must monitor your calorie intake

This is part of the calorie-deficit theory of weight loss, but it’s worth talking about separately because of how common it is for people to “watch their calories.” This says that the body is “stupid,” that it doesn’t know how to monitor your calorie intake and regulate your weight.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Your body automatically stabilizes your blood pressure, your heart rate, your respiration, and your blood glucose levels…why can’t it also automatically stabilize your weight? The truth is your body does regulate your weight. Your body automatically stabilizes your level of body fat at your setpoint weight.

Setpoint weight

What is setpoint weight?

Your setpoint is the weight your body tends to hover around. If you watch closely, you’ll notice that your weight tends to stay within a certain range, usually 10-15 pounds of your setpoint weight. This is the level of body fat your body “thinks” you need based on communication between your brain, digestive system, and hormones.

Your brain, digestive system, and hormones talk to one another through various feedback loops to synchronize the activities that automatically maintain body fat and blood sugar at a specific level, otherwise known as your setpoint.

Think of the biological feedback system that establishes your setpoint, like the thermostat in your house. Thanks to the thermostat, your heating or air-conditioning system responds to the weather outside and keeps your home at whatever temperature the thermostat “thinks” it should be at. Similarly, your setpoint stimulates or suppresses your appetite and raises or lowers your metabolism in response to how much fat it “thinks” you should store.

If you go on a starvation diet, your body goes on emergency alert. It thinks you’re actually starving, and the hypothalamus in the brain orders an increase of the hunger hormone ghrelin to try to get you to eat more food. It also releases other hormones that make you cold and weak, and irritable. If this isn’t enough to get you to start eating more food, it slows your metabolism to conserve calories.

So, starvation dieting is not the way to achieve long-term weight loss. The only way to lose weight long-term is to lower your setpoint weight. Once you do that, you’ll lose weight easily. Your body will automatically balance your level of body fat at your lower setpoint weight.

Making the Setpoint Diet Work

The setpoint diet is the best way to lower your setpoint weight. You will eat real foods that have been proven to heal the hormones, trigger fat-burning hormones, and lower your setpoint weight.

The foods on the setpoint diet are easy to remember, too. There are no complicated menus to remember or follow. Just remember these simple principles:

• Concentrate on the quality of calories: Once you get the quality right, the quantity will take care of itself.
• Concentrate on eating MORE SANE foods: This trains your brain to look for SANE foods. Most traditional diets focus on what you cannot eat, which has the effect of making you concentrate on what you cannot eat! This, of course, increases cravings for those foods.
• Reduce or eliminate highly processed foods: Filled with chemicals and sugars, these foods elevate setpoint weight.
• Eat foods high in water, protein, and fiber: These foods have little effect on blood glucose levels, they fill you up, and they lower setpoint weight.

The Setpoint Diet food groups

Choose foods primarily from these 4 SANE food groups.

Non-starchy vegetables

10+ servings per day

Examples: Spinach, Broccoli, Kale, Zucchini, Carrots

Nutrient-dense Proteins

3-5 servings per day, 30-55 grams per meal

Examples: Salmon, Nonfat Greek Yogurt, Cottage Cheese, Grass-Fed Beef, Chicken

Whole-food fats

3-6 servings per day

Examples: Avocado, Almonds, Flax seeds, Coconut, Cocoa/Cacao

Low-fructose fruits

0-3 servings per day

Examples: Goji Berries, Blueberries, Lemons, Oranges, Strawberries

Next step: How does the Setpoint Diet work? Learn more with the SANE Plan

Ready to finally break free from the yo-yo dieting rollercoaster by balancing your hormones and lowering your body’s setpoint weight?

Want to know the exact foods and serving sizes that are scientifically proven by over 1,300 peer-reviewed research studies to boost metabolism, burn fat, and enjoy virtually effortless weight loss like a naturally thin person?

Download the free SANE metabolism boosting food list, cheat sheet and “Eat More, Burn More” weight loss program by clicking here .