This is a somewhat dispiriting article in the NY Times Magazine about how hard it is to take off weight gain once it has been put on. Apparently the body wants to keep the extra weight on even though it’s bad for you. Your body actually works more efficiently during exercise so that you don’t burn as many calories. How cruel is that?

I do wonder how doing some more high intensity exercise at least once a week will help these results since nothing seems to mention that. 

I do like the conclusion to this article though:

So where does that leave a person who wants to lose a sizable amount of weight? Weight-loss scientists say they believe that once more people understand the genetic and biological challenges of keeping weight off, doctors and patients will approach weight loss more realistically and more compassionately. At the very least, the science may compel people who are already overweight to work harder to make sure they don’t put on additional pounds. Some people, upon learning how hard permanent weight loss can be, may give up entirely and return to overeating. Others may decide to accept themselves at their current weight and try to boost their fitness and overall health rather than changing the number on the scale.
For me, understanding the science of weight loss has helped make sense of my own struggles to lose weight, as well as my mother’s endless cycle of dieting, weight gain and despair. I wish she were still here so I could persuade her to finally forgive herself for her dieting failures. While I do, ultimately, blame myself for allowing my weight to get out of control, it has been somewhat liberating to learn that there are factors other than my character at work when it comes to gaining and losing weight. And even though all the evidence suggests that it’s going to be very, very difficult for me to reduce my weight permanently, I’m surprisingly optimistic. I may not be ready to fight this battle this month or even this year. But at least I know what I’m up against.

In then end the idea that knowledge of how hard it is to keep weight off is at least a good way to keep yourself from getting frustrated with the realities of weight loss. Hopefully, it will allow some obese people to focus more on maintaining physical fitness rather than on weight loss.