Summary of Sandra Aamodt's Why Diets Make Us Fat

Summary of Sandra Aamodt's Why Diets Make Us Fat debunks the fallacy that individuals can sustain significant weight loss through dieting and willpower.

Although people tend to view diets as a matter of willpower, the true determinant in weight loss is not steely resolve to eat less, but the brain’s regulation of a target weight, which is different for each individual. Dramatic weight loss is not a realistic, sustainable goal because the brain is intent on stabilizing a weight within a range of approximately 10 to 15 pounds of a set point. It’s far more difficult, and less likely, to lower a set point, or sustain weight loss outside of this range, than it is to increase the higher end, or gain weight. Remaining above the upper limit for weight for too long can cause the brain to readjust and set that as the center of a new targeted range...