There’s a reason that experts tell you to focus on the quick wins when you aim to lose weight, and that’s because for many, the rate at which we can drop those unwanted pounds will slow and stall. While this is a natural bodily response to lowering our calorie intake, it can also minimize our motivation to continue on our weight loss journeys. Fortunately, a new scientific discovery has shed new light on the challenge of shedding fat, and it could lead to a boost for our metabolism.
In a new study from the University of Southern Denmark, published via ScienceDirect: Cell Metabolism, researchers explained that losing weight becomes an increasingly difficult task as we make progress, because our bodies detect the decreasing calorie count, and slow down our metabolism to make the fuel we consume last longer. Otherwise known as “starvation mode,” this phenomenon is a natural response, and dates back to times where food, and specially energy sources like sugar was more scarce. Still, in our modern society, this safety mechanism is often an obstacle to consistent weight loss. In fact, even on medications such as Wegovy or Ozempic, the dropping of pounds begins to plateau after losing 20-25% of our initial body weight.
Science Provides Huge Metabolism Boost for the Future
The researchers at SDU illustrated that by manipulating the Plvap gene in mice liver cells, turning them off, they found that the liver could no longer determine a fasted state, and so it continued to burn sugar at a more standard rate. “If we can control the liver’s burning of sugar and fat, we might also increase the effectiveness of weight-loss and diabetes medications,” said Kim Ravnskjaer, who is a principal investigator and associate professor at Southern Denmark University. “It is a long way from insights in mouse experiments to bringing a drug to the market, but this is obviously the potential in our research,” she added, hopefully.
This is an important breakthrough in the battle of the bulge because it is deemed as a first of its kind approach to regulating metabolism. The CDC estimates that more than 2 in 5 adults in the United States are living with obesity and its potential health complications.
The study also showed that turning off the Plvap gene redirected the mice’s fat cells to the muscles instead of the liver and showed no negative side-effects as a result. “It’s well known that elevated blood sugar may lead to chronic complications for people with type 2 diabetes. Understanding Plvap could help diabetics better regulate their blood sugar in the future,” explained Ravnskjaer.
Experts hope that in the long run, this more targeted approach to torching the fat could have wide ranging positive benefits. In the meantime, it’s good to know that plateaus are a natural part of the process, so don’t let them derail your long-term progress. Previous work has suggested that documenting your goals is a great way to stay the course.