Why We Tend to Regain the Weight We Lose When We go on a Diet

An article in the New England Journal of Medicine by Priya Sumithran and associates showed that levels of various circulating hormones, including insulin, remained low 1 year after significant very low-calorie weight loss. Such low-levels of hormones correlated with increased hunger. Thus participants tended to regain the weight they lost. This might be the mechanism by which HCG added to a 500 calorie diet for 3-6 weeks not only produces effective weight loss, but also reduces hunger so that weight loss is more likely to remain intact long-term. This should be studied further. See New England Journal of Medicine (click here-subscription needed), October 27, 2011, pp. 1597-1604.