Tag Archive for: healthspan

Adaptation: Maintenance

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While you’re losing weight, I’ve always taught people to adopt a diet you can maintain for the rest of your life, because that’s how you’re going to have to eat for the rest of your life to maintain your weight loss. During the process, you have an opportunity: it’s going to take time to lose the weight, so you can experiment with any type of diet or eating plan along the way. The same holds true for your fitness plan, because using those calories does help.

If you use GLP-1 RA, the same approach still holds true. Your body is being induced to release a hormone that slows down stomach emptying, thereby eventually letting you know you’re full. Ignore it, and that leads to vomiting, bloating, and diarrhea. The actual GLP-1 hormone our bodies produce works more subtly, and our task is to get to the point that we listen to the inner signals again. Based on the very limited research so far, here is the best way to do that, followed by my best estimate of the time it takes to get to actual maintenance.

The Best Way to Eat

The first step is learning the Mediterranean diet or a version based on your ethnic background and shifting your diet to that while controlling the amounts you eat. Because the focus is on higher fiber foods such as beans, grains, and vegetables, it’s easy to eat less because you’ll feel fuller sooner.

Second, research shows that fiber can be critical in promoting satiety. As you transition to a new diet, you can use fiber supplements to try to get to 30 grams or more of fiber every day. Because you may be battling the loss of muscle at the same time, maintain or increase your protein intake; there are plenty of great plant-based sources of protein.

Finally, try to reduce ultra-processed foods to a minimum. They are deconstructed and reconstituted to provide simple carbohydrates, excess fats from oils, and preservatives and shelf-life extenders that are not necessary for any body functions.

That’s it for now as this is the least researched part of the adaptation phase of weight loss.  In reality, maybe it’s all we really need but when there is more info, I’ll let you know.

The Timeline

To be blunt, there’s no research to suggest how long you have to pay attention before your body completes adaptation to your new weight. Think about it—every system has to adapt, from the digestive system processing food, the microbiome adjusting to new foods, the endocrine system producing the correct hormones, and on and on and on. That’s going to take time.

I haven’t found research that gives a precise timeline, but I can give you my observation from interviews with people who have lost significant amounts of weight and maintained it: 18 to 24 months is typical. At that point, their bodies seem to have adapted to natural cues again.

Understand that no matter how you lost the weight—medications or simply counting calories or however you do it—the adaptation phase begins then.

The Bottom Line

I’m hesitant to rely on medications for doing something we can do ourselves. The food industry has created a hostile environment of food, and we have to consciously overcome temptation. But if you think about it, everything we need foodwise is also available. We have to train our brains to seek the best and leave the rest. It doesn’t mean we have to eat twigs and berries; it just means we have to pay attention.

On the other hand, weight loss is so important to your health, I’d rather see you lose the weight by any means necessary—but still put the emphasis on healthy eating and exercise.

Medications or foods? Your body. Your choice.

What are you prepared to do today? Eat better. Eat less. Move more. For life.

        Dr. Chet

References:
1. Adv Nutri. May 2026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advnut.2026.100647
2. Nutr. 2026 Apr;156(4):101436.  doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2026.101436.

Adaptation: Weight Loss

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As I said when I began this arc, the key point is that whether intentional or as the result of challenges such as joint replacement, the body’s adaptation to repair and growth takes time. This week, I’m going to look at adaptation related to weight loss and weight maintenance.

No matter how we choose to lose weight, we need to eat better, eat less, and move more. Those three actions have to be included to lose and maintain weight loss. It’s also true that no matter how you do it, it’s going to take time—no one went to bed at 150 pounds and woke up at 300 pounds. The reverse is also true; to lose 30, 50, or the 150 pounds, it’s going to take time to lose the weight.

Whether through a specific diet or using the current medications such as GLP-1 RA, people can lose weight. What they aren’t good at is keeping it off, from the early studies 75 years ago or the ongoing ones right now. I believe the problem is that many people believe that when they lose the weight they want to lose, they’re done. Nope, that’s not true—that’s when permanent weight loss really begins: the adaptation phase. The issues are simple yet complicated to execute. Do you require a medication to do it? I’ll talk about that on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Adaptation: Exercise

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I can’t think of a better example of positive adaptation than exercise. Whether it’s a sport skill, increasing strength, or improving cardiovascular fitness, exercise uses the adaptation principles; the difference is that it’s an intentional act instead of a response to a physical challenge. As an example, let’s use walking or running to improve the fitness of your heart and cardiovascular system as well as every other system involved—which is just about every other system we have.

Let’s begin with how your cardiovascular system would respond to beginning a walking or jogging program. The first walk with a purpose—faster than window shopping and not so fast that you’re stopping to catch your breath every minute—every system in your body is going, “What the heck is going on here?” Your heart may not be used to speeding up like that. The blood isn’t used to traveling that fast. The 5,000 genes that are typically activated when you start to exercise are awake and alert. Your muscles, ligaments, tendons, and stress hormones are challenged, along with the nervous system that controls how the muscles respond to new movement. It’s a mess, but you manage to get through it.

Depending on how hard you pushed yourself, you may feel it. Maybe fatigue a few hours later or sore muscles. That’s why you begin slowly. Save the fastest you’ve ever walked or ran for another time, and get through this first walk.

But by the third walk, your body will start to adapt; your heart rate might not get as high. By the 10th walk, you most likely will be able to maintain a faster pace, but your heart rate may not be as high as the first walk you took at a slower pace. You’re adapting—in fact every system in your body is adapting to the new stress. It will take less effort to do the same work.

You’re not ready for a marathon or maybe even a 5K yet, but exercise is a positive utilization of the adapting ability of your body. You just have to approach it in a systematic way to improve your cardiovascular health.

If you’re the kind of person who needs to see progress to keep going, track your distance, time, heart rate, and so on, but don’t let a few down days discourage you. Sometimes your body needs a bit of time to catch up; stay the course and you’ll soon see improvement again. On the other hand, if you’re the kind of person who hates record-keeping, you’ll still notice improvement—maybe you’ll walk your usual 30 minutes and feel like going another five, or you’ll realize you’re not breathing as hard as you were a month ago. Do what works for you.

I intentionally sent this Memo one day sooner because this is Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. While we celebrate and cherish those who’ve fallen in defense of our country with quiet moments, parades, and fireworks, use the three days to start your fitness program by going for a walk every morning, as long as your physician has no objections to your exercising. By the time you read Tuesday’s memo, you could be on that path to adaptation and a better healthspan than you are right now.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

A Longer Healthspan

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I’m back! The cataract surgery on the second eye was successful; there’s one more exam to make sure everything is healing properly. Then it’s a matter of the full recovery to get my reading vision back to normal. But for everything besides that, it’s a whole new world. The colors are more vivid and I can see distance, say two feet and greater, just fine. Getting used to the sunlight and possible new prescription for up-close work, I’m back.

While reading for long periods will take some time as my eyes heal, I’ve been listening to several podcasts. I heard an expression I hadn’t heard before: healthspan. In the current longevity movement, the focus should be on how many healthy years you live, not how many years you’re alive. No matter your age today, especially if you’re younger, the lifestyle you lead today directly impacts your healthspan. Thinking about it, that’s what I’ve always tried to do: teach you how to do the things today that will help you live a healthy life as long as you can. It’s better to prevent a disease than treat one.

Of course, accidents happen and you can’t control every virus or bacteria that comes your way. But preparing your body now can help in dealing with what comes your way in the future. That all begins with what I said before spring break: Eat better. Eat less. Move more.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet