Why It's So Hard to Lose Weight According to Science

Losing weight is really hard, but it's not your fault. Our bodies don't want us to lose weight- they want to store that extra fat for survival. Join Stefan Chin as he explains why it's not just your "cheat days" that are slowing down your weight loss—it's biology!

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[Novaverse]

Human body be like
"No, I dont want to lose weight, oh and by the way, since you didnt lose weight, we have diabetes and high blood pressure".

[marianabecerra]

If you’re trying to lose weight and you just watched this video (like me)… don’t get discouraged, stay consistent, and remember to aim for a lifestyle change instead of just dropping pounds as fast as possible.

[evaristegalois]

**tries to lose weight**

Life: "Wait. That's illegal"

[lita]

This explains why I've been trying to lose the same damn 11 lbs for a year.

[philochristos]

This is the most depressing video I've seen all day. I thought maybe at the end there'd be a glimmer of hope, a solution to the problem, but we got nothing. And now I'm going to go eat a cookie.

[joshua_tobler]

Can we get a part 2: what actually works? There's all sorts of opinions and advice out there, but they all have a vested interest in promulgating their own regimen. I would love a summary of what ostensibly unbiased science has to say on the issue.

[AbsolXGuardian]

The best way I've seen this explained was something along the line of "whenever I try to exercise more and eat less, my body goes 'oi are we fleeing from the english again? aye, we'll keep you fat so you can hid in the woods for weeks'

[AsharyAsh]

I lost 55 pounds in 11.5 months or so. There have been setbacks but I’ve done it. Still continuing to lose more but it’s not easy. Really not. Lots of determination, discipline, hard work.

[phyrofox]

Looks at belly fat. "Is this why you keep following me"

[echoridley]

hearing this honestly made me feel better about my weightloss attempts not going so hot, so thank you

[rickseiden]

Not only do you have all of this going against you, there's the mental aspect of it as well. I've tried and tried over and over again to lose weight. I'd lose 20 pounds and gain it back. Lose 10 pounds and gain it back. I wasn't "ready" to lose the weight. Then I got weighted in at my yearly physical last year. I came in at 302 (I'm only 5-10). That was a wake up call. It took me a few months to process it, but in early April, right at Easter, I made the decision that I was "ready". I went all of Easter and the weeks after without eating any candy. I had more will power than that. It's a little over a year since my 302 weigh in, and now I'm 229. I've lost 73 pounds in a little over a year. I'm SO proud of that. And it makes me want to keep going. It gives me the strength to avoid foods I shouldn't eat, and quantities of food I shouldn't eat. If I hadn't made that mental adjustment, I never would have been able to lose all this weight.

[noodlestud]

Me eats Popeyes.
Body: 😀

Me eats a salad
Body: EWW TF IS THAT DISGUSTANG. 😡😡😡

[HTPCYMC]

Not losing weight is an essential part in becoming an absolute unit.

[AuntBibby]

also i like how every comment saying “this is how you DO lose weight” is saying a slightly or wildly different thing

[Dnosirrom]

Me: "Oh a new SciShow Video"
Video: "you're always gonna be a fatty and there's no hope."
Me: "Oh...that was nice...I feel better now." *Cries silently*

[torvamessorem]

The human body is amazing, isn't it? Too bad it still hasn't figured out we're not cavemen anymore.

[XiaosChannel]

so basically don't get fat in the first place, if you do you're screwed

[NaddaMercenary]

I had an eating disorder for 6 years. Lowest I got was 110lbs and im 5'3. Im Currently 164lbs because I stopped restricting my calories 3 years ago. Currently figuring out how to lose weight healthily. And this video helped because I wondered why I became so overweight after recovery.

[theMoporter]

Comments section: lalalalalala I can't here you, calories in calories out lalalalala

[JustinY.]

Brain: "Ok we need to lose weight"

Body: "I would, but I refuse"