Why It's Hard to Keep Losing Weight

When people lose weight, their hunger increases more than their metabolism slows down, which makes it harder to keep losing weight and easier to gain it back.

When adults cut calories for a long time, their bodies may respond by increasing hunger and slowing metabolism, making it harder to keep losing weight.

When people lose weight, their bodies sometimes slow down more than expected, burning fewer calories at rest — and this might be why some folks struggle more than others to keep the weight off.

When you lose muscle or other non-fat body mass while dieting, it might make you hungrier and want to eat more — but scientists aren't sure exactly how this works yet.

People told to eat just enough to stay at their current weight often end up eating too little without meaning to, creating a calorie shortfall.