Overshooting set point weight and the fear of becoming overweight.

I have and still are afraid of overshooting my set point weight. I have also been afraid that I will end up overweight. I have read on youretopia and found that it is normal to overshoot 10 %, but then taper down to set point within the next year. It is also a common reason to overshoot and that is you restrict during recovery. Do not purge, eat enough and binge if your body wants you stuff yourself. Theis advice can prevent overshooting, but it depends on your history as well.

All those subjects in the Minnesota Starvation Experiment temporarily overshot their pre-study weights with 10% and all returned to their pre-study weights in the 12-18 months following the end of the study. As for whether the temporary overshoot is necessary, there is some evidence that it may indeed have value in ensuring the return of an optimal fat-mass to fat-free-mass ratio. In fact, Abdul Dulloo and colleagues re-examined the Minnesota trial data and discovered that the depletion of fat-free mass and fat mass (occurring during starvation) separately trigger excessive eating in post-starvation subjects and that the excessive eating will persist until both fat and fat-free mass are restored.

Anorexics often maintain a higher proportion of fat mass post-re-feeding and this is likely due to the prevailing attitudes that excessive eating must be avoided during recovery at all costs as it is considered a marker of “bingeing”. Instead, what these post-recovery data may show is that the prohibition of excess eating  in recovery from restrictive eating disorders serves to halt the body’s ability to return to an optimal fat mass to fat-free mass ratio.

Between the ages of 16-25, the body will occasionally store extra energy, but usually it is using the extra energy coming in (through natural overeating sessions) as it happens. However, if a restrictive eating disorder patient hijacked his or her normal development as a child with self-administered starvation and/or excessive exercise, then the recovery process may mimic the energy storage/growth spurt that was supposed to happen but was stalled by the onset of the eating disorder. Give it time and it works itself out.

I overshot very much when I tried to recover when I was 19. Mayby because I purged sometimes and maybe because I didn't let the body finish the growth spurt in my teens, as mentioned above, if Gwyneth is right.

If the following is true we don't have to fear ending up overweight:

1. The candidate genes associated with inflammatory obesity, cholesterol, insulin and glucose levels are unrelated to the genes identified thus far for restrictive eating disorders [R Stöger, 2012; AW Drong et al., 2012; CJ Nolan et al., 2011; A. Hinney et al., 1999 and 2000].
2. Patients fully recovered from the restrictive eating disorder rarely reach final restored weights above BMI 25. 2% of the recovered population does go above BMI 25, however ALL return to weights at or below BMI 25 after one full year beyond recovery (with no relapse of restriction involved) [CM Bulik et al., 2006].
3. Leptin resistance is not a factor in either the activation or resolution of a restrictive eating disorder. Yet, leptin resistance is often present in patients with inflammatory obesity. [P. Dandona et al., 2004; JF Caro et al., 1996; S Herpertz et al., 1998 and 2000]http://www.youreatopia.com/blog/2012/10/31/bingeing-is-not-bingeing.html 

Gwyneth from youreatopia.com: There are circumstances that can interfere with the body's ability to remain at its optimal set point: 1) some prescription drugs and 2) high levels of constant, unpredictable and uncontrollable levels of bad stress. In both these case however, as soon as the offending interference is removed, the body is quickly able to return to its optimal set point. Weight cycling (yo-yo dieting -- nothing to do with any behaviors any of you experience on the restrictive eating disorder spectrum) can generate both leptin and insulin resistance making it much tougher for the body to return to its optimal weight set point. However, given enough time with no restriction this kind of metabolic damage does appear to be reversible.

As for points at which a person is "chubby" during development that is usually not over shooting an optimal weight set point at all, but rather the body's effort to store excess energy in anticipation of needing it for development.

Inactivity can account for about a 5% increase in weight, just as activity can account for about a 5% loss in weight. However our body's optimal weight set point is likely a range that accommodates that fluctuation easily. Activity is needed for health reasons, not really weight reasons.

In clinical studies of anorexics who manage to fully recover from restrictive eating behaviors of all kinds, 2% actually reach weights above BMI 25. (I really want to yell the next sentence for emphasis since I'm already bolding and italicizing here). Of that tiny 2% NONE of them remained above BMI 25 one full year beyond recovery. No relapse and no restriction involved.  

You can 'refine' your set point by about 5-8% through exercise (meaning our set points are ranges as well and exercise allows a small amount of fat mass reduction).

Avoiding any mini-relapses or a quasi-recovery will lessen the chance of overshooting, but you cannot be assured of it.