Gut Bacteria May Be Responsible for Post-Diet Weight Gain » TwistedSifter

Anyone who’s ever lost weight on a diet has experienced the crushing defeat of watching the weight come back so quickly when you stop dieting. A new study may have identified specific gut bacteria responsible for post-diet weight gain.

The study, published in Nature Metabolism, used 10 short-term low-calorie diet routines to examine how caloric intake affects weight loss and weight gain in mice. As expected, when the diet was lifted, there was a significant increase in fat accumulation that was not seen in non-dieting mice.

Most importantly, weight gain was related to the amount of fat absorbed in the gut after a meal rather than to an increase in caloric intake during the refeeding period.

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To test the effect of nutrition on post-diet weight gain, in this study, one group of mice was fed a high-protein diet and another group was fed a normal protein diet during a re-feeding period. A high-protein diet prevented rapid fat gain, and the mice in this test maintained some weight loss.

Additionally, the test found 50% more Lactobacillus bacteria in the gut of mice fed a diet supplemented with regular protein than mice on a high-protein diet.

To confirm the role of lactobacilli in post-diet weight gain, the authors of the study destroyed the bacteria with penicillin in the gut of mice. decreased overall.

What does all of this mean for humans on a weight loss diet? Consuming a high protein regimen after the diet is over can help reduce weight gain and maintain desired results.