The Factory Analogy – Explaining the Concept of Weight Restoration

TW: The following article describes information about eating disorders that can be triggering for some people. Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Did you know? Sööma has a YouTube channel and has prepared several videos to help you understand and explore various concepts related to food and eating disorders.

One of these videos discusses the concept of weight restoration using a metaphor that describes what happens in the body when we are restricting our intake whether we have an eating disorder, disordered eating or if we’re a chronic dieter, and what happens when we then try to renourish our bodies. Keep on reading to get a sense of what’s covered in the video!

0:40 – Comparing the body with a factory

 

Let’s use the analogy that all of our bodies are like a factory, a pen factory. In this factory, we have different workers and different lines where people build different parts of the pens. This is representative of the different parts of our bodies: the brain, the digestive system, the muscular system, the skeletal system and the reproductive system. You have all of these different assembly lines that are working together based on the supply that’s coming in and the demand of how many pens are needed in the environment every day.

1:22 – When the body is well nourished

 

Typically, when a body is well nourished and it’s at a natural body weight where it feels comfortable, the factory functions very well. You have a supply that comes in, and this supply can vary but that’s okay because the factory has stores in case you’re missing a part to build the pen and you end up meeting the demand daily.

1:45 – When restriction begins

 

When restriction begins, it can feel significant or insignificant, it could be the result of someone telling you to reduce your caloric intake, etc. Whatever impacts your supply and reduces it is considered restriction by your body and the factory. Let’s say there’s a reduction in supply. Usually, the manager of the factory will not necessarily respond, assuming it might be a small blip in the supply chain or it might be nothing, because the factory has stores. Therefore, all the workers continue working as normal, the productivity continues, and all the assembly lines are working at full capacity, continuing to meet demand.

2:35 – When restriction continues

 

What happens over time is that each assembly line is going into the storage units and taking small pieces so that they can continue to meet the demand of the environment. However, the manager eventually notices that the supply isn’t coming back up and is staying low. At this point, something needs to be done because the factory is otherwise not able to meet the demand of this environment by continuing with this supply. Consequently, the manager decides to lay off some workers, which is representative of the different parts of the body starting to function less effectively.

If you are restricting your intake, what you could be experiencing is possibly decreased cognitive functioning, decreased concentration, a slowed down digestive system, a change in your menstrual cycle or a complete loss of your menstrual periods (if you menstruate). You might also feel more weakness or like your sleep is impacted. If you’re an athlete, you might feel like you’re not recovering the same way from workouts. In short, all of these different systems that are impacted represent the different assembly lines that are less efficient because the manager started to lay off workers. The manager then notifies the environment to apologize for no longer being able to meet the previous demand and announce that he will be reducing what was offered previously, which is the energy output. This globally represents a decreased metabolic rate: the factory continues to function but solely maintains the assembly lines and the production that are absolutely necessary to stay alive.

4:30 – Seeking help and increasing intake

 

Let’s say you want to change the relationship that you have with food and decide to seek help. You might hopefully work with a registered dietitian who will suggest that you increase your energy intake. You eventually start re-approaching  and reintroducing foods, but don’t necessarily feel better while your body is changing. This transition is hard for a lot of people because they tell themselves that they’re eating more, their body is changing, but that they don’t necessarily feel like their concentration is getting better or like they’re getting stronger. What’s actually happening is that the supply in the environment might be increasing, which is being recognized by the manager. However, before the manager starts reopening the assembly lines at full capacity, he’s going to make sure the factory increases the stores first and that there’s a backup in case there’s a drop in supply that ever happens again. Therefore, the manager maintains productivity in the factory at 40%, 50%, 70% or whatever has been deemed appropriate to meet the demand now that it has been reduced. When the supply is increased, the oversupply will be put in storage to make up for another situation where there might be a risk of famine.

6:00 – When the intake is increased

 

Once the manager feels safe in the supply staying fairly steady to more or less match previous times and previous capacity, he will start rehiring workers. Once the workers are rehired, certain assembly lines will be prioritized to meet the demand. It is only when the assembly lines are functioning in full capacity that the manager will notify the environment about being able to meet the increased demand and being confident in their supply.

6:41 – The journey towards recovery

 

What is so uncomfortable about this process is that recovering from disordered eating, an eating disorder, or even moving away from chronic dieting is not something that happens overnight. It’s an extremely uncomfortable process that makes it hard to trust that your factory will eventually be functioning at full capacity, your body will trust you again, and you will be able to reap the benefits of nourishing yourself.

7:16 – Conclusion

 

This analogy is meant to give you a bit of comfort, give you a bit of hope in your recovery wherever you are in it, and to help you trust that your body is just trying to show up for you and adapt to whatever input you’re giving it and really isn’t trying to punish you.

This YouTube video explains the concept of weight restoration in general, without emphasizing on the challenges that may accompany it. Recovery is a process: it is important to get back up if you get discouraged and to seek help if you need some tips to get through weight restoration and recovery. If you’re not sure where to start or you’re looking for additional support in your recovery journey, please reach out to our team to see how we can help. You can contact us at (514) 437-4260 or e-mail us at info@sooma.ca.

You can also book an appointment with one of our professionals directly by clicking this link.

Written by

Mia El-Eid

Digital Marketing Coordinator

Related Posts

Scroll to Top