Losing weight is not a piece of cake. But, what takes more challenge and hard work is maintaining it. It is not easy to maintain your weight unless you properly follow healthy tips and an active lifestyle. A little negligence done repeatedly can bring many unpleasant consequences.
If you have decided to lose some calories and bring your body to a perfect shape, then it is time for you to follow some strict routine. Without a healthy routine, you might not get successful in burning some calories. Make sure that all things are settled, and you are not doing anything wrong, or it will be a major hurdle in achieving your goals.
Gaining weight without knowing about it can be serious. Your mind urges you to think that things are in order, but the reality is quite the opposite to that. The problem starts right here, and so you constantly deprive yourself of healthy life. An unconscious weight gain can cause these things to you:
- Eating more than required.
- An inability to perform exercises.
- Behavioral changes such as jumping to unhealthy food.
- A wrong perception of yourself.
- Making you unhealthy from the inside.
- An enhanced risk of developing obesity and related disorders.
Apart from eating a balanced meal that includes healthy and nutritious foods from all age groups and performing regular physical activity, there are some behavioral changes that you need to make for losing weight or avoiding weight gain. Healthy living demands much more than just eating the right food or exercising on time.
A lack of proper routine can be serious to health and lead to eating disorders like anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.
Some culprits are pushing you to the other side of BMI ranges, which is not good. This article will discuss some of these culprits that increase your weight and tips to overcome or avoid them.
What Happens When You Gain Too Much?
More than increasing the numbers on the weight scale, gaining too much weight does much more. With increased weight, developing various medical conditions such as obesity, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases increases. There is more pressure on joints and bones which can make them weaker with each passing day.
Apart from metabolic disorders, frequent weight gain can also induce some psychological changes. The risk of depression and anxiety is increased much because of massive weight gain.
It is, therefore, much important to manage your weight and avoid gaining weight as it has a direct relation with the development of various diseases.
Reasons You Might Be Gaining Weight
Exercising for 30 minutes daily and eating nutritious meals with loads of fiber and green vegetables, yet gaining too much weight? There can be a couple of reasons for that, which are mentioned below:
1. Little or No Sleep
The sleep cycle has a massive impact on shaping your body and losing some pounds. When you are cutting down on some calories, you need to ensure that your sleep cycle is well-balanced and not disrupted. Quality sleep of at least eight hours is essential for better health.
Research claims that shorter sleep duration can subsequently lead to immense weight gain. Apart from getting quality sleep for a longer time, fixing your time to sleep is also necessary. Waking up till late at night can also contribute to weight gain.
A study also claims that your body forces you to eat much when waking up for longer hours. The body does it to maintain energy levels. The primary cause of eating too much at night is because the body needs the energy to wake up. Hence, it is better to sleep on time to avoid excessive intake of food.
2. Mindless Eating or Binge Eating
Mindless eating is the most overlooked cause of gaining weight. The majority of people are unable to identify it as they are not well-equipped with the concept. In mindless eating, your brain is distracted by some other activity, and you are not fully aware of what you are eating. The result is often excess consumption of calories which causes weight gain.
On the contrary, eating mindfully improves your perception of yourself and results in a lower body mass. It is necessary to realize what type of food you are eating, at what time you are eating, how much you are eating and when to stop.
Mindless eating can also lead to binge eating, which is also categorized as an eating disorder. In this disorder, a person usually eats a large amount of food at one time with or without realizing it. Mindful eating is the key to the problem and can solve it most effectively.
3. Starving Yourself and Limiting Calories
Many people think that by starving, they are doing a lot of good to themselves. Similarly, cutting down the excess of calories can make significant and quick changes to weight as per their thinking. However, that is not the case when it comes to losing weight. It is better not to starve yourself and maintain a balance in your calories to lose some weight.
Starving yourself is never a good choice. Research tells us that starving can become a problem in synthesizing complement protein essential for various functions and immune responses in the body. It is better not to starve and eat the right amount of food for improved health conditions.
The best choice here would be to substitute your food choices with healthier choices. Include smart meal planning and focus on eating nutritious foods that will make you full for a longer time. Substitute unhealthy calories with healthy calories and see the difference yourself.
4. Long Gaps in Meals
Long gaps in meals or eating three full meals might be why your weight loss strategies are not working. After a long time, you eat more and include many unhealthy food options in your daily meals. Excessive eating after a long gap makes you gain more weight, and you do not even know about it.
It is better to split your meals into five or six to avoid this problem. Eating frequently but in small portions will ensure that you are full for a longer time and do not jump straight away to the next meal. There is a high chance that you will eat less by splitting your meals into many rather than three big meals.
One thing that you should look into this technique is to check the timings of your meals. Make sure that you eat little after every two or three hours for better weight distribution.
5. Avoiding Breakfast
Health professionals have declared breakfast as the most important meal of the day. It is good to start your day early and have a nutritious breakfast on time. Eating a power pack meal at the start of the day gives you enough energy to start your day and does not induce any hunger for a long time.
A study that investigates the relationship between skipping breakfast and obesity concludes that skipping breakfast can have dangerous effects on health. It also highlights that the habit of not having a nutritious breakfast can lead to some physiological and psychological changes in adults.
Skipping breakfast or eating an unhealthy food choice the first thing in the morning might be why you are gaining weight. Make sure that you prepare your breakfast after getting up and include nutritious food choices in it.
6. Staying Inactive or Having Little Activity
Physical activity is an important component of good health. Whether you are lean or obese, skipping exercise or staying inactive is never a good choice. The activity does not merely burn some calories; rather, it has a major role in reducing the risk for several diseases.
If you are working out, you will need a little extra food in your daily diet. When you stop working out, you also need to cut down those extra calories you consumed earlier. If you continue to follow the same meal plan, you will gain more weight, and your diet will not be helping you at all.
Exercise is the best choice in controlling and, most importantly, maintaining weight. Make sure that you do not skip exercises for prolonged periods. It is good to take a rest of at least two days a week so that your body can recover and work at an effective rate.
Ways to Control Weight and Staying Healthy
Controlling weight does require a little effort from your side. You can become a healthier version of yourself by working and following these tips. Eventually, these tips will become a part of your routine and will make you habitual. Following are some highly recommended ways and tips to manage your weight healthily:
1. Performing Combination Exercises
Different forms of exercise have different results on the body. Cardio workouts mainly burn excessive fat and calories, whereas strength training focuses on developing muscle mass and adds to the body's strength. Include different forms of exercises in your daily routine to have valuable and long-lasting results on your body.
2. Make Your Plate Colorful
My plate program emphasizes adding colorful and healthy options to your meals. The primary focus here is to add more vegetables, fruits, and a portion of food from almost all food groups. Each food group has a distinctive role in the body, and so it is necessary to include all of them in your daily meals.
3. Count the Calories You Are Eating
The mindful planning of your meals will ensure that you are always eating in a balanced amount. The best strategy here would be to count your calories by yourself and gradually decrease them for more visible results. Include healthy and nutritious choices in your meals for effective results.
4. Eat All Meals
Always have your dinner at least 2 to 3 hours before bedtime. Do not avoid or skip your breakfast and make it highly nutritious and healthy. Eat lunch on time and add greens to it. Snack at least two times to avoid excessive eating. In short, it is essential to eat all your meals on time and not skip any of them.
5. Keep a Food Record
Food record refers to a journal that will have all data of your meals. Remember to include all your meals in the diary to assess yourself in a much better way. Reading this informative food data will give you much confidence to grow and improve your body's perception.
6. Add More Fiber to Diet
Fiber helps in controlling your cholesterol and making you much healthy. Fibers also work in weight management and work for your weight loss. It is important to add fiber-rich foods to your daily meal plans for better and effective results. Adding a supplement such as a probiotic will help too.
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7. Sleep on Time
Sleep has a pivotal role in weight management. You need to sleep on time. Adjusting your sleep cycle will bring many positive changes to your health. You will feel more active, fresh and your body metabolism will also work in a much better way.
8. Always Stay Vigilant While Eating
Do not divert your mind while eating. Make sure that you know what you are eating. Listen to the signals of your body and stop when it asks you to stop. It is always better to not eat rather than stuffing yourself with food. You should know what your meal choices are.
9. Do Not Delay Your Meals
Delaying your meals will force your mind to eat more. So to avoid this situation, make sure that you are eating many times a day. Avoid any delay in meals. If you feel too hungry, always keep some healthy snacks with you, such as nuts, almonds, beans, etc.
10. Avoid Cutting Fat From Diet
Fat has a lot to do with the body other than making you fat. Cutting down on fat or eliminating it will mess with your body's physiological processes and make you weak from the inside. Include healthier fat choices such as corn oil, flaxseeds, or walnuts.
11. Pay Attention to Your Hydration Status
Hydrating yourself is the key to losing weight. Make sure that you are not thirsty for a longer time. Always keep a bottle with you and take small sips if needed. Aim to drink 8 to 9 glasses of water daily. Water is essential to life and will help in important body reactions.
12. Add a Supplement to Diet
Supplements such as fat-burning pills or whey protein powder have shown impressive and promising effects on health. Both of these aid in weight loss and do not have any side effects on the body. Using such supplements will take your weight loss process to the next step and will bring quicker results.
Final Words
Exclude all those factors from your life that are a problem. Eliminate what becomes a hurdle in your way of a healthier version of yourself. It is important to pay sufficient attention to your lifestyle factors. They play a significant role in eliminating the risks of different diseases such as metabolic disorders or eating difficulties.
By practicing some simple tips, you can fight the culprits that constantly add numbers to your weight. No matter at which number you stand on a weight scale, you can still make efforts to control your weight. Managing your weight will add more zeal to your life and will make you much happier.
Article Sources
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- Markwald, Rachel R., et al. “Impact of Insufficient Sleep on Total Daily Energy Expenditure, Food Intake, and Weight Gain.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 110, no. 14, Apr. 2013, pp. 5695–700. pnas.org, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1216951110.
- APA PsycNet. https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Ftps0000035
- Pomeroy, C., et al. “Effect of Body Weight and Caloric Restriction on Serum Complement Proteins, Including Factor D/Adipsin: Studies in Anorexia Nervosa and Obesity.” Clinical & Experimental Immunology, vol. 108, no. 3, 1997, pp. 507–15. Wiley Online Library, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2249.1997.3921287.x.
- EBSCOhost | 138949546 | Correlation between Breakfast Skipping, Nutritional Food Intake, and Obesity among Young Adult Undergraduate Students.
- Donnelly, Joseph E., et al. “The Role of Exercise for Weight Loss and Maintenance.” Best Practice & Research Clinical Gastroenterology, vol. 18, no. 6, Dec. 2004, pp. 1009–29. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpg.2004.06.022.
- Howarth, Nancy C., et al. “Dietary Fiber and Weight Regulation.” Nutrition Reviews, vol. 59, no. 5, May 2001, pp. 129–39. Silverchair, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-4887.2001.tb07001.x.
