Maintenance of a healthy weight requires control of food habits and a regular fitness regimen where some may choose exercising inside the confines of a gym whereas some prefer outdoors. More often than not, readers want to know why is it so hard to maintain weight and why do they face unnatural weight gain even after following a proper diet chart and an exercise plan. Unnatural weight gain is becoming more common these days, we can blame upon factors like water retention, constipation, or pregnancy but it is of utmost importance to actually understand the real reasons behind weight gain.
- Genetics
Doctors suggest that our genes have a major role to play when it comes to gaining weight or obesity. Our genetics may factor for obesity if our parents are obese too and vice versa. Though genes cannot always predetermine future health, it is also a fact that multiple genes coupled with external behaviors like over-eating and lack of physical activity increase a person’s susceptibility towards weight gain.
- Medical Conditions
Our bodies tend to gain weight due to some medical conditions like Hypothyroidism, increased cortisol (stress hormone) production, Cushing’s syndrome etc. Weight gain also occurs due to use of certain kinds of drugs that are required for our medical conditions such as antipsychotic medications, corticosteroids, antidepressants and birth control pills. Women facing menopause experience weight gain due to the hormonal changes when a decrease in Estrogen is caused in the body. Women facing PCOS mostly becomes prey to weight gain and this is caused due to escalating insulin levels and of course water retention in PCOS patients.
- Processed Foods
The most reputed weight maintenance plan found online suggests that the lead cause of weight gain depends on the kind of food we are bringing to our food palate every day. Processed foods or foods containing preservatives are usually loaded with salt and sugar, containing trans-fats and oils, such foods increases the cholesterol levels in our bodies and in the long run, also triggers illnesses and diseases. Green leafy vegetables or foods with high nutrition are well suited to be included in our diet every day.
- Stress
Stress can be a root reason towards weight gain which is very hard to notice. Stress regarding work, deadlines, family, children, daily chores add up to the levels of our stress hormone called ‘Cortisol’, excess of Cortisol during those exuberant stressful periods causes insulin levels to rise in our bodies and this results in our blood sugar to drop and that is how most of us crave for fat filled, sugar rich foods. Too much stress can put one in a habit of binge or over eating, and that is really detrimental to our health.
- Lifestyle choices
Our lifestyle choices can add on to our worry of weight gain. Habits like regular smoking, drinking, eating outside, and eating late at night, unruly sleeping habits cause’ weight to fluctuate. Both men and women especially gain weight in the abdominal area due to their unruly lifestyles. One must make changes in their lifestyle or enroll in any available online detoxification program to prevent from unnatural weight gain.