25 Surprising Reasons Why you are Gaining Weight

Weight gain can drive you absolutely nuts, especially when you have no clue where exactly you are going wrong. Sometimes when we are doing everything right – eating mindfully, exercising on a regular basis, and trying every other way to lose weight, the rising numbers on the weighing scale can demotivate us and sometimes even question whether we should go ahead with this whole weight loss journey. When you are doing everything as before and suddenly, instead of losing weight, you are putting on extra pounds, you should definitely read this post to find out the exact reason and take corrective steps. In this post, we list down 25 surprising reasons why you are gaining weight.

fat and overweight

Why Losing Weight is Awesome?

1. Losing weight will reduce the risk of metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular diseases, etc.
2. More energy, more stamina to do daily chores.
3. Become a better version of yourself.
4. To have an awesome makeover.
5. Feel more confident about yourself.
6. No more mood swings.
7. No more snoring because losing weight is the most effective way to treat snoring since a drop in weight will also reduce the fatty tissue around the throat and palate.
8. Get more compliments – People who have lost weight often notice that they are getting more compliments compared to before!

25 Surprising Reasons Why you are Gaining Weight:

1. No sufficient calorie deficit: It is essential to go into a calorie deficit to actually lose weight and all the diet programs on Rati Beauty put you through calorie deficit without compromising on nutrition or health. When people take in more calories than they require, the surplus calories are stored as fat in the body. Calorie deficit happens when you eat less than the necessary calories so that your body reaches out to fat stores to run all functions smoothly. If the body doesn’t get the calories it needs to perform its necessary functions from the food you consume on a daily basis, you create a calorie deficit. Putting it simply, calorie deficit occurs when someone takes in lesser calories than those burnt during exercise, resting, and to perform daily bodily functions. If you are not burning enough calories through exercise or other activities, it’s a major reason for weight gain.
2. Missing out on Beauty Sleep: When you compromise on 8 hours of sleep at night, you are inviting trouble and that also means weight gain. Your body needs enough rest at night to function properly the next day, and if that rest is disrupted, everything goes for a toss, including your weight loss goals. Studies have revealed that less sleep impairs the activity of brain in the frontal lobe which controls our food choices. Less sleep quality and time also increases “hunger hormone” ghrelin which increases the appetite the next day and also stress hormone cortisol. So, if you think you have turned into a “night owl” lately, that’s the reason for your weight gain.
3. You are not counting liquid calories: We often miss noting down the calories that we consume from fruit juices, soft drinks, sodas, smoothies, etc. Since fruit juices do not have fiber content, they do not keep you full for long. Post-workout shakes, milk shakes, smoothies all have calories in them which can take up your calorie count as much as solid food. The trick with liquid calories is that you cannot measure them, so you have to be mindful.
4. Overeating healthy food? This is a common mistake we all tend to make. We overeat foods that we consider as “healthy,” for example, oats, protein bars, smoothies, walnuts, cashew nuts, almonds, even peanuts! Do keep in mind that they do have calories and can take up your calorie count a lot higher than you think.
5. Dipping down calories: Cutting down calories drastically can also lower your metabolism. Women need anywhere from 1600-2400 and men need 2000 to 3000 calories per day to function normally. On a controlled diet, one can count up to 1200 calories, but not lower than that.
6. Stocking up on fat-free food: To lose weight and to lead a healthy life in general, you should consume the recommended intake of “good fat.” When fat content is ripped from food, it usually makes it bland and tasteless. To appeal to the tastebuds of consumers, companies add stuff like heaps of sugar, refined carbs, salt, emulsifiers, and thickeners which add high amount of calories to the body. Such a tendency defeats the whole purpose where one is actually going “low fat” to lose weight Stay away from packaged products that have been labeled “fat free” because what you are eating instead might be loads of sugar and other unhealthy filler ingredients which will pile on weight in your body.
7. Having a lot of sugar-free food: We cut down refined and white sugar from our diet, cutting down james, chocolates, and candies, but then munch on “sugar-free” biscuits and juices, which do more harm. All of these so called “sugar-free food items” contain artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, saccharin, etc instead of sugar, which do not get processed by our body and is bad for our waistline, skin. Long-term use of such artificial sweeteners can cause headaches, stomach aches, etc.
8. Treating yourself after working out: We tend to feel worn out and exhausted after a workout, and to reward the body for exercising, we tend to pick the wrong kind of food to treat the body, most of the times, it’s either sugar-laden protein bars or high-calorie smoothies, which totally cancel out the benefits of exercise. Check out Rati Beauty diet programs to find out more about appropriate post-workout meals.
9. Exercising towards the end of the day: When you workout towards the end of the day, near to the bedtime, though your body feels exhausted, the mind remains alert and active due to the adrenal rush that exercise induces. This rush will disturb the sleep cycle and as a result, you will wake up “hangry” and with a bigger appetite. Try to workout in the evening and make sure there is enough gap between the workout and nap time.
10. Too Much Stress: When we are stressed out, we look for ways to comfort our mind and high-fat and sugary foods bring you that comfort (albeit temporarily). Look for real remedies to treat stress instead of relying on processed food which can push you further into stress.
11. Dehydrated? When the body is dehydrated, it tends to send wrong signals and you may assume you are hungry when in reality, you are just thirsty! Also, dehydration leads to water retention and bloating, which all leads to weight gain.
12. Comfort Eating/Food as a coping mechanism: Comfort food is probably one of the main reasons why someone gains weight rapidly. People often turn to food rich in high fat, calorie dense, sugary delights to find comfort from the daily grind. Detach completely from food as a source of comfort to prevent piling up of pounds.
13. Side effects of certain Medications: Medications such as steroids, anti-depressant medications tend to cause fat formation on the face, back of the neck, and around the abdominal area. Certain ointments that claim to whiten skin tone have steroids in them which may directly lead to weight gain.
14. Too much sodium via processed food: As we all know, salt can cause water retention and weight loss. Cut down on salt, in fact, eat salt in moderation without completely eliminating it from the diet.
15. Hypothyroidism: The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped organ with two lobes, located at the base of the front of the neck, with each lobe on each side of the wind pipe. Thyroid is an endocrinal gland which makes the thyroid hormones T3 and T4. The production of these hormones is regulated by TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), which is made by the pituitary gland. When there is an under-production of T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine) body’s metabolism is affected and may lead to weight gain. Going low on salt can dip iodine levels. If you are feeling tired and low on energy, do get your thyroid levels checked.
16. PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome): Most women tend to experience water retention just before or during their periods. Women often feel that they have gained weight due to bloating and water retention. In reality, water retention and bloating are two of the most common symptoms of pre-menstrual syndrome. It results from change in female hormones, estrogen and progesterone and a drop in these hormones causes body cells to retain more water and salt. This leads to bloating. Wrong dietary habits make this issue worse and that’s why we have listed down a few amazing tips to reduce bloating during periods
17. PCOD: Hormonal changes can lead to weight gain and since PCOD is a hormonal disorder, weight gain is a common symptom. A good diet, such as on Rati Beauty, can help alleviate PCOD symptoms and get hormones in check. As they say, let food be thy medicine.
18. You have gained muscle by lifting weights: Have you recently started lifting weights? If yes, you have nothing to worry because you are most probably gaining muscle and burning fat.
19. Water Retention: Water retention is accumulation of additional fluid in the circulatory system or within the body tissues. This fluid buildup can make you feel bloated and swelled up, both in feel and appearance. Too much salt, dehydration, sedentary lifestyle can all cause water retention.
20. Your brown bread is not brown enough: The brown bread that you pick for easy breakfast is most often just a colored version of your regular bread. Even if it’s not colored, it has preservatives, added sugar and salt. So, eat your brown bread in moderation and do not go overboard.
21. Late-night snacking: Late night snacking is often not mindful and you may actually lose out on counting calories.
22. You are over-serving yourself: As we have mentioned earlier, even if you are eating healthy, are you overserving yourself? Do practice portion control and measure the food before it comes onto the plate.
23. Allergy to a certain food item: Certain food allergies can cause temporary weight gain. It would be wise to find out if you are allergic to peanuts, pine nuts, hazel nuts, or gluten and eliminate them from your diet.
24. Your healthy salad has high-calorie dressing: Salads are healthy but packaged dressings are not because they are usually high in calories, sodium, and even sugar. Make your own salad dressings to avoid piling of calories.
25. Expecting to burn all calories through cardio: We tend to give ourself the freedom to eat more food expecting to burn all extra calories through workout (mainly cardio), but cardio exercises can only burn limited amount of calories. Only controlled diet combined with exercise would lead to weight loss, otherwise you may just see more weight gain.

Hope, this article was able to clear the confusion regarding why your weight is shooting up and take corrective measures to experience weight loss.

Can I Eat Bread and Still Lose Weight
22 Health and Fitness Tips for Women

IMBB RECOMMENDS

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *