If you are one of the millions of Americans who is struggling to lose weight, then you are probably in the 80% of people who are unable to lose weight even though you have been trying everything. Many conditions in our life are responsible for us to gain weight and also to keep it there. These reasons directly cause us to gain senseless calories and you may end up finding yourself in a vicious cycle that you can’t break away from. In fact, researchers have found that there are primarily 6 reasons that help us to gain weight and prohibit us from losing weight. If you are aware of these 6 reasons then you can easily take the necessary precautions and condition your body and mind to lose weight.
The first reason is the alcohol consumption that you may be indulging. Although the absolute mechanism is not known, drinking alcohol and especially drinking beer has been found to be detrimental in losing weight. Especially, beer is in essence liquid bread and it is filled with calories. Moreover, drinking beer will directly cause belly fat. Perhaps the most innocent alcoholic beverage that you can drink is wine. Besides wine, all sugar distilled alcoholic beverages like vodka, gin and liqueur will just give you hordes of unwanted calories. You should definitely try to drink in moderation and perhaps drink one glass of wine per night.
The second thing that stops you from losing weight is your couch in your home. Unfortunately, many of us sit down in front of the couch and take the TV remote control in our hands. Perhaps this results in hours and hours of inactive sitting, in front of the TV, along with eating snacks and drinking beverages. Many Americans will eat a bowl of popcorn and take a soft drink to watch their night movie. Unfortunately, the result is obesity. Try to limit your time in front of the TV. As soon as your favorite show is over, you should get out from the couch and walk around. You should try to give a break and walk around the house as much as possible.
The third thing that you have to watch out for is stress. All current research and studies show that the modern life style, which is packed with stress, is actually causing us to gain more weight. Although you may think that stress and the hectic life style that goes with it should cause our body to lose weight, in reality, it is exactly the opposite. One of the main reasons for this is the production of the hormone cortisol. In a research conducted by the University of Utah, it was determined that the hormone cortisol was actually responsible for deposition of weight in our belly area. The hormone also triggered a mechanism in the human brain that caused a craving for sweet and calorie rich foods. So it was found that people who have a very hectic and stressful life style ended up gaining more belly fat and becoming more overweight compared to people who lived slow and peaceful lives. Thus, you should take care to stay away from stress as much as possible and you should try to relax and calm down before proceeding with complex tasks.
The fourth reason that prevents people from losing weight is definitely sleep deprivation. In a major research conducted by the University of Chicago, it was found that people who slept less than their regular allotted time ended up gaining more weight compared to people who were getting their sleep. In the study, it was seen that people who were sleep deprived had reduced levels of serotonin ( a mood altering neuro transmitter) and reduced levels of leptin ( a hormone that tells the body that your hunger is sated). In addition, reduced sleep was responsible for increase of insulin resistance in our body. Over all, all of the symptoms stated above were actually causing us to gain more weight with the hormonal and chemical imbalances. Thus Doctors suggest that we should try to get as much as sleep as possible. For a healthy men and women suggested period of sleep is 7 to 8 hours. Getting plentiful of sleep helps us lose weight and stay healthy at the same time.
The fifth reason for weight gain is the dark winter days that cause us decreased levels of serotonin in our brain. Light deprivation directly causes our brain to go for a craving of sweet and calorie rich foods. This is actually a survival mechanism from the ice ages in which humans had to conserve all of their strength and eat calorie rich sweet foods to warm up and get the energy that they needed. Thus in cold winter nights, this ancient mechanism also kicks in and we end up craving for sweet and calorie rich foods to satisfy our primal urges. However, this can be easily solved by taking walks in the afternoon, getting exposure to the sun, and getting as much as bright sunlight in our houses and work as possible. There are even special U V Lamps that you can buy to simulate sunlight in your home even at night.
The last surprising reason why you may not be losing weight is that you are married. As surprising as it is, recent studies by the University of Maryland has shown that married couples in general gain more weight than single people. In fact, this study further showed that once a single person got married, they started to gain serious weight. There are several suggested reasons for this. One is the stress that is associated with marriage that causes the couples to go into an eating frenzy. Another explanation is the facts that both people in the couple cause the other one to change their eating habits and adopt new ones. In addition, once you get married you settle into a more comfortable routine of eating and drinking compared to a single life style.
In the end, it can be said with great clarity that the 6 surprising reasons mentioned above may be the suspected culprits responsible for you gaining weight. You should examine yourself and take the necessary precautions.
