Losing weight is hard. You’d know that if you have gone down that route before. And something many people are ignorant about is how easy it is it to regain lost weight.
This is one of the frustrations of life. That is, if your life involves losing all those annoying extra flesh from your body.
Studies have shown that more than 70% of people who lose weight are likely to regain lost weight. Does that mean that the whole idea of losing weight is a big scam? No, it is not.
While you and many others might likely regain lost weight after a while, there is still a significant number of people who don’t. The question is what they are doing right. The more pertinent question is, the things you are doing wrong that made it possible to regain lost weight?
Basically, it’s all done to personal habits you picked up or resumed after losing weight. We’ve broken it down for you so you can understand what you need to do to stop the slide.
Reasons you regain lost weight easily
1. Eating as much as before you lost weight
For many weight watchers, they can’t wait for the day they have to start eating their favourite foods again. And not just that, they’d eat as much as they did before.
To them, the discipline required to lose weight is just a temporary measure that would last until they lose weight. This is what balloons the weight again.
Losing weight means a lower metabolic rate for the body. The hormone that controls hunger pangs also drops in the process. That is why you might feel constantly hungry when you lose weight. Consequently, you’d feel like eating as much as before.
But resisting the temptation to eat after losing weight is the trick. Even after trimming those fats and extra flesh, you have to continue with the reduced diet regime that worked for you.
2. Stress
Stress is a big factor in weight gain. The reason for this is down to the link between the stress hormone cortisol and your metabolic rate.
When you are constantly stressed for any reason, the body pumps more cortisol into the body. This slows down your metabolism. Invariably, any food you take is broken down slowly.
And it is known that stressed up people crave more of fatty and sugary foods. They are the chief culprits in adding extra flesh to the body.
The remedy for this is to try as much as possible to stay away from stress. Or find effective ways to manage the stress dogging you each day.
3. You stopped exercising
After attaining your goal of losing weight, you might think you need just stick to a healthy diet and lifestyle to maintain that weight. Basically, you stopped exercising.
Again, your metabolism would slow down significantly if you stopped exercising after reaching your weight target.
So if you have a gym membership, renew your subscription and keep up the exercises. Or find other ways to continue exercising. The point is, don’t stop exercising.
4. Not getting enough sleep
The relationship between inadequate sleep and weight gain has been made in several studies. Lack of sleep leads to exhaustion and stress which inevitably cuts down the body’s metabolism.
Inadequate sleep induces the body to produce more ghrelin. This hormone is known as the hunger-inducing hormone.
An increased production of ghrelin simultaneously leads to a decreased production of leptin. This is the hormone that regulates appetite. Less leptin means likelihood to eat more even if you are hungry.
Obviously, you need to sleep more to counter the negative effect of sleep deprivation on your weight. Simply make sure you get at least 6 hours of sleep each day.
5. New prescription drugs
People can regain lost weight due to the addition of new prescription drugs to their lives. Observe carefully if your renewed weight gain coincided with using new drugs to treat a problem.
These drugs can be anything from antidepressants, painkillers, birth control pills, steroids, migraine pills, etc. In many cases, taking these meds might be essential to you, so stopping might not be an option.
The solution, if the drugs are the culprit, is to have your physician prescribe alternative meds.
6.. Too much clubbing and drinking.
If you resumed drinking after a hard day’s work, that could easily affect your waistline. Indulging in it occasionally does no lasting harm to your body though.
The frequency is the culprit here. So don’t make it a habit to drink too much either alone or with friends regularly. The body breaks down alcohol before anything else because it is considered a toxin. Any food you ate is left undigested and converted to fats for storage.
If you can’t avoid hanging out with friends, stick to drinks low in calories. Or dilute your alcohol with water and never exceed two rounds of drink.
7. Don’t avoid the scale
Though the scale is not such a big factor to why you regain lost weight, avoiding it could tip the scale in favor of increased weight.
Stepping on the scale after you have achieved your goal reminds you if you are still within your target. It is the one thing that would show you in real figures that you are sliding and you had better get back on track.
Nobody is saying you should do it every day though. A weekly or bi-weekly check is all that is required. And endeavor to do it in the middle of the week. That is the best time to check your weight.
8. Stop taking coffee
If you need regular intake of coffee to keep up your energy levels and to stay alert during the day, you had better re-evaluate that need.
Switch over to green teas as they contain several stimulants that keep you healthy in addition to keeping your metabolism at optimal levels.
So cut down on coffee if you take it and drink more green teas.
9. Eat a healthy breakfast
A healthy breakfast is considered the best meal of the day for several reasons. Apart from boosting your brainpower and banish cravings, it also helps to maintain your weight loss.
Don’t start the day with a light breakfast. Go big and healthy so you won’t have to bother with much food the rest of the day.
Have you just recently added weight again after losing it? How frustrating was it and how do you intend to deal with it?
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Cheers.
