We could quote probably a dozen movies that tackle weightloss issues such as Precious, Hairspray, Bridget Jones’s Diary, The Nutty Professor, or one that resonates pretty well with today’s topic: To Be Fat Like Me.
Even the popular teenage TV-series Pretty Little Liars focused on how obesity can affect someone’s life.
In flashbacks, we see Hannah’s life being made a living hell by her own friend. She didn’t have the confidence to even talk to someone.
However, everything changed when she decided to not just lose weight but also become a better person, one who is more confident.
One thing that all teenagers might have noticed throughout this TV-series is that while Hannah maintains her perfect figure even after gorging on cupcakes a time or two, Allison on the other hand gains a lot of what.
Why is that?
Strictly speaking within the boundaries of the show, stress was one of the main factors that contributed to the weight gain.
Stress and Obesity
According to a study published in the Current Obesity Reports, obesity, stress, and steroid hormones are closely related.
All these contribute to weight gain.
Problems such as mood and anxiety disorders, weight discrimination, sleep deprivation, and long working shifts can lead to a person slowly gaining weight.
Another study also published in the Current Obesity Reports, came to a conclusion that along with a sedentary lifestyle, chronic social stress from unemployment or job, poor interpersonal relationships, stress, low socioeconomic status, and poor self-esteem can also lead to obesity.
The whole point of telling you this is that eating junk food or excess of it is not the only reason behind your weight gain.
Why don’t you observe your daily routine and find out the source of your stressors.
Today, with so many diets trending on the internet and the availability of weightloss pills, it’s become quite easy for people to shed a pound or 10.
However, the real problem arises when they are unable to maintain this weight.
According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, only 20% of people who start a diet are able to keep up with it, lose weight, and then keep it off in the long term.
We have already discussed how stress is one of the factors that can lead to weight gain. Lack of exercise is another, then not drinking enough water, eating large portions of meals, and so on.
If you want to find out how to maintain weight, then keep on reading.
3 Reasons Behind Regaining the Weight
Are you familiar with the word “deprivation”? This is the path you follow when you are on a diet.
Know this: the more you starve yourself, the more your hunger will increase and you will eventually eat more to satiate yourself.
Reason #1 Restrictive Diets
When you restrict the number of calories you consume, your metabolism slows down and shift occurs in the appetite-regulating hormones.
You should always plan your calorie count based on your BMI.
Reason #2 Wrong Mindset
Your one month diet is not a quick fix to losing weight.
You need to think about the long-term and adjust your diet in such a way that even after you have achieved your goal, you don’t revert back to the old habits.
Without exercise, you won’t be able to lose weight and that is truth. So, try to include any kind of activity in your daily routine.
Reason #3 Cheat Day – the Fall Back
Willpower and self-control are the two the factors that run most of the diets. When you deprive yourself of everything just for the sake of losing weight, you crave that food more.
Therefore, when the diet ends, you start eating junk food you have avoided for so many months. The key to a healthy diet is to have everything in moderation and maintain balance between the food you eat and exercise.
Things to Avoid When Trying to Maintain Your Weight
Remember that show “The Big fat Loser?” The show’s airing time was always for a couple of months and it focused on extreme sports.
Not everyone can maintain that kind of lifestyle once they are back in their home. This is why most of the contestants from the show ended up gaining weight again.
Now that you know why you are regaining the weight, let’s talk about the things you shouldn’t do in order to maintain the weight you lost:
1. Sticking to a Strict Diet
The number one mistake that every person on a diet makes is cutting back on the calories.
As mentioned earlier, this can slow down your metabolism. When your daily meals don’t have much protein on the plate, the detoxification process slows down.
This in turn affects your blood sugar level and when that drops, food is metabolized at a slow rate. This is the reason why you binge eat, get more cravings, and experience a loss in muscle mass.
Lastly, this can also cause liver damage, headaches, depression, and many other problems that have a negative impact on the body.
2. Eating Fat-Free Diets
Just because you picked up a can of food that says “fat-free” doesn’t mean that it will aid you in losing weight. Natural fatty foods such as cream, avocados, coconut oil, and fish do not have fattening effects.
Even the Keto diet encourages people to adopt a high-fat diet. Removing fat from your diet will make you feel lethargic all day long especially when you’re already on a low carb diet.
When people follow a low-fat diet, they substitute protein with foods that are high in carbs.
This leads to a constant hungry feeling that forces you to eat large portions. You can find out how to read food labels when trying to eat healthy.
3. Exercising More
The key to losing weight is part portion control and part exercise. However, people think that if they eat more, they can simply burn off the calories by exercising.
Let’s assume that you are on a diet where you consume 1,200 calories. At an average, the daily recommended calorie intake is 2,500.
Since the calories have reduced, you will have less energy to burn. This causes the body to take protective measures and it starts storing fat.
When you exercise for longer hours and stick to your calorie count, the body starts to shut down.
Your body temperature lowers, your pulse becomes weak, the digestive tract becomes weaker and thyroid functioning slows down.
It all circles back to a slow metabolism rate and when you finally eat at the end of the day, you consume more and your weight increases.
4. Cutting Out Sugar Completely
Yes, sugar increases your weight but that doesn’t mean you should cut it out completely from your diet! Again, this affects your metabolism rate because the body stops storing glycogen.
When you exercise, the above cycle repeats and your body becomes weaker.
One thing you should keep in mind is that in order to maintain the weight you lost, never deprive yourself of something you want to eat.
If you still want to stay on the straight and narrow path, then find substitutes. You can replace sugar with Stevia, honey, molasses, and maple syrup.
Bottom Line?
Refined carbs like white pasta and white bread determine your weightloss and gain. Such food items no longer have natural fiber due to the process they go through.
As we all know, fiber is a very important nutrient that promotes fullness and without it, you consume empty carbs. Limiting carbs can not only help you lose weight in the long run but can also keep it off indefinitely.
Moreover, people who follow a low-carb diet consume fewer calories, which help them keep up their energy reservoir.
Today, the society puts more emphasis on body image. People get unrealistic expectations by watching celebrities, which forces them to adopt any diet fad.
Here’s what we say you should do: find the source of your stressors and start eating healthy (think more green and less donuts even the ones made with coconut and almond flour).
Stress eating is a real thing and this is what makes you sit on your couch all day long and snack on Cheetos while watching Netflix.
Clean out your fridge and throw away all the processed meats and those ice cream tubs hiding in the freezer.
No more stuffing your face with Ben & Jerry’s after a bad breakup. Oh and no fruit smoothies because they are chock-full of sugar, even when you add spinach and kale in them.
Buy as many greens and fruits as you can, try out new recipes, and eat fish at least once or twice a week. It might be difficult at first but you will get the hang of it easily within a week.
If you want to know more about weightloss and different techniques on how to maintain weight, then browse our blog at Health and Fitness Promoter.
