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Battling With Weight Loss

This is probably the HOTTEST topic around. Everyone wants to know how they can loose more weight. Yo- Yo diets come and go all the time, people pop pills, try out patches and or starve themselves for awhile and then just go right on binging again putting on more weight. Crash diets just bring about disappointment as more money is wasted and more weight is put back on. So why is it that so many people are battling with this weight epidemic and why are so many people putting on more and more weight as the years go on?

Well this could be a very long and in depth article but we are not going to go into all the “nitty gritty” as to why this happens, the reasons are so many and we could literally be here for days looking into all the whys and how’s of this problem.

The thing I think that needs to be remembered is that there are various reasons for being over weight and yes in some cases obese. According to the National Center for Health Statistics in the United States alone 66.3% of all people are overweight or obese. Now that is a staggering statistic.

Let’s have a quick look at some of the reasons why people battle with weight loss. For so many people it is a constant battle and one they feel they have already lost from the word “go”. Your quality of life is affected when you are over weight and you really don’t feel good about yourself, in fact you feel down right rotten, worthless and just not worth the time of any ones day and so we see how the destructive cycle continues. You comfort eat and just keep putting on more weight leaving you feeling worse about yourself after each and every mouthful. A mouthful that you know you don’t really need but you just can’t stop yourself.

One of the things you certainly do not have control over is if it is a genetic factor that has caused you to put on weight and subsequently battle to loose the weight again. Maybe you have always been bigger than average and due to your bone structure you are “just that way.” Due to these genes your appetite is affected, the rate at which your body metabolizes food and then of course the fat – muscle ratio and how it is distributed in your body plays against you. Don’t get me wrong you may not have control over your DNA make up but you do have control over how you can handle it from here. Knowledge is power and when you are equipped with this power you can make better life style choices. Don’t put unrealistic pressure on yourself, it is not worth it and it makes you feel worse when you don’t reach these unattainable goals. Accept yourself and realize that you are wonderful just the way you are, and yes you may have to watch what you eat and how much of it you do eat and when you eat coupled with exercise routines but remember to take a break once in awhile, cheat a bit here and there and then get back to watching what you eat. If you do not allow yourself the odd indulgence here and there, you will be completely miserable and just like any strict diet, give up, over indulge and put on more weight. You need to find that balance that makes your body and your taste buds happy.

Then we have the Thyroid problem. This is not diagnosed often enough. More often than not the possibility is dismissed or just missed as a possible option. The thyroid gland is what is responsible for regulating the bodies’ metabolism, energy, hormones and vitamins. It sits at the base of your throat and is stimulated by the pituitary gland to produce the necessary hormones needed to keep the bodies’ metabolism and energy levels at the noStrermal functioning rate. When you have an under active thyroid you have Hypothyroidism and it tends to affect woman far more than it does men. In this case the thyroid gland does not produce enough of the thyroid hormone and thus it is not effective in regulating the body’s metabolism and use of energy. Some of the signs to look out for are extreme tiredness, weight gain, swelling in the face and in these cases you will find you have particularly puffy eyes. Your hair may be thin, your skin dry and thickened and your menstrual period may be heavier than usual. Constipation and an increased intolerance to cold weather, poor memory, depression and muscle cramps are also signs of probable hypothyroidism. This is normally treated by a daily dose of thyroid hormones; they may be either synthetic or natural hormones to help bring in what your thyroid gland is failing to produce on its own.

Stress is also said to cause weight gain. Now before we all sit back and think that another lecture about comfort food is on its way, let us look at why weight gain happens when under stress. I did an article recently on acne and some of the causes or contributing factors to acne and one of the things that came up is cortisol and how it affects the skin. Well cortisol affects ones weight and, in effect, weight loss too. Cortisol is a hormone that is released in ones body when under stress, hence the reason it has been labeled the “stress hormone”, and it comes about because of the “fight or flight” reaction that gets released in all of us. With regards to weight it is the reason why your body hangs on to weight the way it does.

As already discovered cortisol tends to have many different affects in the body and so one of its functions is to help the body produce blood sugar from proteins. We all know what too much sugar does; it causes fatty deposits in the body. In these instances the fat is generally deposited around the abdomen resulting in the “tire belly”. The best root to go is to have your cortisol levels tested and leave the treatment of it in the hands of your health practitioner. Even though the role of cortisol in weight gain is under some debate a test showed that women who have higher cortisol levels in their body’s have a greater tendency to eat high fat foods than women whose cortisol levels were lower. I don’t think tests are really necessary to prove when women eat more because we all know from personal experiences how and when we indulge ourselves in comfort food. Invariably ones emotional state is not as relaxed and calm as it could be.

Some medications cause weight gain, such as birth control pills, steroids and antidepressants. The best thing to do would be to consult your health practitioner and let him/ her alter your medication to suit your bodies needs and prevent you from continuing to gain excess weight.

I think the biggest contributing factor to weight gain and why people battle so much to loose the unwanted weight is unfortunately lifestyle. There is regrettably no “miracle pill” or “miracle patch” that will just shed away those pounds. We live in a time of convenience and because of this “take aways” and “drive thrus” are becoming our usual place to have a meal. It is the norm rather than the exception to the rule. They tempt us at nearly every street corner, they fill us quicker than any health snack and let’s face it even though the nutritional value on a scale of one to ten is maybe -1, we don’t really care, it tastes good enough and it is easily accessible. Exercise just tends to be too much effort and we don’t always have the time for it either. Diets are just a pain in the neck and who knows what we are really doing to our bodies in the long run with all these pills that go with it? Just as food is used to “deal with” depression, sadness, stress and anxiety it is also used to celebrate and enjoy life. What goes invariably hand in hand when celebrating with food, well alcohol and it is well known that large consumption of alcohol is also responsible for putting on weight around the belly.

At the end of the day we go back to the importance of having a healthy body image. Overweight tends to be subjective and we all put these really unrealistic expectations on ourselves (thanks of course to the media and society) of what we should look like. However on the other hand we should take more notice of how much we may weigh for no other reason other than the health issues that are associated with being over weight. A high Cholesterol level, diabetes, heart failure, respiratory problems and so on is all things to look out for that adversely affect your health when you are over weight.

Sensitivity to various foods may also cause fluid retention and weight gain so have tests done to see if there are foods that don’t react well to your system. Symptoms that will occur shortly after eating that if you are sensitive to that particular food are headaches, indigestion, joint pain, depression, constipation, diarrhea and respiratory problems.

As hard as it may be try not to compromise your eating habits, bypass the “drive thrus”. When feeling stressed as tempting as it may be to hit the food, rather go for a walk or jog to get rid of those feelings of anger and frustration. A punching bag is an unbelievable source of stress release, so maybe look into investing in one of those and go and hit that instead. Exercise is fantastic. I know it is hard to get into exercise but again don’t put unrealistic expectations on yourself when you do. The lack of instant results is what puts us off so often. Drink lots of water, throw away the tempting foods and get into a well balanced diet plan that has been made for you specifically by a Dietician or Health Practitioner. Remember that you want to be healthy for yourself and your family and that way you can put your best step forward from the start.

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