How Not To Gain Weight

There may be some simple habits in our life that are causing us to gain weight.

Too much sugar, too much fat, training too often, not training enough, eating too much food, eating the wrong foods, eating too often, not eating enough….urgh, there are so many different philosophies out there as to why we are facing the current obesity epidemic - it’s incredibly confusing.

Almost every second health article that pops up is some new weight loss method. What foods we should cut out, what exercise program we should do, what diet to go on. Instead of feeling like you are fighting an uphill battle of weight loss, it can be helpful to come at it from a different angle and think about what we may be doing that is resulting in the weight gain in the first place.

We are all busy. The question is, busy doing what?

I would suggest that one of the main contributors to the weight issue in society is our propensity to fill our days with all manner of activity, leaving no time to care for our health. Our crazy-paced life filled with work, running children around, emails, social media, caring for parents etc. runs us ragged. This lack of time has many of us falling into unhealthy habits which can, quite simply, make us fat:

Lack Of Sleep

Sleep deprivation causes changes to the hormones that regulate hunger and appetite. When your body is tired, there is an increase in the production of the hormone ghrelin which triggers feelings of hunger. You are also more likely to reach for sugary foods to help you get through the day. When you are tired you are much less likely to exercise. You are more likely to make unhealthy choices throughout the day as your mood is effected by your fatigue.

Lack Of Exercise

This is not a revelation, but as we get older, it becomes more and more important to exercise in order to avoid weight gain. As we age we tend to slow down and move less often. At the ripe old age of 30, we can begin to lose as much as 3-5% of our muscle mass every decade unless we do something to combat this decline (NB: lifting weights can not only halt this muscle loss, but we can continue to build muscle late into our lifetime). Therefore, in order to combat weight gain over the years, we need to put time and effort into ensuring we add as much movement into our day as possible. Include HIIT training, weight lifting and continual movement into your every day.

Less Time Spent In The Kitchen

One of the main reasons why we, as a society, are piling on weight is due to our incredible access to convenience food combined with our belief that we are too busy to cook. I’ve had clients tell me that they have to grab a muffin or pie on their lunch break because they don’t have time to make a salad for lunch. Sorry if this sounds a little harsh, but come on! Do you really not have a spare 10 minutes to chop up some veggies and throw them in a bowl with an egg and handful of seeds on top? Has it really come to this? If we just put a little more time aside to prepare healthy food, our diet will improve immediately:

You will eat more whole foods: Obviously by making food from scratch rather than buying it packaged, you will be eating more nutrient dense, healthy versions of the product.
You will eat less processed food: It’s the processed foods that are packed with sugars, additives and addictive rubbish that contribute to weight gain.
You will eat mindfully: When the kids open a packet of crackers purchased from the shop, I don’t really care how quickly they are eaten. However, when I put time and energy into baking chickpea crackers, or banana muffins, I make sure these foods are eaten slowly and savoured by everyone in the family. When you take time to prepare a meal, you are much more likely to eat mindfully than wolfing down the store bought variety.

Losing weight is hard, so look at what you can change in your life in order to avoid weight gain in the first place. And you may even enjoy a little weight loss along the way.

by Angie Black