If you have been trying to lose weight and things just aren’t going your way, you may become very frustrated. Maybe you aren’t even sure why you are gaining weight. You may have been trying to eat the right foods, exercise and do other things to reach weight loss goals. Still you aren’t making progress, in fact, you are gaining weight. Why is this happening? Keep reading here to find more about the main causes of why you may be gaining weight.
Eating Calorie-Dense Foods
If you have been trying to lose weight and you are gaining weight instead, this can make you very upset. The reason why you may be gaining weight is because of calorie-dense foods. If you are eating too much of this kind of food, you could be gaining weight. Calorie-dense foods are when there are a lot of calories in one pound of that food. This is actually close to the leading cause of gaining weight. Think about how much fast food you eat. Do you eat a lot of greasy foods? These are generally trans-fat filled foods that tear apart your metabolism. They are calorie-dense and full of fat and/or sugar. When you eat this type of food your body doesn’t reach in time to realize you are full, so you eat more than you need to. Not to mention that this type of food is unhealthy in the first place. In addition, this type of food is very low in nutrients which is another reason you are gaining weight.
Simple Carbs
If you are eating too many simple carbs, you may be gaining weight because of that. These foods cause the insulin in your body to spike. When your body’s insulin levels spike repeatedly, you start to become insulin resistance. Your body needs insulin to take in the glucose molecules. When you are insulin resistance, your cells don’t have a sensitivity to insulin. You need more insulin just to meet the needs of your body. When there is too much insulin hanging out in your body, it is much more difficult to lose any weight and the opposite happens where you actually gain weight instead.
Calories in Liquid Form
Are you drinking much of your daily intake of calories? There are many drinks that are full of calories. These mostly include milk, gourmet type coffees and soda. They are full of fat and/or carbs. When you drink a lot of calories, they become potent to your body and they cause you to gain weight because your body takes them in so quickly. This is why plain water is the absolute best thing for you to drink.
Consumption of Alcohol
If you are an alcohol drinker, you could be gaining weight because of that. Alcohol can stop your body from burning fat for a whole day. In addition, when you eat calorie-dense foods, which often happens when drinking alcohol, your body keeps those calories in for fat while the body burns the alcoholic calories.
Missing Breakfast
Are you not a morning person? That is what many people tell themselves and because of that they may be missing breakfast. Skipping out on your breakfast could be one of the reasons why you are gaining weight. Studies do show that people who don’t have breakfast, see a growth in fat on their abdomen areas. When you miss breakfast, your body begins to enter starvation mode and when you do get to eating again, your body holds tightly onto the calories you eat for fat. Your body believes you are short for food and wants to keep it in as long as possible.
Missing Lunch or Dinner
If you are missing out on lunch or dinner, that could be causing your weight gain. Your body needs to have set times for your meals or it becomes confused. Your body will start believing that you aren’t bringing in enough food when you miss lunch or dinner. When that happens, more calories are stored for fat. The best way to combat this is to eat about 6 smaller meals over the day. That way if you do happen to miss one, your body won’t be as confused.
If you have been wondering why you are gaining weight instead of losing it, maybe one or more of these reasons could be why.
