Almost all women, who ever tried to grow thin, know the following situation: you choose carefully an appropriate diet for you, stick to it industriously and even lose a couple of kilograms… and that is all! You keep your weight, regardless of all your attempts and tortures, and often it even increases. Every morning you go on scales, and that treacherous indicator is like mocking at you. You are losing courage every day, and, finally, a hope to gain good figure melts.
However, you should not despair and change tactics of growing thin at once. Let’s try to find hidden reasons, which may prevent you from losing weight.
Reason 1: Cold dusk days
As researches show, in winter and close to winter months (October and November, March and April), we consume 500-1500 calories more daily. This especially concerns those, who are disposed to seasonal depression, displaying in breakdown, bad mood, extreme irritability or tiredness.
Well, almost 20% of people suffer from such depression. This happens because cutting down of a light day leads to decrease of such important substances, like serotonin and dopamine, in brain, what is a reason of mood lowering, breakdown and appearance of sugar hunger (hence – excessive consumption of sweets and other carbohydrates).
What should you do? Travel somewhere for the whole winter? There is a way out: try to “consume” as much sunshine as you can. Stay on fresh air for at least 15-30 minutes during afternoon period till 2 pm, when intensity of sun beams is maximum. Solarium at least once a week will also help you. It is also important to understand that hunger has a psychological, not physical character, and you should observe how often you yield to it.
Sedative herbal extracts will also help to reduce a depressive hunger a little. Try also to have enough fresh fruits and vegetables in your fridge even in winter, and also cereals.
Reason 2: Happy marriage
You were hardly ever going to suffer your figure for the sake of family happiness, and meanwhile, most often this happens. Two years after marriage women already start gaining 0,5-2 kg per year. The reason is that food habits of married people become similar with time, and as a rule, it is woman who tunes to a man.
When you are alone, most likely you will eat only a salad for supper or nothing at all. But when you are married, moreover, if your family is big, you just have to cook a supper (and eat) several dishes.
Try to get your husband’s and children’s support in this difficult matter of growing thin. Cook a “light-weight” version of your favorite dishes several times a week, with lower quantity of oil and fat. Don’t yield to persuasions to “drink a tea” for the third time during evening. Try also going in for sport together with your husband. Practice shows that in this case a woman quits trainings less often.
Reason 3: Sofa and TV
Researches show that 93% of overweight people watch TV more than 2 hours per day. The reason is that when one watches TV, he is almost motionless. During watching TV - programs, heartbeat, blood pressure and metabolism become slower – even more, than if you were just sitting on a chair doing nothing! As a result – one burns 20-30 calories less per hour.
So, if you are watching TV for 5 hours per day – you gain almost 1 kg per month. Not to mention the fact that many people like chewing something while watching their favorite movie/show.
There is a simple way out of this situation: don’t refuse from favorite programs, but do something while watching TV. Knit something at least! And it is better to do a complex of simple physical exercises.
Reason 4: Lack of sleep
Not to mention that lack of sleep influences appearance negatively, it slows down metabolism very much, contributing to overweight, not burning fat. The reason of this is that lack of sleep leads to insulin resistance (state, when organism does not consume sugar in blood the way it should, what also increases a risk of diabetes appearance), and also to decrease of leptin, a hormone that controls feeling of satiation.
These changes can lead to quick weight gain. Of course, chronic not getting enough sleep leads to this, not one-two sleepless nights (for example, if your baby is ill). As a rule, such hormonal changes are observed in people, who sleep 2-3 hours less than they should 5 nights per week. Don’t sacrifice your sleep. Majority of women need to sleep 7-8 hours per night. It is not bad to take a nap in the afternoon, if you have a possibility, at least on weekend.
Reason 5: Wrong diet
As a rule, weight loss stops quickly while fashionable diets, when one eats only rice or bananas during long time. Usually such diets work 203 days, when 2-3 kilograms are lost, and then they stop working. Further organism gets used and categorically refuses to get rid it of excess kilograms.
Separate nutrition also seldom gives positive effect. It improves digestion and health, but never reduce weight till necessary limit. As a rule those who don’t count calories eat this way.
Salt free diets also give weight stop not always, as you lose weight only due to water squeezing of your organism’s tissues. You will have no further effect. Heightened fatiguability will appear, organism will be lazy and use motions sparingly, and liquid will return in a while. You should restrict yourself in smoked and salt food. But there is no sense to quit eating them at all. It is better to keep to balanced diets.
Only slow complex programs of weight loss will give a stable result, while restriction of consumption of calories and fats.
Reason 6: Cyclic weight fluctuation
It will be easier for you to lose weight, if you keep to a diet and go in for sport during last phase of menstrual cycle, than any other time. Heightened level of estrogen and progesterone content increases metabolism: organism burns stocks of fat with their help.
As scientific researched show, women burn 30% calories more during period from 2 weeks after ovulation till 2 days before menstruation. Moreover, premenstrual syndrome and period itself very often cause edemas and accumulation of excess liquid. Regardless of a diet you keep to, 2 kg overweight is possible! Don’t torture yourself, wait till natural solution of the situation and then drink diuretic tea for 2-3 days.
And finally several interesting factors, found during recent researches:
- It turns out that intensity of home lightning can influence appetite. It was proved that, as a rule, overweight people consume more food while bright light. Bright lightning excites them, makes them eat quicker, with bigger appetite and, as a result, they consume more calories. At the same time, people, who keep to some diet, or people with lack of weight eat more while subdued lightning.
- Keep food further from you. The more food is available, the more gladly you eat it. According to American researches, products from lower shelves of fridge “dissapesr” much quicker, than ones from upper. Also, if you prefer to eat in kitchen, a probability of overeating increases. However, if you go, say, to a drawing-room, with a portion, then a probability that you will return for second helping is rather small.
- According to researches, which French scientists carried out, people consume more food while presence of external irritants, for example, TV or music. In this case people spend more time at dining table and consume more calories, than they would while eating in silence. Other abstractive moments, for example, a lunch with an interesting interlocutor, have similar effect.
About The Author
Yana Mikheeva is the creator of the WomansPassions site for women and about women at womanspassions.com , it is an on-line resource for women and about women. Here you can find articles on various subjects, such as: diets, receipts, health, cellulite, figure, aromatherapy, wholesome food, psychology of relationships, pregnancy, parenting, fashion and many others.
She also has a blog for women at womanspassions.com
