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 you. You are losing courage every day, and, finally, hope to gain a 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 breakdown, bad mood, extreme irritability, or tiredness.
Well, almost 20% of people suffer from such depression. This happens because cutting down on a light day leads to a decrease of such important substances, like serotonin and dopamine, in the brain, which is a reason for 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 in fresh air for at least 15-30 minutes during the afternoon period till 2 pm, when the intensity of sunbeams 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 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 the food habits of married people become similar with time, and as a rule, it is a 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 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 a lower quantity of oil and fat. Don’t yield to persuasions to “drink tea” for the third time during the evening. Try also going in for sport together with your husband. Practice shows that in this case, a woman quits training 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. There is a simple way out of this situation: don’t refuse from favorite programs, but do something while watching them. 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 being overweight, and not burning fat. The reason for this is that lack of sleep leads to insulin resistance (state, when an organism does not consume sugar in blood the way it should, which also increases the risk of diabetes appearance), and also decreases 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 night (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. The 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 the weekend.
Reason 5: Wrong diet
As a rule, weight loss stops quickly while fashionable diets, when one eats only rice or bananas for a long time. Usually, such diets work 203 days, when 2-3 kilograms are lost, and then they stop working. The further organism gets used and categorically refuses to get rid it of excess kilograms.
Separate nutrition also seldom gives a positive effect. It improves digestion and health but never reduces weight till the 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, the organism will be lazy and use motions sparingly, and liquid will return in a while. You should restrict yourself to smoked and salted food. But there is no sense to quit eating them at all. It is better to keep a balanced diet.
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 the last phase of your menstrual cycle, than at any other time. The heightened level of estrogen and progesterone content increases metabolism: the organism burns stocks of fat with their help.
As scientifically researched shows, women burn 30% calories more during periods from 2 weeks after ovulation till 2 days before menstruation. Moreover, premenstrual syndrome and the period itself very often cause edemas and accumulation of excess liquid. Regardless of the diet you keep to, 2 kg overweight is possible! Don’t torture yourself, wait till a natural solution to the situation and then drink diuretic tea for 2-3 days.
And finally, several interesting factors were found during recent research:
– It turns out that the 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 appetites 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 research, products from lower shelves of fridges “disappear” much quicker, than ones from upper. Also, if you prefer to eat in the kitchen, the probability of overeating increases. However, if you go, say, to a drawing-room, with a portion, then the probability that you will return for a second helping is rather small.
– According to research, which French scientists carried out, people consume more food while the presence of external irritants, for example, TV or music. In this case, people spend more time at the 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 a similar effect.
About The Author
Yana Mikheeva
