Causes of Weight GainDieting Yes, one of the main causes of weight gain is dieting. Dieting makes you fat. As you reduce your food intake to lose weight, your body puts itself on ‘famine alert’. It gets the impression that food is scarce and therefore it slows down your metabolism to get the best use of the small amounts of food it is receiving. When you say you want to lose weight, what you actually want to lose is fat. If you lose weight rapidly, almost 25% of that weight loss can be made up of water, muscle and other lean tissue. The reason for this is that your body is actually programmed to hold on to fat. So in times of what your body considers to be a ‘famine’, it will actually go as far as breaking down muscle and losing water in order to hold on to its fat reserves. There’s also the question of metabolism. When you crash diet, your metabolism slows down to conserve energy and make the most out of the small amounts you are eating. What happens when you go back to eating normally? Well, everything you eat is being dealt with at a much slower rate and more fat is stored.
Too much food and not enough exercise If you eat more than you burn off with exercise, then you are going to gain weight. The type of calories is also an important factor in this equation. In other words, you need to consider what type of calories you are eating - whether they come in the form of fat, carbohydrates or protein.
Poor food choices Researchers have found that fat and thin people can eat roughly the same number of calories, but it seems the type of food they eat is different. Low-fat diets tend to be high in sugar and salt, which is required to make the food more palatable. When fat is taken out of food, the taste is affected. Food manufacturers add more sugar and salt to compensate for this. The problem is the sugar from these foods will cause your blood sugar levels to fluctuate, which can create fat storage. Every time you eat, your body has a choice: it can either burn that food as energy or store it as fat. Researchers have found that high insulin levels not only change your food into fat, but they also prevent your body from breaking down previously stored fat. Foods that contain sugar and refined flour, such as cakes, biscuits, pastries and other treats, are known as fast-releasing foods, meaning they release sugar into the blood stream quickly, causing blood sugar levels to rise rapidly. If you crave sweet or starchy foods, feel tired during the afternoon, experience light-headedness, dizziness or shakiness if you miss a meal or wake up feeling tired after a full night’s sleep, then your blood sugar levels are probably fluctuating too much.
Hormone imbalances Sometimes hormones play a role in weight gain, as hormones like oestrogen are known to cause the fat accumulation. Oestrogen has also been shown to antagonise the proper functioning of the other glands in the body. Conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) are associated with insulin resistance and weight gain.
Insulin resistance When insulin is continuously released over an extended period, the cells in the body begin to ignore the high insulin levels, and become resistant to the hormone’s effects. Insulin resistance can cause weight gain to the point of obesity. The typical Western diet, lacking in nutrients, high in saturated fats and refined and starchy carbohydrates, and low in vegetable protein and fibre, plays a major role in insulin resistance. Other contributing factors include obesity, genetics, a sedentary lifestyle, stress, and chronic alcohol and cigarette use. Insulin resistance is not just a blood sugar imbalance; your adrenal glands, pancreas, nervous system and liver are all implicated. Successful treatment protocols need to address these issues in addition to dietary and lifestyle changes.
Underactive thyroid The thyroid gland regulates the overall metabolism in the body. This determines how much of the total calories consumed can be used and how much needs to be stored. If the thyroid gland is malfunctioning, it leads to an impairment of the body’s metabolic process and more deposition compared to utilisation of the consumed calories. It’s also a fact that four times as many women as men will be diagnosed with an underactive thyroid, which can affect their weight. An underactive thyroid may be the root of weight gain, and should be checked by your doctor.
Nutritional deficiencies Food can be converted into fat or energy. You can either store what you eat, which means you will probably put on weight, or you can use it for energy. Whether food is burned or stored is determined by a number of chemical reactions that take place in your body. These are activated by enzymes, which are in turn dependent on vitamins and minerals. If you are deficient by even a small amount in certain vitamins and minerals, you will gain weight.
Prescribed medicaton Weight gain is often linked to certain medications such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT), the oral contraceptive pill and steroids. Some antidepressants can also cause increased appetite and weight gain. If you have to take medication, discuss your weight problem with your doctor and ask if there are alternative drugs you could take. Never stop taking any drug without the advice and supervision of your doctor.
Food allergies Could a food allergy or intolerance be making it difficult for you to lose weight? A good clue is whether you crave a particular food that you eat frequently. Once a food allergy exists, the food becomes mildly addictive and you can feel compelled to eat it. If you are allergic to a food, your body can react by storing it away instead of using it for energy. If you eat a lot of foods to which you are allergic, there will undoubtedly be weight gain. It is possible to have a food intolerance test which measures the release of certain chemicals that are responsible for the symptoms of food intolerance. Once you find out what foods are causing problems, they can be avoided for a short period of time. Giving your body a rest from them and then ensuring that they don’t make up too large a percentage of your diet will probably do the trick. If you would like to know more about this test click food Intolerance test. (details to come)
Childhood eating The origins of obesity often lie in early childhood. Statistically, children who are overweight by the age of two turn into fat adults more frequently than their leaner playmates. Early feeding patterns set the stage for obesity. Correct weaning and eating habits should be instilled in children before it is too late. It is often found that the chemistry of an obese person differs from a person of normal size. Most obese people show abnormal glucose tolerance and have raised blood levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and free fatty acids. The basic problem in obesity then is an abnormal biochemistry caused by a diet of excess refined carbohydrates and saturated fats, and a reduction in activity in adulthood.
Blood sugar balance Imbalances in blood levels and insensitivity to insulin prevent glucose from entering the cells, which means the glucose ends up being deposited as fat. High levels of insulin also cause excess hunger. In addition, very high insulin levels can cause obesity due to excessive salt and water retention.
Emotional/comfort eating Emotional factors also play a role in weight gain as many psychological conditions like depression are known to lead to overeating. Food gives us comfort and is seen as a reward. Overeating often occurs as a result of some type of emotional disorder or a compensatory fix to life. The end result is weight gain, which is difficult to treat because old emotions come to the surface when the comfort foods are removed. Through counselling and meditation, emotional causes can be identified, confronted and released to minimise the chance of relapsing.
Addictions Addictive foods play a large role in weight gain. Manufactured foods are typically concentrated and have addictive substances such as sugar added. Food manufacturers are aware of this and continue to find new ways of making foods tastier and sweeter. The end result is a craving for these foods as the body develops an addiction and our taste buds become desensitised, making healthy foods taste bland. It should always be remembered that while these types of foods may taste good, they have negative effects on the body, often making you bloated and sick. The short-term taste sensations are not worth the long-term pain.
Candida Do you suffer from any of these symptoms?
We all have the candida yeast in our gut, but it is usually controlled by other bacteria. When the immune system is compromised (because of illness or a poor diet), the proportion of ‘healthy’ bacteria can be altered, causing candida to grow out of control. This overgrowth can also be caused by overuse of antibiotics, the oral contraceptive pill, hormone replacement therapy, steroids and stress. If you are experiencing chronic thrush, you should always see your doctor as this can be a symptom of diabetes and needs to be ruled out.
Liver Function The liver is the major fat burning organ in the body and regulates fat metabolism by a complicated set of biochemical pathways. It can also pump excessive fat out of the body through the bile into the small intestines. If your diet is high in fibre, this unwanted fat will be carried out of the body via the bowel actions. The liver is a remarkable machine for keeping weight under control, being both a fat burning organ and a fat pumping organ. If the liver filter is damaged by toxins or clogged up (blocked) with excessive waste material, it will be less able to remove small fat globules (chylomicrons) circulating in the bloodstream. This will cause excessive fat to build up in the blood vessel walls. This fat may then gradually build up in many other parts of the body, including other organs, and in fatty deposits under the skin. Thus you may develop cellulite in the buttocks, thighs, arms and abdominal wall. If the liver does not regulate fat metabolism efficiently, weight gain tends to occur around the abdominal area and a protuberant abdomen (pot belly) will develop. This is not good for the waistline. Another sign can be a roll of fat around the upper abdomen. This is often a sign of a fatty liver. It can be almost impossible to lose this abdominal fat until the liver function is improved. Once this is done the liver will start burning fat efficiently again and the weight comes off gradually and without too much effort. A liver cleansing program and a good liver tonic will assist. Also, if you have a fatty liver, your chances of high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease and mature-onset diabetes are significantly higher. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to find a fatty liver in adolescents who consume a diet high in processed and fast foods.
Age As we age it becomes more difficult to keep weight at a manageable level. This is because we tend to naturally become less active. We also do not follow the principles of wellness, causing our bodies to degenerate. With this degeneration comes a slowing of the glandular system and metabolism. A slow metabolism makes it difficult to maintain weight.
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