Are you having difficulty losing weight despite exercising and eating healthfully? It could be your weight loss is getting sabotaged by factors you’d never guess. Three sneaky saboteurs may be in play that all start with the letter “S” and have nothing to do with how much you exercise or how little you eat.
Keep an eye out for Sneaky Saboteurs
Will the US Become a 100% Fat Population?
Kymberly: Be prepared to disbelieve my next sentence: “If the U.S. continues its current weight gain trends, within the next 2 decades 100 percent of our adult population is projected to be obese. Not just overweight, obese!”
That Freak Out Fit Fact comes straight from the founder of the National Weight Loss Registry, executive director of the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center located at the University of Colorado Medical Center, and professor of pediatrics and medicine, James O. Hill, PhD. That’s some serious chops. (For more eye-opening weight loss info from Dr. Hill, read Reducing Obesity: What Does and Doesn’t Work?
If you are at all like me, you are thinking “no way that projected statistic can be right as I have no plan to be in that category and I do plan to be alive in 20 years.”
Consider that already 2/3 of our population is overweight or obese. That means normal weight people are in the minority.
So what can we – you and I – do to reverse that trend and stay at a healthy weight? If you are running to the answer of “eat a healthy diet and exercise” you are mostly right. But exercise and diet are not enough. We must also recognize other factors that cause weight gain or inhibit weight loss.
2/3 of US population is overweight or obese. That means normal weight people are in minority…
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I’m Dressed for Stress
What are those 3 Sneaky Saboteurs that Cause Trouble Losing Weight?
1) Stress
- releases cortisol, a hormone that slows your metabolism
- increases food cravings, especially of sugary, fatty foods
- promotes fat retention, especially in the abdominal area
If you suspect that stress is affecting your weight, once you are done reading this post, click to find out more about what’s going on:
2) Sleep (Specifically, Insufficient Snoozing)
Cart Me Away to a Deep Sleep
In the 1970s, U.S. adults averaged 7+ hours per night. We are now down to the low 6s. When we sleep too little (6 hours or fewer) we:
- are awake longer and therefore often snacking more
- create an imbalance of appetite-regulating hormones, with the hormone that stimulates hunger pangs taking over
- are possibly dealing with sleep apnea, which shows a correlation between weight gain and lost, interrupted, or insufficient sleep. The cause and effect are still in question.
3) Sugar
- Our average intake today is 90 pounds per person per year. That is triple the number of sugar pounds consumed 50 years ago.
- The American Heart Association recommends women ingest no more than 9 teaspoons per day; men are not to exceed 11
- Current average is about 28 teaspoons per day.
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Sugar is Trouble – Squared (and Cubed)
If You Are Having Difficulty Losing Weight, What are the Solutions?
Reduce stress by building in activities or habits that soothe you. Meditate, perform some kind of cardio workout, take a bath, play with your pet. RELAX ALREADY!
Sleep at least 7 hours per night, preferably 8. More than 8 is not necessarily better though, so don’t feel compelled to snooze 9 or 10 hours. Unless you’re a teen reading this, then 9-10 hours might be a cutback.
Reduce sugar intake. Focus on ingredient labels to know what sugars are in packaged foods. Worry less about the sugar in fruits or sugar you put in your coffee. Where sugar adds up is as an ingredient in other foods. And it’s cleverly disguised too so check for any words ending in “lose” and starting with “something Latin sounding.” Examples: sucrose, lactose, dextrose.
Having trouble losing weight? Could be 3 sneaky saboteurs that have nothing to do w/ exercise or…
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Alexandra: Great. Now I’m hungry, cranky, tired and stressed out. I do not wish to be a statistic, unless it’s in the category of “Woman who is 20 years older and has perfect curves.” I also want to be able to run high and jump tall buildings in a single bound. I think I’ll go take a nap. I already did the cardio. A steam bath sounds good too. With aromatherapy so I can smell my bright, fit future!!
Could Your Metabolism Be Stuck? (A 4th “S” Word)
What if you are still having trouble losing weight and suspect it’s your metabolism? Find out if your theory is right by clicking below:
Photo Credits: Creative Commons: Harald Groven (sleeping man), INeedCoffee / CoffeeHero (sugar cubes)
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by Kymberly Williams-Evans, MA and Alexandra Williams, MA
The post Having Difficulty Losing Weight? appeared first on Fun and Fit: Active Aging Answers for Boom Chicka Boomers.