(Newswire.net — October 25, 2013) Portland, OR — Here are the top fifteen things that may be preventing you from achieving your weight loss goals.
Stress – Our culture is known worldwide for being high stress. Stress is more than tightened neck muscles, a migraine or losing lose your temper more easily. When stressed, the body pumps out three hormones: adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol. The side effects of these hormones is weight gain, usually in the abdominal area.
Toxic overload – Increased toxins can also cause weight gain in the abdominal area. It is in our air, our water, our personal and household care products, and worst of all in the food supply. If the body can’t flush it out, then it stores in in the fat cells of the body, usually in the abdominal fat. This a reason that you often feel cruddy when losing weight. These toxins are being released back into the blood stream where they play havoc with body functions.
Not eating enough – This may seem counterinuitive since being overweight is believed to be an overeating problem. Our bodies were designed to survive through drought and famine. If the body believes there is a famine it shuts down all non-essential functions, thereby lowering the need for calories. If you cut out calories to lose weight, this survival function defeats the purpose.
Eating the wrong things – Eating empty calories is worse than not eating anything. The body pulls nutrients from its storehouses in order to digest and eliminate the toxins from the food we eat. If not enough nutrients are supplied, the body begins to experience cravings to get you to supply those nutrients. Feed those cravings with the wrong things simply makes the problem worse.
Fitting in –Social situations often lead to poor eating. At times it is appropriate to give in to this social pressure and times when it isn’t. Limiting the number of times can be done by structuring your social life a little differently. It isn’t mandatory to eat the cake at birthdays and weddings. It is mandatory to politely eat what your mother-in-law has spent all day cooking for a special occasion.
Not enough fat – There is a saying that it takes fat to burn fat that has some truth to it. Problem is you need to be very careful to get only the best fats. Liquid oils in clear plastic containers does not qualify. Olive oil eaten cold, coconut oil and organic butter do fit that description. Our brains and nerves need a little bit each and every day.
Too much or too little exercise – Both are harmful to successful weight loss. Over training causes inflammation and water retention. Under training means not burning enough calories to compensate for the amount of food you are eating. Lowering calories isn’t the answer. Increasing exercise to a level that energizes you, and then hold that level. Do not push yourself to exhaustion.
Chewing gum – Chewing gum does not decrease the amount of food you eat. It increases your junk food cravings and messes up your digestion. By telling your body you are eating something sweet you are telling it to prepare to digest that sweetness. This produces insulin and digestive enzymes. Over time you deplete these supplies and wear out the organ that makes them. This is the pancreas, and a worn out pancreas can lead to Type I diabetes. Having excess insulin in your blood stream can lead to insulin resistance, which is called Type II diabetes.
Body says you are a healthy weight – People that have been losing weight and hit a plateau may have reached a weight that the body says is healthy for them. They may still not like the way they look, but the body refuses to let go of any more. It is afraid that if it does it won’t have the resources available to fit off danger or illness.
Bad sleeping habits – Sleep is a little like stress, we all need some but not too much. Too little sleep and your body will produce cortisol, one of those fat producing hormones. Too much sleep and you won’t be moving around enough and burn off the calories you are eating.
Mindless eating – Everyone develops habits. If they are deep enough they are called ruts. Eating at specific times, when you don’t need food is a habit. It can lead to eating the wrong foods. Even eating the right foods it can lead to taking in more calories than your body needs. A favorite time for mindless eating is late at night. This means putting calories into your system right before you shut down that system for the night. All that energy will go into storage, the fat cells.
Hormonal imbalance – Belly fat produces hormones. In women it produces more testosterone; in men it produces more estrogen. Neither is good for us. It becomes a vicious cycle that will slow down weight loss.
Bad habits – Many of us are really good when we first start on a weight loss project, but get sloppy. We quit measuring and paying attention to small details. We start ‘picking’ at foods and not realizing it. These small bad habits can add up quickly and derail a weight loss program.
Deficient in Vitamin D – New studies are showing that there is a direct correlation between Vitamin D levels and the amount of fat the body retains. The studies don’t prove which the cause is and which the effect is. Some show one direction and others the opposite.
Wrong bacteria – Studies are also being done on the gut bacteria of obese and thin people. The findings are that the guts contain different bacteria in the two groups. Fortunately it is possible to change our gut bacteria through supplementation
These are just the tip of the iceberg. The trick is finding the ones that affect you and reduce and eliminate them.
Source: http://www.enrichgifts.com/Weight-Loss-Sabotagers-s/816.htm