Why Your Lifestyle May Be Making You Gain Weight !

by Jon Pankhurst
(Kent, UK)

It’s an alarming fact that a lot of people who are trying hard to lose weight end up not achieving the results they should. While in a minority of cases this can be put down to genetics or hormonal imbalances (and by minority I mean between 1 -2 % of the population!)

Weight gain occurs when you eat more calories than you burn through physical activity. But the causes aren't always obvious.
We all know that losing weight means eating fewer calories, and burning more energy through physical activity. It sounds simple but all too often it’s anything but that.

Official reports have blamed our lifestyle choices for the obesity epidemic we are experiencing. Modern life often results in us eating more calories than we need and we do almost no physical exercise.

That means we can end up eating too much and doing too little activity without even realising it. And the causes can lie in some surprising places.

Let’s think about some common lifestyle choices that can contribute towards a bigger waistline.

The rise in cheap flight might have lessened the pounds that we spend but can add to the pounds we gain in weight!

Regular holidays might be good for your stress levels, but they could be bad for your weight. A lot of people report how they gain weight when they are on holiday.

One of the biggest reasons for this is due to the fact that when on holiday we tend to eat out a lot more. And let’s face it - who wants to start thinking about calories when we are meant to be enjoying ourselves.

Of course there’s no need to stop having fun, just take more care when selecting food from the hotel buffet or restaurant. The trick here is to make small changes and think outside the box a bit.

For example, ask staff in restaurants for dressings in separate dishes so you can add them yourself. Also, you should be aware that portion sizes are usually larger at restaurants. Incorporate some activity into your holiday. And don’t forget that alcohol contains calories too!

We all like a drink and when managed responsibly, alcohol can add to an active sociable lifestyle. However, too many people are unaware of the serious consequences to health that alcohol can have. You may also be surprised to hear about the dramatic impact that excessive alcohol can have on your weight. Here are some sobering facts for you.

For instance did you know that there are almost 200 calories in a large glass of red wine! At 7 calories per gram, alcohol is stuffed with more calories than many foods, and that's just for the alcohol content. If you put a sugary mixer in your drink - then you are only adding to the calories.

Added to this, alcohol stimulates our appetite but reduces our self-control, making it easy to eat too much – so drinking could be a much greater source of weight gain than you suspected.

Someone who drinks heavily may be overweight and yet malnourished, replacing food with alcohol. What's more, once alcohol has damaged the liver, the body can't process the food we eat properly. This means less essential nutrients for our bodies to use.

However, its not just food and drink consumption that’s a problem. Sedentary lifestyles are also a major contributor. Women aged 18-34 spend an average of 60 hours a month at a computer, making them are the biggest users of the internet in the UK, according to new research from Nielsen/Netratings.

What are all those hours spent emailing friends doing to our waistlines? Spending a lot of time at a computer is contributing to an inactive lifestyle. Ways to counter this is to replace your chair with a swiss or fit ball. Just sitting on a swiss ball for half an hour is good core exercise.

Another lifestyle choice you might not associate with weight gain is late nights. A recent study from the University of Chicago found that lack of sleep increases levels of the hormone ghrelin, which makes you feel hungry.

On top of that, lack of sleep can result in depression which in turn can lead to the creation of stress inducing hormones that can have a serious impact on your ability to make rational food choices and having the motivation to get out there and exercise.

Remember that the key thing to try to do is to include as much physical activity into your daily routine as possible. If you think outside the box there are plenty of things you can do to achieve this.

Jon is dedicated to helping people combat weight loss. Try his ultimate recommendation free of charge at:

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