Why you can gain weight without eating, but you can lose weight without dieting
Reasons you might gain weight
Two easy ways to lose weight without dieting are chewing gum and drinking ice water.
Chewing gum increases energy consumption by 19% for the muscles and the saliva glands. When drinking ice water your body will burn 40 calories just warming the water. If you drink 8-12oz. glasses of water a day, your body will burn an additional 200 calories.
You might be gaining weight because you don’t get enough sleep. You need to sleep at least eight hours a night. When you only get 5 to 7 hours sleep, your body produces a hormone called ghrelin. This makes you hungrier, so you eat more and gain weight.
Stress produces a hormone called cortisol. This makes you over eat. Many drugs treating migranes, antidepressants, antihistammes and steroids can produce weight gain. Muscle weights more than fat. You might be exercising but not losing. This is because the fat is being replaced with good solid muscle. Be patient the weight will start to come off.
Six ways to help lose weight
1. Monitor your portions. Some people use a scale; others use the size of their fist to determine amounts.
2. Eat slower. Studies have shown the brain takes 20 minutes to register it is full. The slower you eat, the quicker it takes to feel full
3. Replace fats. Do not use butter. Sauté vegetables in broth. Use olive oil
4. Keep motivated-- don’t use food as a way to cope with stress or problems. Have a friend or back-up to call when you go astray.
5. Monitor your snacks. Have something ready to grab instead of the bag of chips. Sugar free Jell-O, carrots, fruit
6. Take half the dinner home. When dining out, you don’t have to eat the complete meal. Fill up with salad and take main course for tomorrow’s dinner.
A little weight is a good thing
Putting on a little weight might be a good thing. One of the problems with thin bodies is an increase risk of osteoporosis. There is evidence that menopausal symptoms are worse in thin women. A thin face is much more likely to show wrinkles.
As we get older, we exercise less and our muscle mass diminishes. After age 45 the fat is placed on your body differently—more in the abdomen and upper arms. Muscles use up more calories than other body tissues. Because we have less muscle mass the body’s ability to burn calories and shed weight is diminished. Exercise helps to keep lean tissues density and burns calories. Your weight is the sum of all masses including muscle, fat and water. To lose weight you must reduce the fat only, not the muscles.
Four things for success
1. Exercise
2. Set realistic goals
3. Accept little, steady weight loss
4. Eat healthy
If you are doing everything correct and still not losing weight, take a look at your goals. If you want to lose one hundred pounds don’t set that as a goal. Say I will lose ten pounds in six weeks. Once accomplished reward yourself and set a new goal. I will lose seven pounds in six weeks. Change the numbers just to give yourself variety. Trying to lose too much too fast only sets you up to fail. You can’t see the finish line and you get discouraged then quit. Becoming unmotivated is not a good sign. You begin to see failure as the only way out. Keep your eyes on the prizes, have a good friend as a support and call them often. Do not get hung up on counting calories. The fat content is far more important. Every gram of fat is equal to nine calories. Keep the calorie count in your mind, but don’t let that be the deterring fact to your diet. Exercise is the biggest ingredient to success.
