10 Surprising Reasons Why You’re STILL Gaining Weight

I get it – you have done everything in your power to lose weight.

You go to the exercise every day, eat a lean diet, and avoid iced cupcakes like the plague. But why are you still gaining more weight? Don’t blame your genes – okay, maybe that’s one factor but there’s more to fitness that we should know. Here are 9 surprising reasons why you’re STILL gaining weight.

1. You are not drinking enough water.

Water is of the essence! We all know that but are we really drinking enough? Since childhood we are taught to drink 8 glasses of water, but really, there are many factors to consider how much water we should be consuming. These factors include your gender, your height, your weight, your age, and your lifestyle.

You should be drinking enough water because if not, you’re going to look and feel bloated. It sounds ironic, but the fact is that the less water you consume, the more your body will hold on to excess water. So drink up!

2. You’re a little bit… constipated.

You are already eating less and drinking more water. But you still feel bloated. Perhaps it’s time to bring in fibre and probiotics! If you are not having regular bowel movement (the healthy range is within 1 to 3 times a day), you might be constipated. And yes, the gunk inside your digestive tract is highly likely to be the culprit behind your bloated stomach and weight gain!

3. Your meals can do with a little less salt.

So you’re not constipated, you’re going to the gym, and you’re eating less… but losing weight is still an elusive goal that you have yet to achieve. What could be wrong? Recall your dinner from last night. Could it have done with a little less salt? Perhaps it is the salt in your food that is causing you to still gain weight. Remember that salt causes water retention, so even if you’re doing everything to lose weight, if your body keeps holding on to excess water, you’re still not going to drop off those unwanted kilos. Go easy on the salt!

4. You are not sleeping enough.

What does sleep got to do with weight? For starters, lack of sleep causes you to feel tired, which affects your activity and attitude for the entire day. This can cause you to forego working out and eat more. If we look at it through scientific glasses (read: the really nerdy ones), it has everything to do with hormones. The hunger hormone, ghrelin, and the satiety hormone, leptin, go haywire when we lack sleep, so we feel hungry more often.

5. You are overcome with stress.

Okay, so not having enough sleep causes weight gain – well, here’s another bad news, so does stress. Did you know there’s an evil hormone that holds on to fat and causes you to increase your belly fat? It’s called cortisol, and stress causes the levels of cortisol to go out of control. Because you can’t really tell when you’re going to get stressed or how to actually stop it, the best way to combat it is to keep calm through meditation and relaxing hobbies. Even little things like playing with kids, listening to your favourite song, or sipping a cup of your favourite tea helps!

Next Page: Some more Reasons for Weight Gain