The Two Silent Causes of Weight Gain

I call these silent because most people are not aware of their effects on weight gain. Most people know about poor nutrition and lack of exercise but these two are just as important factors in weight gain or in the very least an inability to lose fat despite having a handle on nutrition and exercise.

Stress – Work -related, relationship, financial, situational stressors are key factors in high cortisol levels. Everyone handles stress differently and although some people appear to be “in control” they may not be inside. Learning effective stress busting/ coping techniques are key not just for a healthy state of mind but also for healthy body weight. Cortisol not only increases fat weight by increasing appetite, but affects WHERE that fat is deposited -namely the abdomen. This “toxic fat” is more harmful in this area of the body, more so than any other, because it correlates with a higher incidence of cardiovascular diseases.

Sleep – Ideally, a good night’s sleep would be 6-8 hours. Too little or too much leads to increased cortisol – stress related hormone that holds onto fat in the body and stores it for use during the “crisis” (poor sleep is a form of stress). Poor sleep also leads to increased ghrelin and decreased leptin hormones resulting in increased appetite. Another factor is sleep deprivation and fatigue. They may decrease your likelihood of getting physical activity. It’s also important to know that QUALITY of sleep is just as essential as the AMOUNT of sleep in preventing weight gain. If you are sleeping the 6-8 hours but waking frequently, this is just as damaging as not getting enough sleep.

Getting good quality sleep and managing your stress will not automatically result in fat loss (unless you have dramatic improvements in both), but more significantly, there will be no additional weight gain if these two insidious lifestyle factors are well controlled.