7 Common Habits That Lead To Weight Gain

1) Eating Late: It is advisable and recommended that supper should be taken before 7pm in the evening because it aids weight loss. By eating before seven, you are able to fast for like 13-14 hours before taking your next meal ( breakfast). Therefore your body is able to finish digestion and absorption phase before you load your body with another one again. Check out this research from washingtonpost.com:

“ For years , we said a calorie is a calorie no matter when you consume it ,” says dietitian Joy Dubost, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “ I don ’t know if we can say that anymore , based on the emerging research. The timing of a meal may potentially have an impact. ”Most of the major studies on late -night eating have been conducted with animals ,night -shift workers and people who , due to a disorder called night eating syndrome, consume at least 25 percent of their daily calories after supper or who wake up to eat at least twice a week .
Studies tend to show that when food is consumed late at night — anywhere from after dinner to outside a person’s typical sleep/ wake cycle — the body is more likely to store those calories as fat and gain weight rather than burn it as energy, says Kelly Allison of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine ’s Center for Weight and Eating Disorders .
Some animal studies have shown that food is processed differently at different times of day . This could be due to fluctuations in body temperature , biochemical reactions , hormone levels , physical activity and absorption and digestion of food , says Steven Shea , director of the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences at Oregon Health & Science University.
“ The studies suggest that eating out of our normal rhythm, like late at night, may prompt weight gain ” and higher levels of blood sugar , which can raise the risk of chronic disease, Allison says"

2)

Not drinking enough Water: when you do not drink enough water, you tend to confuse your thirst for hunger which may cause you to eat more, resulting in weight gain. On the other hand, when you drink good amounts of water your metabolism is boosted. This means your body gets a chance of making use of the fat stored in the body. Again, drinking enough water an hour before and after a meal makes you fill full soon and reduce the hunger feeling. You should drink eight glasses of water at least in a day.



3) Starvation: a lot of people believe they can lose weight by starving. Therefore they eat a very small meal and perhaps taken it just once for that day. When you starve yourself, you can lose weight but only after three days of persistence since your body will still store the little you are having. And when you do lose weight eventually, you will gain it back again since you cannot continue to starve yourself. Starvation only leads to an unhealthy circle of weight loss and weight gain. The issue is not that you will not lose but that you will not be able to maintain it. Check this post from authoritynutrition.com


"The most weight a person can lose in either fat or muscle is ½ pound per day, says Joanne Larsen, RD. Any weight loss beyond this amount is water, but once you replace that water, the number on the scale goes back up. The body is reluctant to move fat out of storage to use during a fast because it needs it to keep you alive when it perceives it is starving, says Larsen. It breaks down muscle in the absence of fuel because, as the muscles become smaller, they work less and utilize less energy, allowing you to last longer on the stored supplies of fat. Larsen goes on to point out that less stored fat is lost on a diet consisting of 600 to 900 calories than on a low-calorie diet of 1,200 calories daily."

4)

Eating Fruits Wrong: The issue here is not about eating fruits at all but eating them wrong. Anybody will gain weight whether they eat too much carbohydrate whether whole grains, refined or vegetables. However, this topic is on our list because a lot of people consider fruit safe due to the its healthy benefits and nourishment. To lose weight, consuming fruits more than your daily carb need will lead to weight gain. If after eating other carb sources like potatoes or grains which you require for the day and you eat fruits again, you will gain since fruits contain sucrose which is a form of carbohydrate. On the other hand, just taking fruits that day alone to fufill your total carb needs will not lead to weight gain. It is all about knowing the appropriate carb amonut you require. Some people go for 40 grams a day while some goes for as low as 20 gram.

5) No Effective Exercise: the habit of not doing effective exercise may not help you lose weight especially if you are not getting enough physical activity at the same time. Exercise is not always a compulsory component of most weight loss since it deals mainly with what you are eating. However, most of us don't meet up to how much physical activity we require on an average day and therefore the news for exercise. Doing effective exercise helps to boost one's metabolism.
       At the same time also, some engage in exercise but don't get results. An exercise program must be effective and efficient. Effectiveness means you are doing the right exercise while efficiency means you are doing them the right way.

Click for List of Best Aerobic Exercise For Weight Loss
6) Not Reading Labels: Most people who take fast food, order their meals or eat out do not bother about the nutritional component of what they are eating. Some of what they eat contain hidden sugar, unhealthy fat and much salt. All these are bad choices for whoever wants to lose weight. You should go for meals prepared with healthy oils such as extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil and always mind the sugar or carb profile of whatever you eat.

7)

Eating salty foods: salt itself does not make you gain weight but most salty foods are processed and contain loads of fat and sugar. For example, fast food, chips, cookies, processed soups, or cheese which are big sources of sodium have other things in there like sugar and fat, which can cause weight gain
   Again, salty foods causes an increase in water weight . Eating salt does not lead to body fat, but wil lead to water retention which will affect result when you go up on the scale. By cutting out the salt, you can get rid of the water and reduce the water weight.