Just Why Can't I Lose Weight?

Weight loss is a huge sector of the fitness industry, and with good reason. Every year many thousands of people are seeking ways to shave off a few pounds, shed a couple of stone and hopefully tone up in the process. We all know how to do this, it really is as simple as moving more and eating less. If you adjust your diet a sensible amount and make the effort to hit the gym you're bound to lose weight.

Yet despite this, people are always having difficulty and seeking advice. Well there are a few factors which could still be holding you back against your best efforts.

Lack of Sleep

Sleep can often seem like less than a necessity. You may have a job to complete, a family to raise, friends to visit, and a fitness programme to complete. With all these responsibilities to juggle, fitting in a whole eight hours of sleep can easily begin to seem unreasonable. When you're deprived of sleep your metabolism slows as a response, The amount of calories you need to cut down on increases substantially, while you'll feel more intense hunger thanks to increased levels of the hormone ghrelin.

Don't consume caffeine less than two hours before bed, and try to avoid jumping straight from the computer to the bedroom. Bright lights trick your body into thinking it's daytime, and give you a more fitful rest.

Not Paying Attention to Your Nutrients

Even if you're seeing a high calorie burn at the gym, it's not uncommon to find your body failing to shape up. This could easily be due to a lack of nutritional attention. Now, calories are clearly important, and you will lose weight by ingesting less than your base metabolic rate. But it's where you lose this weight that matters. Take protein as an example, if you're not consuming enough to maintain muscle size, your body will burn off muscle instead of fat. Fat is easier to maintain and represents better energy storage, so it makes sense. Check your RDAs for all essential minerals and vitamins, and be sure not to drop below them, even if it means a couple more calories.

You're Too Sedentary

When calculating your BMR few people like to chalk themselves up as entirely sedentary, but it's not uncommon to be far less active than you conservatively assume. A desk-based office job is the death knell for many weight loss plans, with your metabolic rate cutting down considerably with no anticipated exercise, despite sessions at the gym. At the very least try standing up and moving a few times an hour, or consider fidgeting your legs around constantly. If you're moving a little bit regularly you could burn hundreds more calories throughout the day.

Mira has been informing her readers on the best ways to build strength and tone up for years, ranging from hybrid exercise techniques to weight loss supplements. Now a featured contributor of Muscle Finesse, she hopes to expand that reader base even further.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mira_Burton

 

Fad Diets - Why Do I Gain Weight After Dieting?

Introduction

While it may be too late for those who have already embarked upon their umpteenth diet, anyone contemplating a reduced calorie diet for the first time should take warning. Likewise; those fortunate enough to still be regarded as slim should take note of what lies ahead should they fail to control their weight. The phenomenon responsible for such a devastating effect upon our lives is a combination of the much heralded "starvation mode" and "weight loss plateau." In truth, it should be correctly termed the "rebound effect."

causes of weight gain

For as long as our weight remains in a steady state there is no loss or gain. A balanced weight is the sum total of a number of factors, shifts in any one of which will not only directly affect weight, but by causing changes in the other factors will also create secondary effects. The primary factors in weight control are;

• Diet; altering the amount of calorific intake will result in stored energy (fat) either being used up or added to.
• Behavioral; the amount of physical activity in relation to calorific intake.
• Biological: apart from the aging process there is also the way our bodies respond to the variable amounts and types of food we eat. All of which can profoundly affect our metabolism. and how effective we store energy.

Our genes do have some influence over how we react to such shifts, and because of this some of us are more susceptible to weight gain than others. However; it is the often ignored biological factor that is the root cause of most diet failures. Apart from responses to pharmaceutical intervention, our body also reacts to diet and behavioral changes, both immediately and in the medium to longterm.

Our response to being overweight

The typical response to our bulging waistline is to batten down the hatches and reduce our calorific intake. All too often we deny ourselves the foods we savour the most. This alone can have a profound psychological effect. Added to this we may skip meals which often results in us more than compensating at the next meal. Unfortunately, the cravings resulting from our self deprivation are only the beginning. The hidden responses, developed over millions of years, are far more devastating

Our bodies' response to dieting

Reduced energy diets will often begin with a sudden weight loss. The very fact that this weight loss slows down should sound the first warning bell. Ultimately all diets begin and end with the brain. Reduced intake initiates signals from the hypothalamus to all energy storing and using cells to increase efficiency, Unfortunately it gets worse, some of the weight lost in low energy diets will invariably be lean mass, or muscle. Skeletal muscle is by far the biggest consumer of calories. Two reasons why the rate of weight loss slows down.

After the diet

Eventually we may reach our desired weight, or simply surrender to the cravings, which is when the problems really begin. In addition to our bodies becoming more efficient we also have less mass to consume the increased energy input, so less food is needed than before. Surplus food is converted to fat before being placed in storage. Finally, in one more quirk of fate; when we diet our fat cells don't disappear, they shrink. However; as our bodies initially struggle to store the higher input, more fat cells are created. Ultimately resulting in a greater fat storing capability.

Summary

You have been presented with the reasons low or reduced calorie diets do not work. Rather than being healthy, they are detrimental to our health. Over millions of years, nature has perfected the ultimate response to overcoming periods of food scarcity. Unfortunately; as the evidence suggests, the problem of excess food energy storage is a new phenomenon to nature, and something she has yet to overcome. As the evidence shows; how many times have you, or people you know, embarked upon a diet only to end up weighing more than ever? Fortunately there is a solution, however; just as there are a number of factors that combine to drive our weight up, to succeed, the solution requires a multifaceted approach.

About the author

D.F.Glover is an English, chemistry and health science teacher. As you may have gathered he is no fan of weight loss diets but prefers to teach a multifaceted approach to a long and healthy life. He is person behind, DavidHealthWorld a web site that offers free membership, health and fitness tips, along with genuine product reviews

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=D._F._Glover