Nine Unhealthy Habits that will Increase your Weight
1. Eating Large Portions
Oftentimes, the problem with eating over sized rations of food is that you are “eating with your eyes” and not with your stomach. You see a lot of food and make yourself hungrier than usual. Then you tend to eat it all, knowing it was too much. And this is what happens…
More work for your body system to handle, and the digestive system can’t do its job in such a short time. There is more food to digest, and since you are eating more, your metabolism needs more time. Meanwhile, unwanted calories are piling up and going to areas of the body where you don’t want it.
Here is some advice; divide your food into smaller portions. That will help keep your weight down and stabilized, and you can still eat it all.
2. Skipping meals
Many believe that skipping meals will result in weight loss. There are, in fact, some who recommend skipping breakfast or dinner as a way to reduce your calorie intake, but there is a reason why every meal is important.
When you skip a meal, your body won’t have enough energy to deal with everyday tasks. Your brain won’t recognize it; you might not even feel it. However, your metabolism will slow down. Blood sugar (which is crucial for providing energy) will also drop, so your body is forced to transfer to “save mode”, resulting in hunger, which makes you weak. When you eat after skipping a meal, your body will not absorb it fast enough, resulting in gaining instead of losing weight.
3. Not drinking enough water
Water is crucial for survival. We don’t need much to keep us going, but often we have a bad habit of drinking other types of liquids when we are thirsty.
Liquid helps with circulation in your body, and all beverages can keep you hydrated. However, water doesn’t come loaded with sugar, caffeine, and other unhealthy ingredients. Also, water boosts your digestive system and can help eliminate toxins from your body.
Water fills you up, therefore you eat less. Of course, it cannot be a substitute for foods that your body requires, but it will suppress your cravings for extra snacks. Also, the processes that your system needs to complete will be done more efficiently. Some studies say that by drinking only one glass of water before a meal can make your digestive system work faster. There are many benefits you get by drinking water. Best of all, it is almost always free and has no ill side effects. By combining healthy nutrition and higher consumption of water, you will lose fat in no time and stay healthy, without making sacrifices and restrictive diets.
Also see: Why we should drink more water
4. Lack of protein in your diet
Proteins are essential to our well-being and foods are a source of proteins, but we often forget the importance of it. This is especially true during summer when we tend to skip meals or eat lightly to suppress our hunger with fruits or vegetables.
We aren’t saying that eating these things are bad. On the contrary, your body needs the energy that they provide. It will also help in losing those unwanted pounds in some areas of the body.
Proteins are a must in your diet to look fit and stay healthy. Meat is not the only source of proteins. Foods such as beans, cheese, and eggs are also rich in proteins. But be mindful that protein deficiency can also weaken your immune system and result in contracting diseases. The benefits of proteins are:
- It is a natural boost for your digestive system.
- It strengthens and revitalizes your hair, nails, and skin.
- It produces energy in your body.
If you want to learn more about the benefits of protein, or have questions about the foods that contain protein, visit our page: Top 20 High Protein Foods that will gratify your appetite
5. Using artificial sweeteners
Large amounts of sugar is not good because it can result in overproduction of insulin in your system. Just the right amount of insulin is necessary to move glucose from the bloodstream into cells throughout the body.
We typically avoid sweets and other things we know that can be harmful to us and lead to diabetes or similar diseases. We can replace real sugar with the artificial kind by drinking diet sodas and eating low-sugar foods, but this is not always a good idea. It might be important to learn the truth about sweeteners.
It is true that artificial sweeteners can reduce your calorie intake, however, when you drink diet cola, for example, your body expects sugar, but doesn’t get it. Your brain experiences starvation for sweets, and when your body doesn’t get what it expects, it results in food cravings that can be bad, because you will tend to eat more.
Sweets can be a bad habit; they are like a drug that can be addictive. When we want candy, we eat it, but you will want more. You will always crave sweets, which is bad for your weight and health.
6. Drinking Soda
There is a myth that diet soda is better than regular soda, only because diet sodas contain artificial sweeteners.
Soda is mostly water and sugar; that pretty much sums it up. And diet soda isn’t any better. Sodas can lead to diabetes and other similar illnesses. It can also spike your sugar level and will result in a burst of insulin, tricking your system into converting sugars into fats instead of burning it.
Drinks that contain soda are bad for you because when you quench your thirst with soda, you deny yourself the health benefits that you can obtain from juices, such as vitamins, minerals, and the natural toxic-cleaning weapon that water provides.
Everyone should be informed about the disturbing side effects from drinking soda.
7. Lack of sleep or oversleeping
We spend almost 1/3 of our lives sleeping. It is necessary to revitalize your body’s energy and to deal with everyday stress.
Brain functions are also affected by a lack of sleep. It slows down and makes you fuzzy or irritable. You may be prone to dropping things and you become lazy. Also, your metabolism will slow down, which means your body will need more time to burn fat. It increases your mortality by 12%, which is disturbing. These facts are also true for oversleeping. Calories in your body are burning very slowly when you are asleep. Your physical activity is virtually immobile, minimizing your system’s ability to burn fat.
See video on sleeping to lose weight.
8. Eating too quickly
Our lives are full of stress because we are in a constant hurry. We rush to our work or school, or to meet with friends. That often results in a lack of time to prepare a proper meal. We grab a quick snack and eat it in the bus or car. We then gobble it down and run to wherever you planned to be. We are used to this kind of life, but it affects our body negatively.
The worst thing you can do (and do it all the time) is to eat fast. It’s a bad habit that seems unavoidable in this day and age because of our constant rush to get something done or to be somewhere. You may think that eating fast isn’t something you should worry about, but think again after reading the following.
When you fill yourself up with food too quickly, your body doesn’t react properly. Your brain doesn’t have time to send signals to your stomach that your needs are satisfied and that you aren’t hungry anymore. Furthermore, you end up eating much more food than you needed, which means more unnecessary calories to be burned. And your digestive system has difficultly trying to process everything you are forcing it to do in such a short span of time, thereby turning extra foods into fat, and sending it to parts of the body where it shouldn’t go.
The best advice is to plan ahead for other activities and give yourself more time for meals. Eating slowly will prevent overeating and weight gain.
9. Not measuring your weight regularly
No one enjoys doing it, however, regularly checking your weight is crucial if your goal is to lose pounds. Scales are not your enemy. Learning how to use one is very beneficial. As a matter of fact, they can be your best friend when intending to achieve your goal. You will also need to:
- Calculate your body mass index.
- Watch for calorie rate.
- Measure your blood pressure.
- Track the progress of your weight loss.
If you are determined and want to achieve your goal, you need to keep track of your progress constantly. That will make the process of losing weight much easier, without unnecessary restrictions or temptations. If you know where you stand, it can inspire you towards a successful and healthy life.
Take a moment to read about our top 10 fat burning foods that you should know about.
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