Below are a few theories that could be linked to a sudden gain around the girth.
• It’s My Metabolism
• It’s my Age
Research has shown that from your mid-twenties onwards, your metabolism slows down each year. The basal metabolic rate (BMR) - the rate we burn calories at rest – begins to decline from age 25-30 along with the volume of lean muscle tissue. The result is an overall loss in Lean Body Mass (LBM) and a gain in adipose tissue – fatty tissue. However hard you are dieting, unless you’re exercising as well, you will automatically lose more than 3 kg of muscle tissue every decade, which results in a 2-5 per cent drop in metabolic rate every 10 years. That will guarantee a middle-age spread of more than a stone in fat by the time you are 45.
1lb of muscle requires about 35 calories a day just to function, while 1lb of fat needs only a couple of calories.
So if you want to lose weight you need to increase your lean muscle mass, big-time. You need to use your muscles to burn fat, there is no other way. Get exercising – Do cardiovascular exercise eg: fast walking, jogging, cycling to keep your heart healthy. Do light strength training to increase lean muscle mass. Do yoga to help you relax and take you away from your thinking mind and into your body.
• Sluggish Liver
• Nutrient Deficiencies
Most people will start having digestive problems between 45 and 55, when the body’s ability to produce digestive enzymes reduces by half. Middle-aged spread is very common amongst people with a sluggish liver and poor digestion. Do a detox and see a nutritionist if you think this could be a problem for you.
• Under active Thyroid
The thyroid gland regulates body metabolism and if it’s under active you may well be putting on unexplained weight.
• Yeast Infection
• Poor Diet & Digestion
• Food Allergies
Many people have big tummies because they’re carrying around up to nine meals worth of undigested food at any one time. All of us have more than a kilo of friendly bacteria living within us, its job is to break down the fibre and waste in the colon and help get everything moving out. But if you have consumed a diet of fast food, meat, milk, antibiotics and booze all their lives, the bad bacteria can multiply like mad and upset that balance. Food doesn’t get broken down and digested properly and it ends up dumped in the colon where it just sits and rots. Result? Bloating, gas and an enormous pot belly. Plan of action – Detox!
• Insulin Resistance – Syndrome x
Starchy carbs cause the body to release large quantities of the hormone insulin. The more your diet is made up of fast-releasing carbohydrates such as pastries, biscuits and even cornflakes, the more the body has to respond by producing insulin and the more your blood-sugar levels fluctuate. If this goes on indefinitely you put on weight because if you don’t burn it off the blood glucose, converted to glycogen, gets stored as fat. Over time, the insulin receptors and the pancreas just get exhausted from the constant demands and insulin resistance sets in. A high-protein, low-carb eating plan will sort out your insulin levels once and for all.
• It’s Hormonal
Menopause expert Dr John Stevenson, from Endocrinology and Metabolic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College in London, says it’s already hard for women to maintain a healthy weight after the menopause because of hormonal and metabolic changes. ‘Older women tend to carry body fat around the waist in an “apple” shape, much as men do,’ says Dr Stevenson. Sadly, the older we get, the more we have to do. ‘Post-menopausal women have to eat less and/or exercise more just to maintain their weight as they get older. But if you want to lose weight, you need to eat less and increase activity,’ adds Dr Stevenson. So if you’re going through menopause and you find you’re gaining weight, don’t make it into an issue. Accept the changes that are taking place in your body, love your body the way it is. If you reject the change you will create unnecessary stress in your life which could manifest into some other illness or disease.
• Lack of Exercise
• I sit at a desk all day
Get yourself active, find something you enjoy doing. Remember exercise isn’t something you need to kill yourself doing. It can be fun, if you don’t like the gym do something like dance lessons, yoga or walking. There is definitely something you enjoy doing? Get on and do it.
• It’s Emotional
You find it hard to stop eating, you are constantly hungry. This is a sign that you are using food to numb unwanted feelings towards yourself. The solution here is to work with this feelings. The feelings are realted to lack of self-acceptance and self-confidence. So think about it, every time you overeat you are going to feel extremely guilt which decreases your self-acceptance and self-confidence more and more everytime. This creates a vicious cycle which will leave you on a downward spiral. The solution here is to tap into your own inner power and start creating a deep love for yourself.
The "Lose weight be free programme" will help you achieve this. More details at http://www.createchangewithin.com/
Most of the above information was taken from the book, "The week-end weight-loss plan by suzi grant"
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Weekend-Weight-loss-Plan-Detox-Fabulous/dp/0141015578/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1280410442&sr=1-1
No comments:
Post a Comment