Why Am I Putting on Weight So Fast?

Overeating without Knowing!

There are several cases of weight gain where you overeat and you don’t know that:

• You opt for nutritious food to ensure good health. But in most of the cases, you have no idea of the number of calories they contain. Finally, you end up with an unintended weight gain. Such foods may include oatmeal, nuts, peanut butter and quinoa.

Solution: Get some authentic info about calories in each food item before ingesting.

• Other than hitting the gym, there are certain cardio exercises (running) that may cause an increased appetite. As a result, you eat more and gain wait, without even knowing it.

Solution: Refraining from such cases of undesired weight gain, you better opt for high intensity interval training exercises. They give best fitness result without causing an abnormal increase in hunger.

Low Metabolic Rate

About 50% women across the US indulge in dieting at some stage in their life. When they don’t eat enough, it automatically slows down the metabolic rate. As a result, our body strives to store fats. And all we are left with is a thought, why am I gaining weight so fast?

Solution: Dieting is not the only option for staying fit. Eat normally and prefer a regular workout routine over dieting. It would help in increasing the metabolic rate of body.

Stress

Being stressed, our body releases a stress hormone, ‘cortisol’. Cortisol tends to increase appetite and you end up being an emotional eater. In a situation like that, you are surely going to gain in an unexpected way.

Solution: Overeating is not a solution to stress. Indulge in healthy habits to fight any form of stress. These habits may include emotional assistance from friends/support group, exercise, yoga or a soothing bath

Depression

Being depressed, if you are prescribed any anti-depressant medicines, it will quite likely to cause weight gain. Some studies suggest depression itself may cause a noticeable change in a person’s weight.

Solution: If you experience weight gain after having some anti-depressant medication, don’t stop the intake without consulting the doctor. Many times, doctors replace the medicines to overcome this issue.

Sleep Deprivation

Being up late at night means some extra snacks time (more caloric intake). Sleep deprivation causes an increase in the hunger hormone named ‘ghrelin’ and lowers the satiety hormone, ‘leptin’. And this hormonal change may result in increased appetite and feelings of an empty stomach all the time. If that’s what you have been facing, stop thinking, why am I gaining weight so fast and find the solution.

Solution: The best solution is to get complete sleep (about 8 to 9 hours) in the night. A 30 minutes’ walk before going to bed can also help in boosting the calorie burn process.

Medication

There are certain drugs that slow down your body’s metabolic rate and increase hunger. The most common drugs in this regard are—diabetes drugs, contraceptives, blood pressure pills and medicines for migraine.

Solution: If you believe your medicine is the root cause of these added pounds, get assistance from your GP and get them replaced. Don’t stop taking them on your own.

Steroids

Intake of steroids is essential in some cases but that doesn’t come without visible side effects. Increased appetite and fluid retention are the main symptoms one has to face. And that directly affects your body weight. The higher the dose, the longer you are supposed to take it. Weight gain with steroids can be of temporary nature though.

Solution: Stopping steroids at once is not the answer. That might be risky for you. Consult your physician to recover from this issue. He might help you in controlling those feelings of hunger. You yourself should try to control your cravings while you are taking steroids.

Aging

‘Why am I gaining weight so fast?’, if that is scaring the hell out of you, consider your age. Aging is a natural process that causes havoc in the whole functioning of body. It also slows down the metabolic rate and you are surely going to gain, irrespective of how slim you used to be in your youth.

Solution: Raising your metabolism rate is the only solution and for that you are supposed to move a lot. Get some expert’s help and find the best combos of weight bearing and cardio exercises.

An Underactive Thyroid

A lot of functioning of our body (including metabolism) depends on our thyroid gland (situated in neck, on Adam’s apple). There might be situations when your thyroid functioning slows down. This process is known as hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism may result in a number of symptoms and one of them is weight gain. Whatever the symptoms are, hypothyroidism must not be taken lightly.

Solution: If you doubt your weight to be the outcome of a thyroid issue, contact your GP immediately. Let him determine whether it’s thyroid or something else that’s causing that extra weight gain. Once you gain weight after hypothyroidism, it would be near to impossible to get rid of it, no matter how hard you work out or how strict diet plan you follow.

Fluid Retention/Edema

You can’t always blame your fats for those extra pounds, fluid retention in body may also be the reason of the weight gain. It actually is not weight gain but it’s inflammation that makes you think, why am I gaining weight so fast? Inflammation may occur in different body areas including—lower legs, feet and ankles (sometimes in face, hands and arms). Water retention is an abnormal storing of water in tissues, cavities or circulatory system. It could be mild as well as risky. A lot of serious ailments cause this water buildup in body e.g. liver diseases, kidney problems, heart failure. Whereas the most common reasons could be an excessive intake of salt or keep on standing for hours.

Solution: Along with treating the underlying cause of edema, patient is prescribed diuretics. It increases urination to remove the fluid.