10 lifestyle habits that make you gain weight

Healthy living is all about balance. That is why you may be eating the right kinds of food and working out yet packing the same bulge as before. It’s all in the lifestyle habits. Little things you do during your day to day life could be the reason why you’re not getting that dream body you’ve been ‘working’ so hard for.

You might want to reconsider the following...

1. Eating quickly

According to health guru’s your body takes up to 20 minutes to realize that it’s had enough to eat. Eating slowly allows your body the time to register its fullness without you surpassing the required amount of food as you would if you were gulping it down.

2. You cut off all the fats in your diet

Eating a lot of fat can increase your risk of heart disease, weight gain and stroke. However, healthy fats like nuts and avocados help in slimming down and staying healthy. Fats help in absorbing vitamins and making you feel full for a longer period of time.

3. You believe in diet soda

A study found that drinking diet sodas increases your waist line five times faster while normal soda increases your chances of being overweight by nearly 33 percent. Diet sodas contain artificial sweeteners that increase appetites and make you unconsciously eat much more that you would have.

4. Fruity juices aren’t that any better

Buying a fruity drink instead of soda is great example of pot calling the kettle black. While these may not have the same type of chemical structuring, fruity drinks contain high fructose corn syrup and thickening agents that immensely add on to your weight.

5. You’ve been serving a buffet

It’s classy and cool especially if you’ve got a husband and children to impress but it’s also the quickest way to becoming obese. The temptation to serve an extra slice of steak is always greater when it’s right in front of you. Also, always take the seat facing away from the buffet in a restaurant. That way you’ll keep your mind off a second helping.

6. Stress

Stress is associated with chronically elevated cortisol levels that cause sleep and immunity problems, blood-sugar abnormalities and weight gain. Instead of struggling on your own, take time off and recuperate, listen to good music or vent it out to a partner or a friend.

7. You don’t own a scale

Stepping on a scale and at different times of the day everyday helps you lose more than people who weigh themselves less frequently. It is constant reminder of just how much fat you need to get rid off which will help you stay on track.

8. You’ve got really large plates

Ideally a dinner plate should be large and flat which is great and fashionable, if you don’t mind the calories. A larger plate means, larger portions hence more weight. Instead, pick a tiny dish that will help you measure your intake and use it for all your meals.

9. You hate doctors

That’s fine and dandy, I mean, who likes going to the hospital? However, skipping your annual checkups can lead to serious body problems. Other than losing the chance to identify a serious issue like a growing cancer or rising blood pressure, you could also miss out on identifying what deficiencies your body is experiencing leading to unwanted cravings and bad diets.

10. You don’t question the chef

Picking fine cuisine instead of fast food burgers is a great idea, up till the point where you miss asking the chef how your meal was made. Could be the reason behind the great flavor is a cup of salad oil in piece of chicken.