What Are the Biggest Culprits of Weight Gain?

Most of the time when we are trying to lose weight, we immediately cut out calories. Unfortunately, not all calories are created equal, and calories aren’t always the problem. The biggest culprits of weight gain include highly processed foods, sugary drinks, a sedentary lifestyle, and lack of sleep.

Highly Processed Foods

Heavily processed foods often offer little more than refined ingredients mixed with additives. These foods are designed to be cheap, have a long shelf life, and taste good. Without nutrients, these foods can dehydrate you and make you retain unnecessary fatty acids. Try to avoid highly processed foods and replace them with whole foods that still have their nutrients left in them when you buy them.

Soda and Other Sugary Drinks

Sugary beverages are the largest source of added sugar in the United States. Sugar will slow down your metabolism and make it hard for your body to process the right foods. Instead, it will store sugar and other fatty elements contributing to weight gain. Sugar is also bad for your teeth. Drinking lots of soda is a major contributing factor to cavities. Try to reduce your sugar intake by replacing sweet drinks with water and other healthy beverages.

Sedentary Lifestyle

A sedentary lifestyle is one of the most common contributors to weight gain and chronic diseases. Your body is meant to move and burn calories. If you are consuming more than you burn, you put yourself at risk for weight gain. Working a desk job, watching TV, driving, and using a computer or phone for excessive periods of time are all sedentary activities. Set a goal to stand up and walk around each hour in addition to working in some type of physical activity each day to help your body function properly.

Lack of Sleep

When your body is deprived of sleep it does not have the time to recover. This makes you tired, sore, and groggy. With less willpower, you then make poor food choices. Avoid the temptation to skip the gym and instead aim for more hours of sleep. This will help your body recuperate and perform all of its daily tasks much easier.

Avoiding weight gain is as much about willpower as it is about healthy choices. Healthy choices empower you to live a better life. Choose to eat healthy foods, avoid sugary drinks, be active, and get enough sleep to avoid unnecessary weight gain.

Read this next: 5 Dietary Hacks to Improve Health and Delay Age