Counting Calories is Not All There is to Losing Weight

Losing weight is not just about calories in, calories out. Many personal trainers say that all you have to do is control the amount of calories going in versus amount of calories going out and you will lose weight. Unfortunately, that’s not always the way it works.

Our bodies are not machines or computers; our bodies are living organisms with cells, tissues, organs and chemicls that sometimes don’t work the way they should. Your body’s malfunctions can sometimes result in weight gain. Finding out the cause of why you can’t lose weight in spite of the “calories in/calories out” equation is important to living a healthy life.

Examples of conditions that cause you to gain weight include

• hypothyroid
• perimenopause
• too much estrogen
• metabolism adaptations
• emotional eating
• stress
• depression

Many of these problems are related to each other, such that one condition causes the other condition to kick in. For instance, when you have a hypothyroid, the hormones released by the thyroid to make your metabolism function properly are not released. It sets off a chain reaction in your body that makes it impossible to lose weight, no matter how many calories go in or go out.

Another example is when you are experiencing perimenopause, your body makes too much estrogen. This causes you to gain weight which makes your body produce more estrogen and the cycle continues resulting in weight gain and no weight loss.

Sometimes when you restrict your calorie intake too much, your body’s metabolism adapts to this decrease in energy and lowers your metabolism. Your body can survive on less calories and won’t go into your fat stores for energy needs because it doesn’t need to. As a result, your diet is causing you to not lose weight.

Emotional eating occurs when we allow our emotions to control our behavior. It doesn’t matter if you know that a particular food is bad for you, you consume it anyway, just like an alcoholic turns to liquor to deal with difficult emotions.

Too much stress can cause a physiological reaction that results in weight gain even though you are following the guidelines of a healthy diet. Stress can cause you to gain weight if you do not process your body’s “fight or flight” response in the right way.

Depression can cause you to turn to sugar for for an increase in energy and to lift your mood. Sugar causes an increase in serotonin which makes you feel good. But then it is quickly burned off and you need more, just like a drug addict needs more drugs to stay “high” and feel good.

So what can you do? If you are having problems losing weight,

1. Examine your habits and see if you are not eating the right things and exercising regularly. Keep a food and activity journal to see patterns in your daily living that might be sabotaging weight loss. If the calories in/calories out equation is coming out wrong,then
2. Investigate your overall health. The internet can be very helpful as long as you are careful to use credible sources of information.
3. See your doctor and have lab work done that includes a TSH test (shows thyroid function).
4. Look at how you handle your emotions. Do you eat when you are not hungry? Get to the bottom of those feelings that cause you to eat.
5. Are you under a lot of stress? Do you deal with it in a healthy way? Find out how your body can improve the way it reacts to stress.
6. If you are depressed, find out the reasons why and look for other mood-lifters besides sugar. If it’s really bad, your body may not be manufacturing enough serotonin. There are resources and supplements available to help you overcome this problem.

For most people, losing weight is all about calories in/calories out. But if that equation is not working for you, care enough about your health to find out the reason why your body is not operating the way it should.

Eunice Coughlin is the founder of http://www.healthy-living-for-moms.com, a resource for moms of all ages and stages who seek spiritual and physical health and wellness.

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