Weight Gain – The Reasons Other Than Diet

Holistic Nutrition

The lack of eating healthy and not enough exercise are contributors to weight gain, but there could be other reasons why you are gaining weight, or unable to drop the weight.

He reasons can range from a hormonal imbalance to a vitamin deficiency, to even prescription medication your doctor has put you on. So, even how hard you exercise and eat clean your body will still react to the different weight contributing factors. By correcting the different factors that influence your weight, then only will you be able to shed those extra pounds. However, to do that, might need a visit to your doctor.

Depression

One of the common side effects of most anti-depression medications are that they will cause some weight gain. You could in fact gain between five to around 15 pounds. In most cases, the weight gain will be gradual.

More so, you do not even need to be on anti-depression medication to gain weight. One study published in the American Journal of Public Healthy in 2010, found that people that are feeling lonely and sad gain more weight than those that reported less depression-related symptoms. In fact, the study found that these people were consuming more comfort foods that were high in fat and high in calories. In other cases, these people also would cut their physical activity, which also contributed to the weight gain.

A way forward

One anti-depression drug that was found to lose weight in patients with depression issues was Wellburtin. It might be good to switch over to that drug instead of the ones that are causing the weight gain; however, this drug is not the best anti-depression medication on the market. But anti-depression medication should be combined with psychotherapy session to resolve the deeper problems and lead to a mind shift. In most cases, people that have a traumatic experience will be taken off the medication once they are ready.

Your prescription medication might be to blame

There are many medications on the market that have the side effect that they could cause you to gain weight. Some of the common ones are birth control pills, steroids, beta-blockers that are used for heart problems and blood pressure, breast cancer medication such as Tamoxifen, and anti-seizure medication. However, there are also medication that are prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis, and even medications for heartburn and migraines that could result in weight gain, just to name a few examples.

One thing to remember here is that it does not mean if you have to take any of the abovementioned drugs, you will gain weight. It merely implies that it is a side effect that could affect some people. If you are luckily then you will not gain any weight but those that forms part of the percentage of people that will gain weight then you might want to speak to your doctor for alternative drugs that will have less of these type of side effects.

A way forward

As mentioned, speak to your doctor. They will be able to put you on another drug that might have less side effects for you.

Gut problems

It could be that you could have digestive problems, which includes having a slow bowel movement that could results to you gaining weight. For instance, if your bowel movements are less than once a day, then you need to look at if you are drinking enough water and eating enough fiber, more so if you have good bacteria in your gut.

A way forward

You could try taking probiotics to get your digestive track right. Also stay hydrated. This you can do by drinking water, green tea or eating fruits that are good sources of hydration. Plus, do not forget to get enough fiber in your diet. Once you get your gut healthy, not only will you loss some weight, but your overall health will improve as most auto-immune diseases are related to poor gut health.

Lacking vital nutrients

Important minerals like magnesium, and iron, as well as vitamins like vitamin D can compromise your immune system, but also reduce your energy levels and alter your metabolism, which all will make it harder for you to maintain a healthy weight. Even worse would be to go to sweets, coffee and carbs to boost your energy levels, but in return all that you will be doing is to increase your weight.

A way forward

Eating a balance diet is important. Red meat is a good source of iron, but if you are vegan, this might be problematic. Try eating enough kale, spinach, but add in vitamin C, as it is needed to absorb iron. Also, eat nuts like Brazil nuts and almonds to get your daily dose of magnesium. You could also swim in the ocean as your body can absorb magnesium through the skin and the ocean is a source of magnesium, beside you will get exercise and some natural vitamin D from the sun.

Getting older

As you age, your metabolism starts to slow down a bit. You can simply not burn as much calories as you did when you were younger, but what you can do is eat less and stay active. Interesting enough was that some studies concluded that exercise might be more important that diet when it comes to long-term weight maintenance.

A way forward

Make sure that you are eating lean proteins, as these will burn fatter. You can also try to cut on the carbs as you are getting older. This is since carbs are burned at a slower rate than lean protein. The issue is that carbs then is stored in your body and then converted to fat.

You could have Cushing’s syndrome

When you have weight gain, plus high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and there are changes to your skin tone and quality, which could include silvery stretch marks or purple marks on your abdomen and cheeks, it is a sign that there is a problem how your nutrients are being processed. That is a cortisol producing tumor on one your adrenal glands starts to form. This is a rare disorder, but where you have a fat midsection and skinny arms and legs.

A way forward

Speak to your doctor. They will run some tests, normally blood or a urinalysis to check your body’s cortisol levels. If the results indicated a very high level then the doctor can run more tests to check for this disorder or others. If you do have this condition, the glands that are effected will be removed with surgery, and you will placed on steroids to aid the regulation of the remaining gland.