The times when we believed that overweight people are just eating a lot and don’t take care of themselves are behind us, in the past. Today, we are aware that being overweight is not always a result of bad nutrition or poor eating habits. There are a lot of diseases and conditions that lead to gaining weight, without the person eating a lot of food. Sometimes in the past, it was even normal to suggest the overweight people what to eat and how to exercise. But today, we are more educated and aware of all the issues people have, and of course, body shaming is so outdated, you must avoid even thinking about it.
Sadly, today a lot of people suffer different conditions, that can lead to gaining or losing weight. Maybe you are one of those who are gaining some pounds, even though you didn’t change anything in your everyday habits. One of the first things that can come to your mind is visiting a clinic like betterweighmedical.com, and it’s a nice start, because of the medical approach. Finding the root of the problem is halfway to resolving it completely. Many people will try to starve themselves and exercise every day, and it’s really frustrating when the results are missing. But, let’s start and blame the real triggers finally, without hurting anyone’s feelings, and of course, to show some empathy and help them with their issue.
1. Your hormones
It’s enough for only one gland to work improperly, and all the hormonal balance is ruined. And it’s sad to know that a lot of people aren’t aware of it until it’s too late for simple solutions. That can happen when your thyroid gland is not producing enough hormones, or it produces more than you need. And there is no rule – the person who suffers can either gain or lose weight, but since it slows down the metabolism in most of the cases, the result is more weight on your body. The same can happen in women, who have problems with estrogen and progesterone levels. Adrenal glands are producing cortisol, and it’s known as a stress hormone. When it’s out of balance, weight issues are even expected to occur.
2. Wrong food combinations
Maybe the ingredients you use to prepare your food are healthy separately, but sometimes, when combined, they can result in the most caloric and unhealthy meal. Not every ingredient goes with all the others. Sometimes, if you eat a lot of carbs and proteins in one meal, your digestive system will get confused trying to digest them all, ending up slowing down your metabolism, and helping the excess fats to build up in your body, making you look fat.
3. Your morning smoothie
You are maybe surprised to hear this, but there is a logical explanation. When you cut the fruit in chunks or you bite through it, you are getting the fibers too, that are holding the sugars, and help your body digest them better. But when you blend them all together, you are cutting down the fibers, and they aren’t able to absorb the other substances. And that means you get plenty of sugars and no other “agent” to absorb them. So, eat your fruits, because smoothies are outdated.
4. You eat a lot of healthy food
Probably you already know the recipes for hummus, nut butter, cauliflower pizza, or broccoli and basil pesto. But, if you eat four pieces of banana bread with nuts and fruits, you are getting a lot of calories. The same goes for the whole cauliflower pizza. Just because something is healthy, it doesn’t mean you can eat it in unlimited quantities.
5. Medical treatments
Sadly, the medicine works like that. When they need to resolve some issue, they can use treatments that are ruining something else. For example, steroid treatments for some diseases can lead to some weight gain, because of the cortisol hormone we already mentioned above. Diabetes treatment can also cause excess weight. In general, every treatment that needs to slow down the metabolism so it can work nicely can result in gaining weight.
6. Stress and moody days
When we are stressed, a lot of things are happening inside our bodies, not just the brain. The hormones are a mess, and your unhealthy coping mechanisms can also lead to weight gain. During these days, a lot of people are more likely to eat comfort food and skip their exercising classes. You can take your time, but be careful, because the longer it lasts, the bigger the issue is.
7. Polycystic ovary syndrome
According to gynecologists, your ovaries can be polycystic, but not causing you any problems. That’s easily diagnosed through the regular appointments, and sometimes it goes away by itself. But, the syndrome is a different condition, that is tightly related to polycystic ovaries. The exact reasons why the hormones are messing with you are still unknown. But, when you have PCOS, your body may produce too much insulin and testosterone, “fighting” with the other hormones, which can result in irregular periods, facial hair, and of course, weight gain around the waist.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are plenty of frightening conditions that can lead to problems with excess weight and obesity. So, next time, when you see a person who obviously has an issue with it, try not to act like you are the smartest person in the world, teaching them lessons on how to live. If they can’t lose weight easily, they probably tried everything, and now are facing medical treatments or serious approaches in their eating habits and so on.
And when it comes to bad decisions with our nutrition habits, it’s not that scary, because once you go over them, it would be easier to lose weight. But it’s not the case when the person is obviously sick and needs special treatment for that issue. Again, don’t judge and don’t act like you know everything, because you don’t know what they are fighting with.
Nina Smith 
Kim Marks