Following are the hidden benefits of weight gain and lethargic feeling most of us often feel. And the reasons will literally surprise you.
1. You have too much cortisol
Metabolism means the conversion of calories into energy so when we say we have a slower metabolism, this means our body is slower in converting calories into energy and more calories are getting stored in our body that causes unwanted weight gain. But do we know why this happens? For few people this could be due to increased level of ‘cortisol’, which is a stress hormone found in our body.
A balanced amount of this hormone aids in the fat burning process but only if this is working properly with other bodily chemicals. But if the levels of cortisol is high in your body, due to being stressed or tensed for longer, or being under pressure, your body will assume that you need more energy and this will result in a slower metabolism. This can also happen due to ‘Cushing’s syndrome’, which is a disorder of adrenal glands and this releases lots of stress hormones i.e. cortisol, in your blood flow.
2. Your insulin levels are too high
Insulin, diabetes and weight, are the most interlinked yet complicated things in the human body. If you are overweight, you will be more likely to have type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes is a major cause of weight gain or problems in weight loss. Insulin in the body helps to use glucose as energy but if you have insulin resistance than the concerned cells in the body find it hard to absorb glucose and this results in high sugar levels in the blood. This will result in, energy fully stocked in your body that causes slower metabolism. And if you aren’t type 2 diabetic then there are some other factors like tension and stress that also raises insulin levels in the body.
According to the research conducted in Ohio State University department, the women who were asked to eat high-calorie diet for few days are more likely to have stress and increased levels of insulins. In addition to that they also burned lesser weight and gained 11 pounds a year. This means high calories causes stress and stress and more calories causes’ weight gain.
3. Your thyroid is out of whack
Thyroid gland locates at the base of the neck and is responsible for regulating thyroid hormones that affect the metabolism greatly. So if your thyroid doesn’t make enough of the thyroid hormones, your metabolism might be slow or slower.
According to the women’s health office, one of the most common cause of thyroid problems is a disease called Hashimoto, which is basically an autoimmune thyroid disease that affects thyroid gland. People suffering from this, generate antibodies that affects the thyroid gland and if this damages the gland greatly, the patient might suffer from hypothyroid and require synthetic thyroid hormones. More thyroid hormones in the body increases the oxygen consumption by the body that results in regulating the metabolism.
4. Your estrogen is low
Women who enters in menopause often ask why their metabolism is so slow. The reason behind that is lower estrogenic levels in the body. Average age of menopause is 51 and that is the time when metabolism starts to slow down due to low estrogenic levels.
Low estrogenic levels in the body causes more fat mass and reduces the lean mass in the body and this causes weight gain. During menopause, an average women gains 5 pounds and most of that weight lies in their middle section. And this is quite difficult to burn that fat due to slower metabolism. Follow some natural remedies that can help you deal with menopause symptoms, instead of going for artificial medications.
5. Your testosterone is low
Men aren’t that much lucky in hormone matters as we think they are. Men who suffers from testosterone deficiency are more likely to gain more fat mass and decreased lean mass.
According to a study conducted for a prostate cancer drug, it is also proved that low levels of testosterone leads to high fat mass and weight gain. And this can be controlled with consuming more amount of vitamin D with your diet as vitamin D is known for increasing testosterone in men.
6. You’re just getting older
Most of the time we relate slower metabolism with aging and this is quite accurate. When we, either men or women, gets older, our hormones changes and our body loses muscles. Muscles are the lean masses of the body which are linked with helping in burning calories and fats.
Less lean mass means less calorie burning and more stored fats. Weight gain comes along with slow metabolism and slow metabolism comes with aging. As the health experts says, at the age of 50, one should reduce their calories intake to 200 fewer calories than they used to consume in their 30s or 40s. Old age people are also advised to walk or jog regularly or get themselves involved in any physical activity to keep them fit and healthy for longer.
7. You don’t have enough muscle tissue relative to fat
If your weight is more than normal or if you find yourself in overweight or obese category, this means your fat weight is more than you have muscles in your body. Muscle mass is linked with burning more calories and if you want to burn more fats and calories, you need more muscle in your body and for this you need to exercise regularly.
Start with running and gradually lead to weight and strength training to build muscles. Along with exercising, keep an eye on what you eat, develop some good eating habits and have good night’s sleep of 8 hours. If you don’t take enough sleep or if you are tired or stress, you might find it hard to exercise and crave more for sugar. Sleep deprived people are more likely to eat 300 more calories.
8. You’re taking medications
There are certain drugs that can cause slower metabolism. Some anti-inflammatory drugs like prednisone are linked with increased appetite and consuming more calories. Those drugs are also linked with high sugar levels in blood, insulin resistance, and fat storage.
According to some studies, antidepressants are also associated with weight gain, increased appetite and slower metabolism. Beta blocker drugs that treats blood pressure are also linked with slow heart rate and reduced energy in the body that makes you lazy for exercising and this directly leads to weight gain. To overcome this problem, focus more on what you eat and exercise no matter what.
9. You’re not taking in enough calories
We have often heard that fewer calories means weight loss. But this is not always true. Human body is like a machine and a machine needs to be fuelled up to keep working. Same goes with human body that too needs fuel for keep going.
Eating too less will slow your metabolism and your body will start to store calories as fats instead of burning them. Eating less will never result lose weight but eating healthy will. Try to eat healthy and never skip your meals, especially breakfast. Fill your breakfast plate with proteins, lunch with fibre and dinner with combination of both and don’t forget to have some snack during the day.
