Understanding The Vicious Cycle Of Weight Gain
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Today, there appears to be a fat epidemic in the country even though people have become more aware of fitness and making healthy food choices. Experts blame the modern, automated lifestyle for it. People can sit at home and watch movies, chat with friends on social media, and do their shopping online. They can drive to the grocery store just a couple of blocks away, heat up a frozen dinner for four in under 30 minutes, and even work from home in some cases. This change in lifestyle has slowly reduced physical activity and is causing people to put on weight.
The Effects of Weight Gain
Weight gain occurs for various reasons, but lifestyle habits play a major role. Once you put on weight and get heavier, the scale and your closet become your worst enemies. It can be frustrating to see yourself gain weight, regardless of the reason.
When you gain weight, your clothes may not fit you as well as they used to. You will keep trying to get into those clothes until you are forced to go out and revamp your wardrobe. Unfortunately, the new clothes will not do much good psychologically, as the increase in weight will lower your self-confidence and result in poor self-image. This, in turn, may lead to depression, and you may feel your whole world is falling apart and you have no control over it.
Depression and Eating
“Obesity doesn’t start in belly or thighs, it starts in the brain” states Victor Castellon, Pharm D, the Founder and CEO of GenoVive a DNA-based weight loss company.
It is a well-documented scientific fact that when you suffer from depression, it will have an effect on your eating habits. Depression causes you to eat more because it can elevate your mood.
When depressed, many people use food as a way to self-medicate. Eating helps you cope with the negative feelings that you are experiencing about yourself. These feelings may include self-loathing, sadness, and shame.
Cravings Step In
When people resort to binge eating due to depression, it also causes a craving for unhealthy foods. This is when you start yearning for carbohydrates, fats, and sugar. These foods stimulate the brain to release more serotonin, which is the feel-good hormone. When the levels of this hormone increase in your body, your mood elevates and you feel good about yourself.
However, your positive mood lasts just for a short-term, until the effects of the food wear off. Then, the cravings start again. So you keep feeding these cravings with unhealthy foods, causing you to put on more weight.
The Devastating Results
When you are depressed, you lack energy and this will stop you from being physically active. Also, your food choices will add to your sluggishness, preventing you from working out and regaining control over your weight. You are in a slippery slope.
The Bottom Line
The cycle of weight gain, unfortunately, is a never-ending one. You put on weight, which causes the depression. This leads to making unhealthy food choices, which causes you to put on even more weight.
The fabulous news is you can break this cycle and get back to your fit and trim self. All you need is perseverance, strong will, and perhaps some professional help to get you out of your depressive state of mind. The key is to boost your physical activities that improve your mood and outlook. When you are physically active, at least for 30 minutes a day, and you eat healthily, you will burn more calories than you consume. You will lose weight and your spirit will rise.
