For the longest time we let our bodies be controlled by certain diets to achieve the ultimate #bodygoal. Yes, some of them work, but the thing is once the program is over, you feel some sort of attachment to the routine and without it you come back rolling into the body you once got rid of.
Scientific fact: The human body was designed to gain weight and keep it at all costs. Why? Survival. I have come to accept this fact, because in doing so, keeping a healthy weight became much more attainable.
Both doctors and consumers believe that overeating is the culprit in weight gain and obesity problems, but according to science, it’s not completely our fault we’re overweight. A huge chunk of our genes is to blame. These genetic forces supervise our survival behavior therefore becoming the root cause of weight problems.
The reason why most diets fail is because people restrict too much, and we know all too well that deprivation always backfires. If you eat less than the amount your body needs (a.k.a. most diets), you body goes into panic mode and slows your metabolism. As a result, your body will think that it’s starving, thus making you overeat.
Word of warning: Just because overeating doesn’t make us fat means that it doesn’t contribute to weight gain. Nobody wants to overeat or undereat, so here a few tips on how you can kick bad eating habits for good without failing (hopefully).
Eat breakfast
No, coffee doesn’t count as breakfast. We’re all guilty of this for so many reasons, but none of those can serve as a valid excuse to truly skip the most important meal of the day. Eating breakfast regularly will jump start your day and get you working until noon or later.
Steer clear of trigger foods
These ‘trigger’ foods come in many shapes and sizes, and they’re not limited to processed or sugary foods either. If you have a tendency to binge, healthy foods can easily become unhealthy.
Get at least six to eight hours of sleep
Those afternoon naps we took (and hated) as a kid could probably never make up for our lack of sleep. Two hormones are at play in this situation—ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is the hormone that tells us when to eat, and leptin is the hormone that tells us to stop eating. When you’re sleep-deprived, you have more ghrelin in your system than leptin, which debunks the myth that we do gain weight if we don’t get enough sleep. Aim to get at least six hours of sleep every day if you run on a busy schedule and try to hit eight during the weekends. You will be surprised how getting the right amount of sleep can do wonders for your body.
Writer: BEA LLAGAS
