Regular physical activity is important for good health, especially if you’re trying to lose weight or stay healthy.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most weight is lost by eating fewer calories. However, the evidence shows that the only way to maintain it is to exercise permanently.
Bad eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle make thousands of people suffer from overweight and obesityconditions that are already considered a disease due to the risk they imply.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), each year more than 2.8 million people die worldwide from problems related to being overweight or obese, such as liver failure, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, depression, musculoskeletal conditions and anxiety.
When a person makes the decision to lose weight, the best formula to achieve it is to exercise and improve eating habits. However, it is not an easy goal to achieve. Many times there are those who exercise a lot, but the numbers on the scale do not go down.
Although it seems a contradiction, it is possible that this happens especially in the first weeks, specifies an article published in the portal specialized in fitness and wellness Vitónica, from Spain. Behind this situation there may be several factors.
According to portal information Sportfrom Spain, for example, it is possible that the activity carried out is excessively light and that the effort made does not significantly increase energy expenditure, as could occur in sessions of pilates, yoga, gymnastics or walks that are not very demanding.
Another common situation, and totally counterproductive, is that the practice of exercise is taken as an excuse or a mitigating factor to eat larger amounts or indulge in eating or drinking something tempting.
According to Vitónica, it is a very common mistake to think that simply by exercising the person will lose weight, but the truth is that, if you do not take care of what you eat, physical activity, no matter how strong, will not be enough.
A lot of stress
Stress also works against the desire to lose weight. The main reason is that one of the consequences of stress is to make people want to eat foods with a higher sugar content as a form of reward to calm down.
Additionally, when a person is stressed they can suffer from insomnia, which in turn can lead to gaining weight. Lack of sleep affects the production of hormones that help you feel full, which can lead to increased food intake and weight gain.
Experts say that little or poor sleep can be a reason why you can’t lose weight. During rest, the body releases hormones that control appetite and energy expenditure. When a person sleeps long enough, he maintains the balance between ghrelin (a hormone that generates the feeling of an empty stomach) and leptin (a hormone that inhibits the feeling of hunger), specifies the Saber Vivir TV portal.
Lack of sleep causes the concentration of ghrelin to increase and leptin to decrease, which results in the body feeling hungry.
slow metabolism
Some people have a harder time losing weight than others because their metabolism is slower. Metabolism is known as the series of chemical reactions carried out by the body to carry out its tasks, especially those that extract energy from the food that is eaten.
All individuals make the same reactions, but in some people, these are faster, more efficient and burn more calories, while in others, they burn less. That’s why, eating the same thing, some people gain weight and others don’t, even if they exercise enough.
lack of hydration
Lastly, not drinking enough fluids can also affect you. Staying well hydrated is part of a healthy routine, but it can also help you lose weight. According to Vitónica, it is common for people to confuse thirst with hunger and eat, when in fact what the body required was to drink.
Drinking a large glass of water before meals helps you feel full, reducing the number of calories. “In addition, it seems that drinking water influences metabolism, so that you burn between 24% and 35% more calories,” he concludes.