Bad Habits that Can Cause Weight Gain

We all have them, bad daily habits that contribute to our health issues.  And many of those bad habits we are unaware of, which makes them especially nefarious (from my “word of the day” calendar). As I’m sure you’ve heard before, becoming aware of the problem is the first step to eliminating it. So, let’s hope that this post makes you aware of a few bad habits that you have that are leading to unwanted weight gain. Let’s get started…

• Not getting enough sleep (7-9 hours every night) can lead to unintentional weight gain as it seems to increase the levels of a hormone (ghrelin) that makes us feel hungry and decrease the levels of another hormone (leptin) that makes us feel full. Lack of sleep also lowers motivation to exercise the next day. A 2020 study found that adults who slept less that seven hours per night had a 41% higher risk of becoming obese. A few ways to help you get to sleep are to limit screen time prior to bed, reduce caffeine intake and creating a sleep schedule and sticking to it.
• Being a passive, or unaware, eater can cause us to eat large amounts of high caloric foods, such as chips, sweets and/or fast foods. The key here is to be aware of what you’re eating and in what quantity. Many nutritionists link this to distracted eating whereby we sit in front of a screen, binging on that latest streaming hit (Stranger Things and The Boys come to mind) while eating an entire quart of ice cream or bag of Doritos. When the spoon hits the bottom of the container or you’re scrapping the bottom of the bag for crumbs and you then think, “Holy crap, where did it all go?” you might have a problem. Pay attention to what you’re eating!
• Eating too fast can cause your body to not realize it’s full until well after you actually are, indeed, full. Usually, it takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to signal your brain that you’re full. If, during that lag time, you continue to stuff food in your face, you’re likely to put on unwanted pounds, especially if this bad habit is a daily occurrence. Relax, enjoy your food, chew more than necessary, converse with those around you, take water breaks, these are just a few ways to give your stomach time to let your brain know, “Hey, enough. I’m stretched to my limit down here.”
• Skipping meals might sound like a good idea, but generally, it’s not. When we skip a major meal, we tend to overeat at the next. We also try to rationalize eating more after a skipped meal by thinking that we deserve to eat more. Another reason not to skip meals is because we also tend to grab what’s most convenient when we do eat next. Usually what’s the most convenient isn’t exactly healthy, such as fast or processed food.
• Overindulging on the weekends can undo all the healthy eating you did during the week. Yes, you made it through another stressful week, but find another way to celebrate aside from overeating and drinking. BTW, drinking alcohol not only fills you with liquid calories (150 cals in a non-light beer, 130 cals in a glass of wine, 170 cals in a margarita, 185 cals in a rum and Coke) it also lowers your inhibitions which can cause you to do things you wouldn’t do without alcohol, like eating large amounts of unhealthy foods, among other things.
• Using large amounts and/or varied condiments can cause calorie consumption to rise quite quickly. Ketchup, sugar, dressings, mayonnaise, butter, sauces and syrups can all add hundreds of calories to your day. For most of us, condiments are a habit that’s very hard to break, especially cold turkey. The best way is to measure out how much you use and to then very gradually decrease the amount until it’s down to a manageable level.

Look, we all have unhealthy eating habits, some we’re aware of, others not. It’s the ones we’re unaware of that can cause unwanted weight gain. One way to become aware of those unhealthy habits is to track everything you eat/drink (to include where, when and under what circumstances) for a week or so and then make the necessary adjustments. Yes, it is a bit of work, but isn’t losing weight worth it?