Why are those extra pounds hard to shift?

I know I'm the first one to tell you the middle of a pandemic is not the time to be aiming to lose weight BUT now we're starting to head back to a bit of normality so I thought I'd talk a little about what contributes to weight gain, why those extra pounds are hard to shift, and what the best strategy is to getting back to where you feel COMFORTABLE (not where someone else/ society thinks you should be).

What contributes to weight gain?

Well everyone knows the obvious one, we're eating a little too many calories and we're burning slightly less than we're eating, which will result in weight gain. Just a simple calories in – calories out deal. But there are also other factors than contribute to weight gain that people don't often think of, medications, medical conditions, if we've crash dieted in the past,our overall diet, and very common STRESS! So although we'd like it to be nice and simple weight loss often isn't.

Why are those extra pounds hard to shift?

Well the reasons vary from person to person but research shows that people tend to put on weight slowly and gradually at specific periods in time i.e every year at christmas but struggle to lose the weight afterwards for any significant period of time. Also (according to research that I've read) when weight begins to reduce the body naturally strives to get back to the body fat it is used to. Think about it this way, if every day you gave your body four cups of coffee then all of a sudden you drop down to one, your body is going to protest until it gets used to this new 'normal' intake. It can be similar for calories too!

The best strategy?

Looking at how you can change your habits, beliefs, and environment to set you up for success. This is what I aim to do with all my clients because motivation and willpower will only get you so far (we're all human after all!). So I encourage all my clients to look at how they can increase their activity levels, adjust their eating habits, and adjust their environment to encourage them on the days where motivation and willpower feel low.