1 day ago
This could be why you're fat - 1
GRADUAL, CREEPING WEIGHT GAIN
COULD BE: Slow metabolism or extreme dieting.
After the age of 30, your metabolism (the rate at which we burn calories while we are at rest) slows down by as much as 5 per cent per decade.
You’ll burn 100 fewer calories per day at the age of 35 than you did at 25, and 200 fewer at 45. This could be enough to trigger an annual weight gain of 8-12lb.
Strict (or yo-yo) dieting makes this process worse (whatever your age), as the body slows the metabolism to avoid wasting any energy while it is dealing with what it considers to be a famine.
WHO'S AT RISK? Anyone over 30; dieters.
WEIGHT-LOSS SOLUTION: As well as being generally more active, incorporate weight-training into your exercise routine twice a week to build muscle mass, because this will boost your metabolic rate.
Muscle burns 25 to 33 per cent more calories than body fat does, and each pound of muscle boosts your metabolic rate when resting.
If you replace 10lb of fat with 10lb of muscle, your body will burn roughly 40 more calories a day at rest. This doesn’t sound like much, but it accumulates to become 280 extra calories burned a week, and 1,120 a month — that’s enough to lose weight without dieting.
So add a few press-ups, squats and lunges to your fitness programme, or try an exercise DVD that incorporates resistance bands or weights (whether that’s using bottles of water or dumbbells), or alternate your aerobics class with something such as Body Pump, which is weight-training to music
This could be why you're fat - 2
WEIGHT GAIN SINCE VISITING YOUR GP
COULD BE: Medication-related side-effect.
Many drugs are linked to weight gain, including anti-depressants, prescriptions for migraine (Pizotifen, Valproate), diabetes (gliclazide, glimepiride, glipizide, Nateglinide, repaglinide, glitazones — e.g. pioglitazone), high blood pressure (beta-blockers) and the Pill.
WHO'S AT RISK? Anyone taking the medication listed above, though while some drugs push one person’s weight up, they might push another’s down.
WEIGHT-LOSS SOLUTION: ‘If you are convinced that your weight has increased only since you’ve been taking the medication, check the side-effect profile,’ says Dr Rob Hicks, a London GP.
‘If “possible weight gain” is listed, ask your GP if you can try a suitable alternative. But don’t stop taking them without seeking medical advice.’
This could be why you're fat - 3
FIT BUT FAT
COULD BE: The wrong kind of exercise.
If you don’t change your gym routine, fitness levels can quickly plateau, and your body will adapt, meaning fat and calorie-burning efficiency dramatically drops.
WEIGHT-LOSS SOLUTION: The key is to vary your routine and also introduce more intense sessions within your exercise programme.
A rigorous exercise plan, which incorporates short bursts of high-intensity exercise (such as sprints), will switch on the body’s metabolism, for up to 24 hours later.
Dr Ulf Ekelund, who is a specialist on exercise and obesity with the Medical Research Council, says that by simply switching from walking to jogging, you can increase your calorie burn by 100 per cent and halve the amount of time you need to spend doing it.
This could be why you're fat - 4
PEAR-SHAPED, WITH FAT LEGS AND THIGHS
COULD BE: Lipoedema.
This swelling in the legs and thighs is caused by abnormal accumulation of fat cells in the tissues under the skin, and a build-up of fluid in those fat cells.
Another tell-tale sign is that the legs often feel very tender (it is also called ‘painful fat syndrome’) and bruise easily. They may also have a cellulite appearance.
‘Many doctors confuse it with weight gain or it can be confused with lymphoedema, which is caused by a problem with the lymphatic drainage system,’ explains Constantinos Kyriakides, a vascular surgeon at Barts and London NHS trust.
‘Lipoedema tends to concentrate in the calves, knees, thighs and lower girth, whereas lymphoedema can affect other parts of the body.
‘Weight seems to have no bearing on the condition, so you can have a very slim upper body, but very heavy buttocks, thighs and lower legs.’
WHO'S AT RISK? It affects 5 to 10 per cent of the female population. No one knows what triggers it, but a family link has been found in roughly a fifth of cases.
WEIGHT-LOSS SOLUTION: There is no cure, but special bandaging (compression garments) can support the tissues and encourage the lymph system to drain excess water
This could be why you're fat - 5
TIGHT WAISTBAND, BLOATED FEELING
COULD BE: Food intolerance.
Other tell-tale signs include flatulence, nausea, diarrhoea and discomfort after eating, possibly combined with fatigue and aching joints.
If your body is intolerant to certain foods, it finds them difficult to digest and they will stay in the digestive tract partially digested, bubbling and fizzing with bacteria.
Wheat and milk are common triggers. According to GP Dr Rob Hicks, intolerance to the lactose in milk and dairy products is ‘hugely under-diagnosed’.
He adds: ‘I believe that many people who have been told they probably have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) may, in fact, be lactose-intolerant.’
WHO'S AT RISK? We all produce less of the enzyme lactase (which should break down the lactose in dairy products in the gut) from the age of two. In some people, the levels drop faster than others.
Lactose intolerance is more common in older adults.
WEIGHT-LOSS SOLUTION: Keep a food diary of everything you eat and drink, including any medication, and, in a separate column, jot down details of symptoms.
According to Lindsay McManus, spokesperson for Allergy UK, food intolerance symptoms may be delayed (unlike allergy symptoms, which can be immediate). But after a few weeks, you may begin to see a pattern emerging.
If you identify possible triggers (wheat, milk and eggs are the most common intolerances) experiment by excluding one (only one at a time) from your diet for a few days.
‘If you have an intolerance, you should feel better within one to two weeks,’ says Ms McManus.
‘You can double check by putting the food group back to “challenge” your intolerance. Any reaction will normally be swifter and more extreme than before.’
If symptoms are severe, take your food diary to your GP and ask to be referred to a dietitian, who may supervise an exclusion diet and advise on a replacement to ensure nutritional balance.
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