Why Do I Gain Weight?

With the rush of our everyday lives, the advancement of
technology, along with the conveniences of fast food, it sure is hard
to stay active and eat a healthy, balanced diet. But if you know how
to do it, it can be done, even with a busy lifestyle.
In this first section of the book we are going to look at:
• All the reasons why we gain weight,
• The people we need to talk to when we decide we are ready to
lose the weight,
• Why keeping yourself on a schedule actually helps you to lose
the weight,
• Weight loss secrets,
• Plus many other subjects that will help you to learn how to
finally take the weight off and keep it off once and for all
The Major Causes Of Weight Gain
We eat more calories than our body needs in a day, so the
excess gets stored as fat. Our human bodies are designed in
such a way that when in times it was harder to get food, our bodies
could be prepared by having stored extra calories in times of plenty
in the form of fat. Now, with the ease with which we get food, a lot
of people tend to overeat, and this is a severe problem that causes
a huge number of people to become overweight or obese.
• Genetics play a factor as well by setting basic parameters
on the metabolic efficiency of your body. People who are
overweight many times have very efficient metabolisms, meaning

their body needs less calories per day than others to operate, and
they store the excess calories as fat. Also you have a greater risk of
being obese if one of your parents are and an even greater risk if
both parents are.
• Your metabolic rate. Besides genetics, your metabolic rate
depends on how active you are. It is said that every ten years past
our mid-twenties we lose about 10% of our metabolic rate. This
probably does not have to do completely with age, however, but
instead with how active we are. The more active we are, the more
muscle mass we can retain, or even build, and in turn the more fit
we are because muscle tissue is metabolically active whereas fat is
not. On the other hand, if we lead a basically sedentary life, we are
much more likely to be able to gain weight as we lose muscle mass.
• Eating patterns. People’s eating habits make a huge difference
in determining their weight. When foods high in fat or sugars are
favored, this of course can cause much weight gain. Also, how you
serve the food, i.e. do you put the portions on everyone’s plate or
do you bring it all to the table and serve it the food family style
where everyone can take as much as they want? Portion size is one
of the main reasons people eat too much. Also, how have you
learned to eat? If you are a fast eater, you may not even realize the
cues your stomach gives you that it is full.
• Larger portion sizes. Over time, larger portions of food have
become the norm, especially at many restaurants. Weight has also
gone up because of this.
• Exercise or the lack thereof. Exercise is essential to a healthy
lifestyle and to maintaining a healthy weight. When you exercise,
especially when you include strength training in your workouts, you
gain muscle mass and raise your metabolism and in turn the
muscle helps to burn more fat. In turn, you will weigh less and you
will look leaner and firmer because muscle takes up less space than
fat. Plus, strength training helps reduce the risk of accidental injury,
improves your bone density, helps with digestion and helps in
lowering your blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels.