5 Weight Gain Causes That Have Nothing To Do With Food

When it comes to weight gain, there are a lot of myths out there. One of the most harmful is that the only reason for significant weight gain is eating too much unhealthy food and being lazy. And sure, that is a way to gain weight, but, there are several other reasons which has nothing to do with food.

A lot of gynecologists will deny this, and there isn’t much research on the subject, but a lot of women swear that birth control pills have caused them to gain weight. It makes sense, considering you’re putting artificial hormones into your body. Hormonal birth control works on the premise that these hormones basically tell your body that it’s pregnant.

Your Daily Schedule Just Changed

Starting your day earlier, changing the amount of sleep you get, or even switching your lunch period could be enough change in your schedule to throw your whole system for a loop.

 

A New Workout Routine

When your body is under stressful conditions, it releases cortisol to start converting amino acids in your liver into useful glucose and taking fat storage deposits and relocating them to your belly. So, if you aren’t used to working out regularly, your body might think it’s under stress (and to be fair, it is) and is reponding accordingly.

You’re Ovulating

When your hormones come out to play to push an egg out of your ovaries and down your fallopian tubes, they’re bringing their cool side effects with them, including water retension. Feeling puffy, bloated, or uncomfortable is normal. They’re visible side effects that you can feel. It’s totally par for the course to gain an extra five or, according to some women, ten pounds during ovulation.

You’re Getting Older

Your body responds much better to changes in diet and exercise and can bounce back from a sudden weight gain like that. When you get older? Not so much. Your metabolism slows, to put it simply. You might already be at an age where eating healthy isn’t enough, you actually have to exercise.