You're eating the same food, doing the same exercise but still the weight's going on.
There are plenty of explanations that you may not have thought of:
1. Medications
Some prescription drugs used to treat depression, mood disorders, seizures, migraines, blood pressure, and diabetes can cause weight gain, from a modest amount to as much as 10 pounds per month. Some steroids, hormone replacement therapy, and even oral contraceptives may also cause gradual weight creep. Your medicine cabinet might be the cause of your weight gain if you've gained 5 or more pounds in a month without a change in your lifestyle.
2. Eating Too Much Sugar
Sounds like a no-brainer—eat too much sugar and you’re sure to gain weight. But what if you don’t even realize how much you’re eating? It’s a real possibility these days, since so many foods—even ones you wouldn’t think need to be sweet—contain added sugars. The problem is that the more sugar you eat, the more you crave. Sugar can cause your blood sugar to spike; when it drops down again, you want more of the sweet stuff and can end up eating more calories
3. Overdoing Artificial Sweeteners
If you want to lose weight, you should drink diet soda, right? Well, not necessarily…too much may have the opposite effect. Research shows that people who have diet drinks regularly may be more likely to gain weight and develop metabolic syndrome, a condition that includes having excess belly fat, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and insulin resistance.
4. Frequent Stress
Stress problems tend to increase your appetite. This is because stress prompts the body to produce certain 'fight or flight' hormones that boost our hunger (as well as our heart rate, blood pressure, and a number of other bodily functions). Psychologically, stress also encourages weight gain because many people find it soothing or comforting to reach for their (usually unhealthy) favorite snacks when life is getting hard to handle. There are two main ways for you to tackle stress-related weight gain. Given the other negative influences that stress has on the body, your first strategy should be to reduce the amount of stress in your life. If you can't, then you should try to learn better ways to cope with stress (by seeing a counselor or learning relaxing meditation skills, for example). If you cannot reduce your stress levels by attacking the source or by learning how to calm down more quickly and effectively, all you can do is try to exercise willpower and avoid allowing stress to influence the snacks or meals that you choose.
5. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
PCOS is one of the most common reproductive problems diagnosed in younger women, striking perhaps up to 10% of women who are of childbearing age (i.e. roughly 12-45 years old). It involves the development of many small cysts on the ovaries, as well as menstrual disturbances. The hormone disruption caused by PCOS has many unpleasant consequences, including unwanted weight gain (usually because of a higher resistance to insulin).
As you get older, your body's metabolism slows down, and this means that you cannot eat as much as you used to without putting on weight. If you are in your 40s and are confused about why you are getting fatter, this drop in metabolic rate may well be the culprit. The best way to counteract this reason for weight gain is to increase the intensity and frequency of your exercise routine, and to be stricter about your eating patterns.
Although making the decision to stop smoking is extremely good for your body in a great many respects, most people who do quit smoking end up gaining around 7-10 pounds. Most of this is due to the fact that reaching for cigarettes tends to be replaced with reaching for snacks, but the new absence of nicotine in your body will also lead to a drop in metabolic rate (so you won't be able to eat as much as you used to without gaining weight).
8. Sleep Problems
If you are not getting the advised eight hours of sleep each night or you are getting those hours of sleep at times that are not optimal, this could be playing a significant role in your weight gain problems. If you are in the former category and are not managing to sleep for a long enough period each night, the reason you're gaining weight is that the balance of hormones in your body changes when you are not well rested. You will feel hungrier more of the time, and food will satisfy you for shorter periods of time. This can lead to absentminded snacking that adds up to weight gain over the course of days and weeks.
9. Cushing Syndrome
The adrenal glands produce a hormone called cortisol, which the body needs for a number of reasons ”for one thing, it helps to keep blood glucose levels from dropping too low. However, certain factors can cause a problematic increase in cortisol production, and this tends to cause quite dramatic weight gain (especially around the face and the back of the neck).
Hyperthyroidism is a condition that commonly causes people to lose weight as a result of the thyroid gland producing a higher than average level of a certain hormone. However, hypothyroidism is the opposite condition, and when the thyroid is sluggish about hormone production then weight gain is almost always one of the results. If you are also feeling weak and exhausted, then you should bring these three key symptoms to the attention of your doctor and ask to have your thyroid function investigated. A simple blood test will usually provide the necessary information, and if your thyroid is not functioning properly then there are some quite successful medications that you can try.
11. Pregnancy
Finally, everyone knows that women gain weight throughout their pregnancies,
If you have considered all of the above and are still confused about your weight gain, take your worries to a doctor. You will then be asked further questions that might illuminate an underlying medical condition or problematic lifestyle factor. If you take medication for migraines, bipolar disorder, seizures, diabetes, or high blood pressure, investigate whether there is a chance that switching to a different kind of medication could allow you to regain the body type you desire.
