Has your weight all of a sudden crept up on you? You’re probably wondering where it’s come from and you’re especially confused because you feel like you’ve been doing everything right!
You’re guzzling water all day, exercising well and eating as much healthy and nutritious foods as possible. So what’s going on?
Here we discuss the ways in which you may not even realise are causing your weight to go up and up!
See Brigitte Walshaw’s 29kgs weight loss below using The Healthy Mummy for some inspo then scroll below to see 8 reasons that could be the reason you are not losing weight
8 ways you may be gaining weight
1. Not enough shut eye
As a busy mum we all understand that getting the recommended 7-8 hours is not always a reality. In fact, sometimes getting just 4 hours is a dream!
However, when your tired, your brain begins to slow down, your reflexes are off and all you want is a chocolate biscuit for some energy to get through cactus hour. If this becomes more of a habit and sleep continues to be deprived, you will begin to see the weight piling on.
Ways in which to get more sleep include: nap when your child naps, have a bedtime routine in order for sleep to commode quickly and habitually each night, limit your caffeine consumption and be active throughout the day!
2. You pile your plate with healthy food
Portion control is key here. Serving yourself a big plate of vegetables, protein and fats is good and all but making the serving giant sized portions is where you’re going wrong.
Too much of ANYTHING is never a good thing. Find balance in your portions and food groups and your weight will stay balanced too!
See our portion control guidelines to make your next meal healthy.
3. Your exercise is TOO active
That’s right, hitting the gym or at home workouts too hard can actually cause stress on the body and hormones begin to rise. Your body doesn’t have the chance to recover and you become fatigued.
Taking part in too much cardio will also have an effect on your stress and hunger levels, which in turn can lead to weight gain because of the rise in cortisol. This level changing will then store fat as your insulin levels rise and with that your blood sugar, causing you to go for high sugar content foods.
The recommendation? Consider taking rest days.
4. Sitting for too long
Watching Netflix and chilling is all well and good but bingeing out on sitting is actually hindering your weight loss. Even if you’re not bingeing per say. Sitting for too long will relax your muscles and in turn, your motivation.
A study in Annals of Internal Medicine found that people who sat for less than 30 minutes at a time had the lowest risk of early death.
If you work at a seated desk all day long try setting your alarm every so often as a reminder to move, walk around the block in your lunch break, sit on an exercise ball or even try out a standing desk from time to time.
Think of it this way…the body was made to move, so get moving!
See these exercises you can do at home!
5. Saving calories
“It’s 3 0’clock, I’ll just have a small lunch and save it for dinner”. This is not a good habit to get into.
Eating consistently and at regular intervals is what will keep your weight at bay and hunger levels stable. Saving calories for later can cause overeating because by the time that you’re ready to eat, you’re starving!
The old saying goes, “breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper”.
They reported that a study of 50,000 people found that those who made breakfast their largest meal of the day had a lower BMI than people who waited until supper, even when they ate a similar number of calories.
6. Drinking too much bottled water
It’s been proven that large quantities of BPA consumption leads to weight gain. So are you consuming your water from plastic bottles? Not only is it bad for the environment due to the breakdown of plastic, but also to your hormones.
7. Alcohol consumption
You can be the most healthiest person on your street, workout 4 times a week, have the most balanced perfect diet, but when it comes to alcohol and having 2 casual glasses of wine a night, this is where the health ends and ‘unexplained’ weight gain begins.
When it was found that red wine contained antioxidants, people made the mistake thinking that wine consuming as much red wine as they wanted would not cause harm.
Stick to this when planning your alcohol consumption and you can reap the benefits. More than this and it will give you the opposite effect.
One glass is fine, but when it exceeds more than that blood levels begin to spike and you can find yourself reaching for anything and everything which includes ‘sometimes foods’.
If you’re looking for the best low calorie wines in Australia, check out our comprehensive guide to Best Low-Carb and Low-Calorie Wines in Australia that highlights the top choices available. Discover the perfect selection of low calorie wines in Australia to indulge in without compromising your health goals.
8. ‘Healthy’ snacking
Snacking is a great way to keep hunger pangs at bay and tide you over until your next main meal. However, snacking should be limited and thought carefully about.
Snacking on the wrong type of’ ‘healthy’ food such as store bought muesli bars, processed foods or something that claims to keep your slim! Instead of looking for foods with some hidden miracle, stick to the basics like whole foods, smoothies and homemade snacks.
Try adding The Healthy Mummy protein powder when making your next snack, it contains no added sugars or artificial sweeteners or flavours!
Put these unhealthy habits behind you and join the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge where you will take on new healthy habits!
To tackle tummy fat the best thing you can do is improve your eating habits. This includes eating more regularly, more nutrient-dense food and more whole foods.
The 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge is a weight loss program created especially for mums to help them tackle their weight through healthy meal plans.
The 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge encourages mums to eat three main meals a day and three snacks. Eating regularly throughout the day keeps the metabolism burning and assists with fat loss. The recipes on the Challenge are also designed to be easy-to-make, affordable and family friendly – meaning the rest of the family can enjoy these meals too.
The 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge also combines the weekly meal plans with daily exercise programs and workout videos. The best part about these workouts is that expensive gym equipment is not required. The 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge App allows you to access these exercises anytime, anywhere which means you can literally perform all of these exercises from your very own lounge room.
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