The world is obsessed with weight and weight watching, but to avoid putting on the weight you do need to be watching. Lots of young women – aren’t.
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A low cost health move EVERYONE should be doing
The world is obsessed with weight and weight watching, but to avoid putting on the weight you do need to be watching. Lots of young women – aren’t.
You swallow hard, fighting back the tears………as you take in the news that you are pre diabetic.
As your doc talks about diet and exercise and the importance of losing weight, you’re not really listening, the only thought that is flooding through your mind is….
How did this happen to me ?
How could I not have seen this coming and DONE SOMETHING ABOUT IT, before it came to this ?
It is actually a question health gurus should be asking.
It’s assumed people can see the writing on the wall, after all…
You should know better
No matter where you look, there is plenty of information out there WARNING of the dangers of weight gain and the importance of NOT LETTING IT HAPPEN.
And yet………… it does.
Super smart sassy competent capable people suddenly find themselves FAT and battling the consequences of those extra pounds.
Bad advice
Now, one could argue one of the reasons is a lot of the advice about how to be healthy, is fundamentally flawed.
Yes, bad advice abounds…
But the quality of the advice is not the only problem.
This was highlighted by a study conducted by researches from the University of Texas Medical branch over a decade ago.
Putting on weight
Our team studied the weight fluctuations – real and perceived, in a group of 466 women between the ages of 16 and 33 years. Now the official purpose of the study had NOTHING to do with weight, the women who signed on, thought they were helping the team to assess the effects of hormone contraceptives on bone mineral density……..
As part of the study, the women were assessed at 6 monthly intervals over a 3 year period.
The assessment included a weigh in and a comprehensive questionnaire, probing for possible side effects of the therapy. Among the questions…..
So the team was able to gather data on REAL weight gain and perceived weight gain.
And if you think they are the same thing, they’re NOT.
Weight tracking
Ultimately they had 1744 observations during the 36 month period.
So what happened……
Well, unsurprisingly many of the women did put on weight, for most it was trivial, but for some it was far more significant.
Eish ! It’s an eternal struggle of the modern women !
And how does that make you FEEL ?
So did the women putting on the weight actually notice. Most of them did feel a little fatter, particularly when the number was quite substantial.
But before you get all excited, when the number was relatively small, it was quite eye opening how many women, simply didn’t notice. The team found a third to a quarter of the women did not recognize a 2-3 kg weight gain.
Not counting leaves you clueless
Now to be honest, I’m not sure alarm bells should ring, if you gain/lose a kilo in 6 months, this can typically represent normal physiology, rather than actual fat mass.
But when the number is inching beyond 3 kilograms, your body chemistry is shifting.
IN THE WRONG DIRECTION !
Who is clueless ?
The researchers tried to establish who was dialled into weight gains and who was blissfully unaware of their impending heffa-lump status.
Weight perceptions did show differences across the different ethnic/race groups – with the black women in the sample being more dialled into weight gain than white and hispanic women. These differences probably reflect factors specific to these communities, rather than real differences in behaviour.
Interestingly enough…… skinnier women, were not significantly more sensitive to the weight increase.
Weight consciousness was influenced by contraceptive choice
What was more interesting was that the choice ofl contraceptive, had a big impact on the ability of women to “notice” weight gains. The women who were particularly tuned into weight fluctuations were those using depot medroxyprogesterone (DMPA).
Proportion of women who recognized weight gain accurately by contraceptive method. Copyright Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
The reason this contraceptive was able to evoke a weight consciousness, is probably because it comes with a bit of a black box warning – it is associated with weight gain. Women using this contraceptive had been sensitized to the idea, that they could end up packing on pounds, so they were paying attention.
For the record…. contraceptives are not the only drugs associated with weight gain.
If you’re taking one of these, the dice is loaded against your waist line.
Don’t be caught napping
Sometimes life is so busy, you just don’t NOTICE.
This study is pretty old………….the research was done in the early 2000s. Life has got a lot more crazy since then.
We’ve had
- Lockdowns
- Lockouts
- More stress
- More saboteurs
Weight gain, especially rapid weight gain in a very short period, is a sign something is amiss.
Catching the “trouble” early, makes dealing with it much easier. The effort to get rid of a kilo or two, is significantly less than the effort to burn off layers of superfluous fat.
Be tuned in
So make the commitment to weigh and measure yourself on a regular basis.
I think a good interval to do this………… is around once a month, for someone not actively weight managing. I recommend you pick a Friday to do it………say the first Friday of the month.
Because, for most people, Friday is the day of the week, they’re at their THINNIST.
Watch this video to learn more…
Hop on the scale and record your weight. Repeat, throughout the year.
To make it easier, here is a weight tracker you can download. Here is the link. I have designed one for the Northern hemisphere and one for the Southern hemisphere, choose the one that is appropriate for your neck of the woods.
Watch for significant changes, a kilo up or down, is just water, but a difference of 2 or 3 kilograms, is a wake up call.
Maybe before I continue….it’s worth pointing out unexpected weight loss is also a sign of a body chemistry problem.
As a healthy NON DIETING adult, your weight should be stable !
Be proactive………………..
Don’t join the Weight Worries club
If you notice your weight is trending up or down, sit up and take notice. If the trajectory is up…….
Consider signing up for our free e-course.
It full of science based tips & strategies that can help you move the dial back down. Did I mention………….. it’s FREE. And super easy to consume. You get everything you need to know, at a glance. And if you want to dive deep into the science, you can do this too, by hitting the link.
Begin the journey today to creating BETTER BODY CHEMISTRY and BETTER HEALTH.
Further reading
Is your anti-histamine making you fat ?
Antihistamine pills are considered benign, so you don’t need a script, to get your hands on one – but, the evidence is growing, regular use, can impact your waistline
The obesity epidemic – it’s not just a human problem
WE’RE getting fatter……………. macaques, chimpanzees, velvets, marmosets, dogs, cats, lab rats, wild rats, lab mice…………. even dolphins are getting fatter
Is your marital status responsible for those extra pounds ?
Marital transitions shake up lives. Re-writing the rule book to accommodate the presence/absence of the other individual can generate a “weight shock”.