One of the classic situations that people who are on diet often find themselves in is that their weight doesn’t seem to drop after they tried to eat less, reduce meals and count calories. Stubborn weight issues are really disheartening. There are four factors that make you overweight no matter how little you eat. Once you know how to lose weight in a healthy way, you will start to shed pounds and eventually achieve a healthy body in good shape.

1. Hormones: The number one factor that determines your health and body shape. Hormones can play a role in the shape of each person. An unreasonable craving for specific food on a stressful day or in an afternoon when you really want to eat something sweet. You then eat desserts to satiate such craving. Sometimes, everything you eat is delicious and you enjoy eating very much. You are happy while eating and in the end, you find yourself eating too much without knowing it. These are all caused by hormones and the ones responsible for how you eat are:

Leptin: This hormone controls appetite. Leptin is produced by fat cells, so people with too much fat might be leptin resistant. However, they can still get leptin into balance by eating healthy food and exercise regularly.

Cortisol: Stress is controlled by cortisol. On a day when you feel stressed or tired, you will crave carbohydrates and sugar to pick yourself up, to prepare your body for a fight-or-flight response. Cortisol is the hormone behind the body’s adjustment for survival. That means, the more you are stressed, the more your body craves sweet food which can make you overweight.

2.   Genes: Genes are passed on from ancestors to descendants. Not only genes influence how you look, they also influence systems in your body. For instance, parents who have slow metabolism could be overweight easily although they eat little. This bodily process passed on to their children. Those who tend to be overweight due to genes and do not want to have a body shape like other members in their family should take good care of themselves by eating healthy and exercising.

3.   Sodium in food. Fast food, fermented food, suki or noodle soup, or frozen food sold in convenience stores are all high in sodium. If your body gets too much sodium, it will swell due to water retention. No matter how little you eat or how hard you work out, you might not look slim. 

4.   Unhealthy lifestyle. A broken body is the result of an unhealthy lifestyle, hard work, sleep deprivation, bad eating habits, unhealthy diet, or a lack of knowledge on healthy weight loss. Abnormal bodily systems, hormonal changes and slow metabolism all have direct impacts on your weight. When you are weak, cortisol is produced more than normal.

            Now you know why you are still overweight although you cut back on food intake It is not solely about diet for weight loss, but there are many other factors that can influence your health and shape. Observe yourself and start to take good care of yourself properly in your own way. Remember that good health cannot be bought but needs to be earned and it’s never too late to get back in shape!