What causes Weight Gain?
Some of the  contributors to excess weight  might surprise you!

So, let's consider some of the weight gain causes.

Most people believe the best way to lose weight is to Diet, Diet, and more Diet!

Going on a diet can be one of the greatest disconnects from your inner belly wisdom, so the diet mentality is not the best way to lose weight, if you want to keep it off.

Learning about the Yo-Yo Diet Cycle and The Health Thought Cycle can be very helpful in understanding more about weight gain causes as well (these are free PDFs).

When you diet,it also sends a loud warning signal to the body that something is wrong with the environment. You are not eating when you get hungry so the starvation response can be triggered. 

Weight loss programs can actually cause weight gain and obesity over time!

Weight loss programs negatively effect sustainable weight loss!

Consider the Causes of Weight Gain or Obesity.

1. Is it Genetics? Your genetics do determine body shape, bone density, muscle mass etc., yet, if you have overweight family members it does not mean that is your destiny.

They probably have been on many diets which make people get fatter each time because they never learned how to do Mindful Eating or follow the inner belly wisdom when eating or to change their thinking to diet free thinking.Thus through the year they experience more and more weight gain.

A very small percentage of bodies are actually genetically large. An example is the Samoan people, they are large but that doesn’t mean they have to be over weight or have "obesity", they can be large and very healthy. Their bone density and muscle mass is also larger so their % body fat is low when they are eating being guided by the inner belly wisdom like I teach on this website.

2. Is Organ damage the cause of obesity? Damage to the pituitary gland, thyroid, or loss of bodily sensations like taste, etc, is only < 1 % of obese population, not the general population. Hypo-thyroid can be regulated with medication. Although a growing number of people at all ages are experiencing thyroid issues due in part to environmental toxins, they often target the thyroid and the brain. So doing a thorough thyroid check if you have weight issues is a good thing to do.

Also years of dieting and then overeating when the diet stops causes increase in % body fat which can feel similar to organ damage. This can be reversed to a great extent by using Mindful Eating and following the guidance of the body’s inner wisdom which is being taught here.

3. Dieting makes us fat over time. Restrictive dieting creates a loss of mental connection with hunger/fullness/body cravings-(or not consistent immediate response to hunger) =DIETING.

Yes, dieting makes you fat over time. Shocking I know but  completely true! 

95-98% of dieting attempts fail at sustained weight loss, and most dieters fall into the yo-yo diet cycle, the diet fails the dieter! 

• Diets are fueled by a Culturally Driven Manipulation of Body size, Good or Bad according to size or shape which is heavily influenced by the Fashion Industry Marketing Illusion!
• Western Medical Professionals Misinformation that supports dieting-Narrow Beliefs based on correlations and myth (see book: Big Fat Lies in the Resources).
• Cultural Morality & Muscle tone, driven by athletics or cultural icons of what is acceptable or “healthy”, but NOT realistic, unless you are a full time athlete!
• Personally Driven to "Fix" the Body (to meet some external standard that also may not be realistic. 
• Fantasy Driven-Attempts to "fix" body against genetic capabilities or what is realistic for quality of life and relationships to be healthy. 
• Transference of sense of "lack of control" to trying to control the body by dieting. (see Anatomy of a Fat Thought or Other Hungers)

If you have dieted more than once you have seen this in your experience, unfortunately.

The good news is it can be reversed to a great extent by using the non-diet approach taught on this site.  

Eating and meal planning guided by connecting to the belly wisdom (inner wisdom), taught on this site,  is best with people who have been through many diets and become deprivation sensitive.

Dieting contributes to a loss of mental connection with the belly wisdom that normally guides us.  This is a disconnect from responding to hunger, fullness, and body cravings. The body adapts by becoming more efficient at storing more and more body fat and creating obesity.

Here is why diets make you FAT - eventually!

METABOLIC CHANGES DUE TO DIETS -reversible with Diet Free thinking, Mindful Eating, and Healthy exercise. This is called The Starvation Response -click that link for a summary to use as a reminder!

• ↓Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) – burn less calories with normal activity = easy weight gain
• Diets increased the enzyme production of  Lipoprotein Lipase- which means you now store body fat more efficiently = easy fat weight gain
• ↑ % body fat- with each diet muscle is lost and with each re-gain fat is gained= higher percentage of body fat and obesity.
  
• Redistribution of fat to abdominal area-- increasing risk for cardiovascular disease & increased risk for Hypertension (high blood pressure).
• ↑craving for fatty foods = easy weight gain and overeating without Mindful Eating
• ↑ craving for carbohydrates = easy weight gain and overeating without Mindful Eating

4. Misreading Hunger can make you fat.

Understanding your "Other Hungers" that drive eating without hunger, (send me an e-mail and  I will send you the PDF called Other Hungers to use as a reminder or checklist). Also a thorough understanding of your unique "weight gain causes" as described on this page is a critical piece that is left out of most diet plans. So the body fights to re-gain the weight lost.

That is why weight gain is usually the result of repetitive dieting!

Generally when you go on a diet you ignore many bodily sensations and become very disconnected from your guiding inner body wisdom.

Dieters are trained to think the best way to lose weight is to ignore everything except the demands of the diet or exercise program for quick weight loss.

5. Your thinking can make you fat!

Your body image and Fat thoughts is also a big force that keeps the body fat and is a cause of weight gain!

But remember the body is listening to what you are thinking and responding defensively to attack thoughts by keeping fat on your body!

Treat the body with respect and apologize to it when you judge it or don't listen to it.

Yes I am saying talk to yourself, you can tell everyone I told you to. Although it is probably better to do this in a whisper or when you are not around other people :) .

I am serious, the body is listening and interpreting your negative body thoughts as a threat to survival.....so it gains weight as a defense.

Your body image can be blocking your success. Read the the  page How To Think.

See what "fat thoughts" or body hatred thinking does eventually to how you behave.

It is not pretty but if you "get" this and take responsibility by correcting it whenever you can catch it, you will dramatically lessen your continued weight gain and eating to soothe yourself.

The "Diet Mentality" is one of the causes of weight gain, believe it or not!

Yes I am saying talk to yourself, (you can tell everyone I told you to). Although it is probably better to do this in a whisper or when you are not around other people :) .

I am serious, the body is listening and interpreting your negative body thoughts as a threat to survival.....so it gains weight as a defense.

Your body image can be blocking your success (read the page on this sight about Body Image. Learn what "fat thoughts" or body hatred thinking does eventually to how you behave on that page.

Also read the page in this website called How to Think

It is not pretty but if you "get" this and take responsibility by correcting it whenever you can catch it, you will dramatically lessen your continued weight gain and eating to soothe yourself.

Judgements about body fat will just make you fatter - apologize to yourself and change them!

You cannot afford one more negative thought about your body, it could be keeping you FAT!

If you are not eating exactly what your belly is guiding you to eat (making a perfect match ) or not responding to hunger appropriately (eating with 5-15 minutes of noticing hunger) it sets off an alarm to store body fat and hold onto any extra weight as a defense against starvation.

Without understanding this aspect of your psyche, sustained weight loss will forever be an unobtainable longing, and weight gain will always be the end result.

So many things feel exactly like hunger. The Webster dictionary defines hunger as an "uneasy feeling in the gut". What else in life leads you to feel "uneasy" in your belly? The list could go on forever and be ever changing!

So I have broken down the Other Hungers  (see page on this site called Other Hungers) into several categories and this ties very closely with the Rewards List  (send me an e-mail and I will send you a link to get these in a PDF format as reminders).

Remember when you want to eat and you think you may not be hungry ask yourself...
 

• What could I be needing?
•  What could I be thinking or believing?
  
• What could I be feeling? 

No self judgment....Stay FASCINATED!

Self judgement about body weight just makes you feel beat up!

As you use these tools that relate to weight gain causes and body image you will begin to discover several things regarding the best way to lose weight and keep it off without being on a diet or feeling deprived, if you are following a healthy diet that is guided by your belly wisdom:

 If you eat without belly hunger, it never really fills the need so you just keep eating to fill up the " Other Hunger " feelings.

Say to yourself..."There is not enough chocolate in the world to satisfy me if I am eating to fill up any of the "other hungers". I might as well take the time to figure out what is going on with me and address my needs, thinking which becomes believing, or feeling right now or as soon as possible."

 You will begin to discover you are a very unique human being with multifaceted needs that have been neglected for a long time. Now you can begin to learn how to recognize and creatively satisfy them, this solves one of the weight gain causes.

See the PDF download for The Universal Needs List. Use this list every time you think you want tot eat but you are  not hungry in the belly, so you can determine what you are really needing.

You will discover that you have many faulty beliefs about food, diet, eating, exercise, body image or weight that you picked up along the way that are not the real TRUTH, even thought they may seem like the truth.

Like "I should clear my plate or it is wasting food". These beliefs or thoughts are driving you to eat when you are not hungry or eat beyond fullness and gain a lot of weight, they are one of the weight gain causes!

See the page on this site called The Lies We Believe 

As you get better at discerning the difference between belly hunger, mouth/mind hunger and any of the "Other Hungers" you will begin to take better care of your real needs.

These techniques let the fat defensive part of the body calm down and cooperate with your weight loss efforts as long as you are not feeling food deprived (on a restrictive diet).  You will practice believing all foods are "legalized foods"(or not forbidden), and know that your Inner Belly Wisdom will guide you - it never lies!

6. Is a lack of exercise a cause of obesity? Yes and no, some people rarely exercise and don't gain weight. The concern here is about the loss of connection with body's natural desire to be active- (or not responding consistently) = NOT EXERCISING, we have a natural “hunger” to be active.

The loss of connection with the body's natural desire to move or be active results in a loss of muscle mass and core strength.

Less muscle mass is a set up for struggling with weight issues because it is our muscle that burns calories and raises our metabolic rate. See the page Dieting is Fattening where this is explained in detail.

I was the lead therapist in a research paper with Baylor University in Texas where we were investigating exercise resistance in obese women.

What we found is the most effective things to do in reducing exercise resistance is covered in detail on the page titled Exercises for weight loss.

7. Not getting enough deep restful sleep can make you fat. This can be due to neuro- chemical deficiencies or hormonal imbalances.

The neuro-chemical imbalances are discussed in detail on the page titled Craving Cure.

8. Stress can cause obesity if it is not addressed. Even how you perceive life can determine your stress level. So, yes , what you think can make you hold onto fat.

Stress causes the hormone cortisol to be released in large quantities and that causes the body to store fat (fight or flight response). Using EFT daily can lower your cortisol by 43%, so use it before eating, with cravings, on exercise resistance , with any strong emotions or negative thoughts or feelings. See EFT for Weight loss on this site.

Stress also over stimulates the triple warmer spleen meridian and depletes the spleen meridian - these control the body protective mechanisms and metabolism. This can be prevented and corrected using the energy medicine techniques and EFT described in detail on this website. 

If cortisol is elevated at the wrong time from stress,  like at night,  it will cause sleep problems as well, which contribute to weight gain. This is discussed on the craving cure section of this site.

9. Eating inflammatory foods and consuming or being exposed to environmental toxins create persistent retention of fat on the body. Excess fat and even high cholesterol is inflammation!

Why Is It Important to Reduce Inflammation?

Inflammation is linked to almost every major disease and disease category we have including:

• Cancer
• Cardiovascular disease including heart attack, cholesterol and stroke
• Autoimmune disease
• Chronic pain
• Obesity
• Mood disorders (brain inflammation)
• Alzheimer’s disease and other neuro-degenerative diseases

The bottom line is that real food, real veggies, and minimizing the chemicals is always going to be the best route to keeping your inflammation levels down.

Knowing the foods that cause inflammation can help you to make better choices at the grocery store, below is a list of the inflammatory and the better non-inflammatory choices..

This list includes the “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean Fifteen” lists compiled by Environmental Working Group which is a great group and website to find out what foods and household products are the cleanest. They even have an app so you can check things out before you by them.

For a handy PDF of the chart above send me an e-mail and I will send it your way!

Also here is a great link that explains the problems with inflammatory foods in detail, it is about pain but the information useful in understanding in more detail whey they do to the body:

EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIET

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