The jeans I had been wearing were starting to get baggy, so this week I pulled the next size smaller out of my closet. You know, the ones you hang onto just in case you are able to shed a few pounds and can fit back into them? (I actually have a whole smörgåsbord of sizes in my closet, but that’s a subject for another day.) I’m happy to report the smaller jeans not only fit, but were actually comfortably loose. If you’ve traveled down this weight loss road as many times as I have, you know it’s seeing progress like this that makes it much easier to keep yourself on track.
Since my last post, I learned something about my body that just may be a contributing factor to my weight gain and the battle I’m fighting to take it off. While on vacation I got a call from my doctor’s office informing me that lab work showed I have hypothyroidism (low thyroid). Talk about feeling poleaxed—I had no clue. Once I googled it, net surfer that I am, it made all the sense in the world. I had 7 out of 11 of the symptoms, including slow metabolism/weight gain. Again, I had just attributed the changes to getting older. (I’m thinking maybe it’s time I quit riding that scooter, hmmm?) I started taking medication a couple of weeks ago, and time will tell how much it helps—not only with the disease symptoms, but with my weight loss as well.
All this got me to thinking: what exactly causes weight gain? Overeating is probably the most thought-of culprit. It’s pretty much global knowledge if you consume more calories than your body burns, the excess is stored as fat and you gain weight. So how do some people eat anything they want and stay rail thin, while others count every calorie and carb and are still overweight? The reasons are many, and I’ll share a few of them with you.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, your environment can play a big role in your weight. Do you walk, bike, or drive to work? Is your job sedentary or physical? Me, I sit and drive 80 miles a day to a job where I sit for 8 hours a day. Two strikes for me right out of the gate. Do you spend your spare time stretched out in front of the TV or curled up with a good book, or do you engage in activities that get you up and moving, such as hiking, gardening, or playing sports? Considering my next tattoo is going to be a bookworm, you know which category I fall into. That’s why I utilize my Kindle’s text-to-speech feature to combine my love of reading with exercise. Letting my Kindle read to me while on the elliptical turns an otherwise boring workout into an almost pleasurable 20-30 minutes. Another product of my diet-induced creative thinking! ; o )
Health conditions can also contribute to weight gain. Hypothyroidism can decrease metabolism and cause protein deposits in the body, leading to fat accumulation and fluid retention. Essential fatty acid deficiency can inhibit the body’s ability to make hormones and maintain metabolic rate. Food sensitivity can lead to weight gain caused by fluid retention. Cushing’s syndrome, a hormone imbalance, can cause fat to accumulate in the face, abdomen, and upper back. Heart, liver, or kidney disease can cause fluid retention and subsequent weight gain.
Another source of weight gain can be prescription drugs. Some medications used to treat high blood pressure, diabetes, mood disorders, seizures, and migraines have been attributed to weight gain. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), oral contraceptives containing estrogen, steroids, and NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen) can cause you to pack on the pounds as well. Well, color me shocked. While I don’t take all of these types of drugs, I do take medicine for high blood pressure and migraines, and an occasional Aleve. Guess what’s going on my ask-the-doctor list?
One of the biggest reasons I hear people give for being overweight is “fat genes.” In her book Roseannearchy: Dispatches from the Nut Farm, Roseanne Barr wrote, “The reason people are fat is because it’s genetic. If you are a great big old pie wagon, you probably come from a long, long line of great big pie wagons.” While I don’t think I remember seeing any actual pie wagons on my charts at ancestry.com, I can tell you some members of my family struggle with their weight, just like me. In an article on obesity and genomics published by the CDC, it was suggested that bombarding the “energy-thrifty genes” given to us by our ancestors (the ones that kept them from starving when food was scarce) with today’s overabundance of food has helped contribute to the weight issues we see today.
The article went on to say that genetics, in combination with your environment, can also influence your drive to eat, your tendency for inactivity, an increase in your capacity to store body fat, and a decreased ability to use fats from food as fuel. That’s not to say just because your parents or grandparents are overweight means you will be, too. I’ve seen lots of slim people with overweight families. On the flip side of the coin, I’ve seen lots of overweight people with slim parents.
I think the bottom line is to not succumb to whatever undesirable metabolic genes you may have inherited. If you seem to fall under one of the genetically-enhanced conditions listed above, maybe you could benefit from adjusting your eating and/or exercise routine. The journey will undoubtedly be smoother for some than for others. I believe the biggest keys to success are 1) admitting you need to make changes, and 2) having the desire to change. And no, I’m not running a 12 step program here, I’m just stating my own personal observations and (what I hope is) common sense.
This week’s post contains lots of technical subject matter, and I can’t stress strongly enough that I am by no means a medical professional, nor am I using this blog to distribute medical advice. I’m simply sharing some of the information I have gleaned with my mad web surfing skills. The same information is available to everyone, all you have to do is seek it out. For medical questions and issues, please talk to your health care provider.
I want to thank everyone again for reading and for sharing your comments, stories, and words of encouragement. It’s making all the difference in the world to me, and I love hearing from you!
I worry, as this blog progresses, that I’ll have issues coming up with a new topic each week or that I’ll just become flat-out stale. Six months is a long time to keep coming up with fresh material. If any of you have questions about what I’m doing, or would like to see a particular subject addressed, please let me know and I’ll do my best to include them.
As one who has blogged for over 4 years now (albeit not always weekly), trust me, you'll find stuff to talk about. :)
ReplyDeleteI am SO INSPIRED by your ability to persevere through this process and see that you are already over half way to reaching your goal. How satisfying it must be to fit into the smaller clothes -- and have them be comfortable! Woohoo!!
Sorry to hear you have thyroid issues, but they can be helped with medication and I bet you will see your extra pounds start melting off faster with that metabolism boost.
Thanks for all the great info and as a person who blogs a medical condition, thanks also for reminding folks to speak to their doctors. You'd be surprised on how many folks rely on the internet as their sole source of medical info. It's alarming.
Looking forward to next week. :)
Jeri