Dieting But Gaining Weight - What’s Going On?
Knowing more about dieting but gaining weight or perhaps appropriate resources will more likely place you in a more informed position to either take further steps or research a little more. This will help you establish greater confidence about thios subject before you make any definite decisions.
How many people are dieting but gaining weight? Have you made an attempt to lose weight after you hit 30? Wasn’t that more difficult than ever before? Well guess what? It gets even more difficult after 40! Have you ever wondered why your body reacts differently to the same regimes you apply in different stages of your life?
Some of us that have never had a weight isue often get flabbier after 30 without a clear explanation. They start exercising and they don’t see any improvement. They eat less, and they still don’t achieve any significant change. They’re dieting but gaining weight. What they don’t take into consideration is the aging impact on their body.
Aging is One of the Reasons for Gaining Weight and also an Obstacle to Losing Weight
There are lots, perhaps more than 20 theories about aging but the most researched one is the “Free Radicals” theory. Free radicals are atoms or molecules in which at least one electron is unpaired causing an instability (a stable atom contains a balance of paired electrons which encircle the nucleus).
Instability causes the electrons to be reactive – they then bond easily with healthy molecules and damage them. According to the free radicals theory, this damage can cause you to age and to become vulnerable to some diseases. This can be your dilemma for dieting but gaining weight at the same time.
A frequently common free radical is an oxygen radical, this occurs in the mitochondria when an unpaired electron interacts with oxygen. Mitochondria are your cellular power plants, the tiny structures in your cells that provide energy in the chemical form of ATP. Known as your “fuel” for all your life functions. It helps your heart to pump and your lungs to distribute oxygen when you breathe.
After free radicals are formed in the mitochondria, they reduce the power of your cellular power plants to produce energy efficiently. You are not running out of energy because you’re aging. You are aging because you are running out of energy. Free radicals gradually shut down your power as if you are slowly turning off a light dimmer.
It Is Said That Free Radicals and Energy Reduction are the Roots of Most Aging Problems
Without energy your metabolic rate drops causing incresed body fat. You will lose muscle mass, bone mass, facial collagen and you are tired even when you have over-slept.
Energy reduction at the cellular level also decreases the hormone secretion in your glands. The most abundant hormone in the body is DHEA. This is known as the “mother of all hormones” because it’s involved in manufacturing of other hormones, especially the sexual hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
DHEA peeks at the age of 20 but afterwards declines sharply so at age 45 you have 50% of your high peek DHEA, and at the age of 65 you have only 10-20% of what you had at age 20. As the mother of all hormones DHEA represents a decline in other hormones as Human Growth Hormone, (HGH), Testosterone (in men), estrogen and progesterone (in women).
Mnay studies indicate that the lower your hormone level is, the higher your tendency to accumulate fat. It may now be a little clearer why you are dieting but gaining weight.
Most weight gain after 30 is a result of a vicious cycle of aging. Aggressive free-radicals decrease energy production which decreases hormone level and your metabolic rate to levels that most diets cannot asist. Again explaining you dieting but gaining weight at the same time.
Anti-Aging Can Support Weightloss by Neutralizing Free-Radicals
The most common way to fight free radicals is by increasing significantly antioxidants in your body. Your body produces antioxidants naturally or it gets it from food like fruit and vegetables.
You should understand that antioxidants are a form of enzymes that attack free radicals by attaching to the unpaired electron and neutralizing it. There are 2 kinds of antioxidants:
1. The first type patrols the body, blocking the formation of free radicals.
2. The second type disarms the already existing free radical before they bind with healthy molecules.
Studies show that today’s fruit and vegetables are not rich in antioxidants as few decades ago. It is impossible to get the recommended level without supplements such as multi-vitamins, vitamin C, and vitamin E in the right dosages. But this by itself doesn’t make the difference. No one can reduce weight just by taking antioxidants.
Anti-Aging Can Support Weight Loss by Boosting Energy in Your Cells
It is possible to increase your cells energy if you exercise regularly and supplement your food with energizers. Energizers are vitamins and minerals that increase the energy production in your cells. Studied energizers are Lipoic Acid, Chromium Picolinate, Coenzyme Q-10, and others. Cardio training is the best exercise to boost your cellular energy. Cardio training is what you may know as aerobic exercise like jogging, cycling, rowing or other activities that ramp your heart rate.
Anti-Aging Can Support Weight Loss by Increasing Hormone Level and Accelerating Metabolic Rate
Another (expensive) and still questionable way to increase your hormones is Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). Hormone replacement therapy must be recommended and supervised by a doctor. But criticizers recommend staying away and not messing with the side effect risks of hormones.
You can boost your hormone level significantly without a doctor and for free if you engage in resistance training like free weights, weight machines, bands, cables or even body weight.
Previous studies show without a doubt that resistance training stimulates secretion of HGH and testosterone. But that’s not all. Resistance training has many other benefits. It can help to gain muscle and reverses the aging damage of losing muscle. The more muscles you have, the more fat you burn because mussel growth accelerate you metabolic rate.
Aging Isn’t An Obstacle to Weight Loss
You can to some extent, reverse your aging process and slow your aging forward when you burn fat and gain muscle. This can be accelerated by reducing free-radicals and increasing energy production using supplements. But it is unlikely that you will achieve it without special exercises that boost hormone level and nutrition that decreases blood sugar.
Dov Oshri is the editor of Body for Mind – a Wellness Lifestyle for Successful People. His cutting edge Anti-Aging Fitness Program can be downloaded for free at http://www.fitnessantiaging.com or http://www.bodyformind.com
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