Other reasons for putting on a bit of "condition"...

I have done a bit more research and here are some more facts and useful bits of information that help explain weight gain. (I know, I know. I hear you, I hear you:

Critical fat voice: "move less+ eat more = fatty boom-sticks"

Me: "alright then...this research adds a little bit to what we already know about weight gain"

To sleep...perchance...to dream...about getting thinner (apologies to W. Shakespeare)


Did you know that lack of sleep can contribute to weight gain? Women who sleep five hours a night are more likely to gain weight than women who sleep seven hours a night. Researchers have found a link between sleep and the hormones that influence our eating behavior. Some tech talk: Two specific hormones are involved. Ghrelin is responsible for feelings of hunger. Leptin tells the brain when it’s time to stop. When you’re sleep deprived, your ghrelin levels increase at the same time that your leptin levels decrease. The result is an increased craving for food and not feeling full. Add the fact that sleep deprived people tend to chose different foods to snack on-mainly high calorie sweets and salty and starchy foods – and it’s easy to see how these small changes can lead to long-term weight gain.

And guess what? I haven't slept well for years!

We live longer than our forefathers; but we suffer more from a thousand artificial anxieties and cares. They fatigued only the muscles, we exhaust the finer strength of the nerves. ~Edward George Bulwer-Lytton

Stress is the emotional and physical strain caused by our response to pressure from the outside world. We are hard wired for stress and anxiety - us humans evolved the ability to respond to a stressful situation instantly, by preparing the body for "fight or flight." When faced with the sabre toothed tiger, our ancestors stayed and fought that big cat, or they turned and got the hell out of Sally the Sabre's way as quick as they could. Useful huh? The problem is these days we treat every stressful situation as life threatening Our modern stresses don't usually involve a big Kitty with enormous teeth, but we act like they are. Our stresses involve financial difficulties, emotional problems, too much work, juggling responsibilities, and feeling like there is never enough time to get everything done. If this caper goes on and on unrelentingly, we trigger a biochemical process where our bodies go into survival mode. Our bodies store fuel, slow down metabolism and produce chemicals [cortisol, leptin, and other hormones] When the body is stressed, either physically or emotionally, our body responds by secreting cortisol which stimulates fat and carbohydrate metabolism for fast energy during the “Fight or Flight” response. Chronically elevated levels of this stuff contribute to the accumulation of abdominal fat. But get this: when the stressful situation is removed, the cortisol release continues stimulating appetite to replace the carbohydrate and fat burned – or thinks it burned. The appetite increase we experience only leads to us munching on excess calories in excess of what we need. And another thing... the insulin response and appetite stimulation lead to weight gain because the body is in a constant state of fat storage. The body stores this type of extra energy around the abdominal organs.

And guess what? I have been stressed for years!

The purpose of medicine is to prevent significant disease, to decrease pain and to postpone death... (Dr Joel J Nobel)

Medications: I found out that any hormone replacement therapy and intake of oral contraceptives containing estrogen can result in fluid retention and increased appetite. Steroids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), antidepressants and diabetic medications are some other drugs that can cause weight gain.

And guess what? I am currently taking anti-depressants and I've been taking NSAIDS for years!

Sometimes the cure is worse than the illness.... (who knows)

Don't dig your grave with your knife and fork. (Ye olde english proverb)

Eating late at night: I read a study published last year in the journal "Obesity" (see it yourself at http://www.nature.com/). Researchers looked at how off-setting of the body's internal clock can affect weight. ... the researchers found that mice (Orright, orright I know we are not mice) that were fed meals during their normal sleeping hours added 48 percent to their body weight over six weeks, whereas mice fed meals during normal times gained 20 percent of their weight.

And guess what? i have been eating dinner late at night for years!

I got a hundred bucks says my baby beats Pete's baby. I just think genetics are in my favour. (Andre Agassi)

...and then there's our Genes - here's something else I read, somewhere...on the Internet, maybe: "An underlying tendency to obesity may be the result of our genes. People who generally have little problem controlling their weight seem to have a precisely tuned appetite". According to the Centre for Disease Control (http://www.cdc.com/) in the USA, although changes in the genetic makeup of populations occur too slowly to be responsible for the Western World's current rapid rise in obesity, genes do play a role in the development of obesity. Most likely, genes regulate how our bodies capture, store, and release energy from food."

"Guess what? yes, I may just be genetically predisposed...