Not losing weight despite your efforts? Some Medical conditions might be blamed

Many of us are guilty of labeling or counting overweight people as people that just got themselves in that situation because of overeating (food addicts).

Before you categorise someone in that manner, stop and think for a moment how hurtful your words might be to the person especially those that are making great efforts to be in shape. Granted, our unhealthy lifestyle can contribute to a greater chance of our being over weight; however, there are quite a number of health ailments that can cause us to be over weight regardless of our lifestyle habits.

If you believe you are giving all your best at keeping fit and maintaining a healthy weight and the weight, mood and general well-being instead of improving, keeps ballooning; don’t get yourself all worked up and depressed. I suggest you go seek professional help from your physician. Once you are reassessed and the underlying problem (if any) addressed, you’ll be in top health and shape in no time.

A number of ailments/conditions slow our metabolism down, causing us to be quite fatigued with resultant weight gain. For instance:

• POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME (PCOS): here the ovaries do not produce adequate hormones for the eggs to mature fully. Some of its symptoms being weight gain, irregular periods, acne, hair growth. In this disorder, the body finds it difficult to use insulin, hence leading to fats and sugar being stored up in the body and also leading to increase in production of male hormones (androgen).
• HYPOTHYROIDISIM: As the name implies, the thyroid gland does not produce adequate amount of thyroid hormones. These hormones help us regulate our metabolism. Some of the symptoms include; fatigue, weight gain, irritability etc.
• STRESS: brings about hormonal imbalance (cortisol level is increased) leading to blood sugar imbalance and then subsequent weight gain (especially around the abdomen).
• LIVER DISEASE: The liver helps in detoxification, so when it is diseased, it cannot function optimally leading to weight gain amongst other things.

Other ailments include (but not limited to): Diabetes, heart disease, nutritional imbalance, depression etc. Some medications can also cause weight gain eg: contraceptives, anti-depressants etc. So be sure to inform your physician if you are on any medication and noticing any side effect.

Remember, to seek a second opinion if you are not satisfied with the outcome of your visit to your physician; after all it’s your health and nobody understands it more than you do.

Keep well, stay active and please share.