However hard you try to drop these weighing-you-down pounds, there are unsuspected but insidious enemies that may turn back the scale and offset your strenuous attempts.
1. Low-Carb Drinks
Even if alcoholic drinks are carb-free – which is the latest trend among purveyors who claim more and more often that their goods are down on carbohydrates – they are hardly harmless for dieters. Apart from hard liquor that has nothing to do with carbohydrates, beers and wines generally go with some sugar content. Low-carb drinks producers can decrease the amount of sugar, yet these beverages retain an impressive quantity of calories! Many red wines have over 100 calories, while the new low-carb One.9 Merlot drunk by a five-ounce glass contains 125 calories, think how far they can set you back!
2. Depo-Provera
Depo-Provera is undoubtedly a necessary measure at times, yet bear in mind that the shot carries quite a lot of progesterone, and that results in a stronger appetite. 70% of women who go for Depo-Provera were found to have put on weight, about 50% of whom gained 5 pounds and more in a year. If you want to avoid that, diminish your dose or consider alternative birth control methods. Oral contraceptives don’t seem to be linked with weight gain, as has been shown in a recent scientific review, so pills may provide a balanced answer. Ortho Evra patch is another advisable solution.
3. Artificial sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners were discovered to induce uncontrolled eating. Purdue University researchers conducted an experiment on two groups of rats, one of which received liquid sweetened with saccharin, the other got liquid with natural sugar. Afterwards both groups were offered a sweet snack, and the rats that were fed on artificial sweeteners took more food. One of the study’s authors, Susan Swithers, PhD, associate professor of psychological sciences, explains that our bodies are able to assess a quantity of calories in a food by its taste, but artificial sweeteners may tamper with this ability and the body stops regulating the calories. So those who are fond of their soda should keep tabs of what they eat, especially the foods that contain real sugar.
4. Skipping meals
Skipping meals also induces eating misbalance. According to studies, timely breakfast helps people to keep their weight in check, and this goes for other meals as well. Obesity specialist Denise Bruner, MD, former president of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians, avers that skipped meals are bound to be followed by compensatory hunger that can lead to bouts of overeating. It’s always better to eat regularly and in small portions, thereby maintaining a steady inflow of nutrients and, accordingly, a constant blood sugar level.
5. Dining out
Dining out requires an exercise of control! While we are aware of fast food’s dangers diet-wise, we may tend to forget that restaurants serve portions that have too much of everything. A Big Mac and a bag of fries washed down by a Cola carry fewer calories than Ruby Tuesday’s portion of chicken Parmesan and pasta, totaling 1.466 calories. So, when you’re heading for an eatery, think whether you are going to indulge or mind the portion size and not go overboard with calories.
