Signs and Symptoms of Weight Gain
If you’ve ever noticed your pants feeling a little bit tighter, or your shirt becoming more snug around your stomach, chances are you’re gaining weight. Although minor fluctuations of 1 to 2 pounds per day are normal in most people, a consistent rise in weight for an extended period of time is a cause for concern.
Causes of Obesity or Weight Gain
The most common cause of weight gain is consuming too much fat and not doing enough exercise to burn off the excess calories. What typically leads us to gain weight and become obese are imbalances in the mind and body:
- Physical Imbalance: stored toxins in our digestive tract can drain our energy and cause us to eat stimulating foods such as sugar that can lead to weight gain.
- Nutritional Imbalance: eating foods that don’t provide the body with the essential nutrients that it needs to function optimally.
- Mental and Emotional Imbalance: indulging in excess food is often used to overcome uncomfortable feelings in our daily lives, such as stress and anxiety.
By correcting these imbalances, researchers believe that we can naturally make better food choices that can prevent us from gaining weight. Unfortunately, most methods of losing weight include the use of drugs or surgery that decrease our appetite, block fat absorption, or reduce the volume of our stomach. However, all of these treatments can have serious side-effects. Fortunately a set of simple home remedies and natural foods can help us achieve this balance and even promote weight loss, without the negative side effects.
Other less common reasons for weight gain include the following:
- A genetic predisposition to store excess calories as fat.
- Dieting, which slows our metabolism since the body thinks it is starving, causing us to easily gain weight when we begin eating again.
- Medications, such as birth control pills or anti-depressants, are known to cause weight gain.
- Fluid retention, which can be caused by heart, liver, or kidney disease. This sort of weight gain requires the attention of a doctor.
Home Remedies and Natural Treatments for Weight Loss
Lose Weight Using Apple Cider Vinegar
Many people have found that Apple Cider Vinegar is a wonderful natural remedy for weight loss. Some research suggests that apple cider vinegar increase our metabolism, which helps us burn more calories even when we are resting. Therefore a simple weight loss home remedy is the following:
- Mix 2 teaspoons of organic apple cider vinegar to 16 oz. of water.
- Take a few sips of this mixture throughout the day (don’t drink it all at once).
Weight Loss Using Evening Primrose Oil
Similar to Apple Cider Vinegar, Evening Primrose Oil can help stimulate our metabolism and cause our body to burn more calories. Therefore, a simple remedy to promote weight loss is to take a capsule of Evening Primrose Oil once per day followed by a daily 20-minute cardiovascular exercise routine.
Green Tea and Caffeine
Research has found that the combination of Green Tea and Caffeine can help to boost our metabolism as well as help to suppress our appetites. Therefore, an effective remedy for weight loss is to take a Green Tea supplement which contains 50mg of Caffeine and 90mg of EGCG (the active ingredient in Green Tea) three times per day (once before each meal). Combine this with a 30-minute exercise routine three times per week (10 minutes of light weights followed by 20 minutes of cardio). There is some evidence that suggests individuals can lose up to 2.5 pounds per week using this combination of exercise and supplements.
Drinking Fruit Smoothies to Promote Weight Loss
A daily fruit smoothie for breakfast is a fantastic way to restore balance and promote weight loss. By choosing the right ingredients, you can easily create a drink which provides a total infusion of essential vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, and fatty acids that also tastes delicious and prevents food cravings.
An excellent smoothie can be created by mixing the following ingredients in a blender until smooth:
- 1 cup of rice milk
- 1 cup of soy milk
- 1 cup of orange juice
- 1 banana
- 4 strawberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1 tablespoon of aloe juice
- 1 tablespoon of concentrated black cherry juice
- 1 teaspoon of raw, organic bee pollen
- 1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil
Feel free to experiment with the proportions, or add any additional fruits, juices, or other nutrient-rich ingredients.
Exercise to Promote Weight Loss
One of the best ways to promote weight loss is by becoming active and exercising for at least 30 minutes per day. Brisk walking, jogging, biking, or using indoor machines such as elliptical bikes are excellent ways to burn off excess calories. Adding some weight training to your exercise routine is also highly recommended, since increasing muscle mass helps to increase our metabolism, which allows us to burn more calories while we are at rest. Regular exercise also helps to reduce stress and depression, which are both common causes of weight gain.
Note: if you have not exercised regularly for a while, it is best to consult your doctor before beginning a new training program.
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