5 Reasons dieting could make you fatter.

Why does it seem to go back on so quickly? Science is finally giving us the answers and alongside the psychological & social reasons that we over eat it explains why the diet cycle is actually making us fatter.

According to the World Health Organisation most of us in Europe are either overweight or obese. But there's some good news in here too!

1. Metabolism actually SLOWS down after dieting because our bodies have evolved to store energy, great for cavemen, not so great in a world of convenience and choice!

2. Sleep deprivation makes us hungrier. Apparently we are sleeping less, or having interrupted sleep nowadays. Studies have proven that those who have less or disrupted sleep will eat more & that they crave sugar & carbs.

3. Hormones. Studies have shown that a change in hormones after a period of weight gain causes our appetite to increase. This is all part of our success during evolution - so we could cope in 'lean times' but our brains haven't figured out yet that too many calories are actually harmful, we aren't designed to have such a ready supply of food so this survival instinct is now slowly damaging us instead of keeping us alive.

4. We're fighting our natural instincts, our hormones and all of the emotional, social and practical temptations to over eat. Keeping the weight down can be hard. However after a year of careful weight reduction, a study in Denmark showed that a change in appetite affecting hormones made it easier to keep the weight off. It certainly is a contrast to yo yo dieting where you lose a stone, put it back on and more, then start all over again.

5. Habit. Lifestyle changes are great but if they're not sustainable you're not going to keep up with them. Finding ways to eat better, move more and consume less that actually suit you is vital. If you don't like the gym, or exercise classes aren't for you it can be off putting easily given up. Setting huge goals makes it easier and more likely to fail. When you feel good, you do good - so make small adjustments and stick to them to really see the benefits. Quick fixes are quickly broken so take some time to experiment and work out what suits you. Here's a link to a quick video on how to change your mindset around exercise.

How many times have you lost weight, only to put it all back on plus even more? Maybe it's time to rethink our approach to quick fix weight loss and plan for long term results. It's not as appealing I know, but if what you're doing doesn't work perhaps there's another way. Please feel free to leave me a comment about your experiences with your weight & I'll get back to you.

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