Why am I not losing weight?

In the last three decades, obesity has increased by 27.5% in adults and 47.1% in children. At the same time, physical exercise in the last 20 years has been on the rise, people are much more aware of its benefits and knowledge in this field is growing. Why do we still put on weight?

To begin with and to make it very clear, for most people, obesity is not a problem related to lack of willpower. To convey it in this way only adds more pressure and worsens the situation of those who suffer from it. This is the result of complex relationships between genetics, socioeconomic factors (people with lower economic resources have been shown to have a higher likelihood of obesity) and cultural influences. Additionally, bear in mind that the condition may be the result of disease processes and/or pharmacological treatment.

Let's focus on 3 of the big culprits and talk a little about them:

-        Development of modern life.

As we have said, we do more exercise (physical exercise is planned, structured and repetitive and is characterized by being designed to be goal-oriented), but much less physical activity (any movement that requires more energy than rest). Physical exercise is something we humans have created, and if we were to move the way we are genetically designed to move, it would only exist as a compliment. One hour of physical exercise does not compensate for 23 hours of moving too little. This is why I consider moving more and, above all, walking more, as key to a good health base. Do as much walking as you can, climb stairs, park your car near but a little further away from where you want to go, walk with your family or friends. I really like the step-counting app, as long as you don't obsess over it. Be flexible, if you have walked 2,000 steps one day, try to walk a little more the next day.

The perfect day is the day you do what you can with the possibilities you have.

-        Consumption patterns

We have an almost endless access to food. Supermarkets everywhere open 24 hours with supplies from unhealthy foods from bakeries, pastry shops and so on... Not eating well is not a lack of willpower, it is that the context in which we live makes it very, very difficult to avoid overindulging. And the way most products are designed (there is a high potential of getting hooked from the pleasure of consuming them) makes it even more complicated.

-        Habits of life.

The body wants to rest and save energy all the time. We eat to survive as a species and to have energy to move around and get food, reproduce and fight or run in the face of danger. Eating and then going to burn off the calories consumed makes no evolutionary sense. We do this because we overeat and move too little. Even so, knowing how little we move, we should ask ourselves if we are eating the amount and frequency that our body needs or if, on the contrary, we are overdoing it.

Hormonally, we are dysregulated. Stress, insomnia, hunger. The key is to follow the circadian rhythms. Move and eat with the day light, rest when it's dark.

There is a term in German, the "Zeitgeber", which is basically a stimulus from the outside that triggers the synchronization of an internal rhythm. Among them we find:

-        Light

-        Exercise

-        Food

-        Temperature

-        Social Interaction

Having lights on at 10 p.m. at night is not the best for our organism, since we are telling it that it is still daytime and all the internal processes that occur when it is nighttime are not activated correctly when it is time.

The same with food (we should eat at the same time every day) and temperature (going to sleep with high temperatures costs much more than when the room is colder).

Social interaction refers to when we wake up, our first interaction with someone, when we start working or when we go to sleep. It is important, as far as possible, to always do it at the same time (of course, forcing yourself to interact with someone at the same time does not make much sense, but it does make sense to do it as soon as possible).

To conclude

As the complex beings that we are, it is impossible to cover all the aspects that make up good health and many of them are uncontrollable (pollution, contaminated water...). We've tried to lay some groundwork here, but there are exceptions where breaking the rules can be even more beneficial, such as losing a night's sleep to see a loved one or going to a restaurant late for dinner because it's the only time your friend is available.

The key is to be flexible and not to feel guilty. Of course, we have to try to get back to the routine as soon as possible.

All this will help us to create habits and promote a much healthier lifestyle, allowing the body to prepare for what is to come and thus making it possible to reduce the rate of obesity and overweight.