Weight Gain That Begins During Early Adulthood
Written by Sky Taylor, Diet Bites
Experiencing Weight Gain In Early Adulthood
Early adulthood often signals a new path down Life's Highway. Whether it's off to college, an intimate relationship or a new career, this pivotal time in life presents many avenues that can lead to weight gain.
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Causes
Here are a few of the more common Weight Gain Triggers shared by those who gain weight during early adulthood.
Change in Daily Diet
Goodbye to Home Cooking - The daily diet of yesteryear is no longer in tact. Mom or Dad may have prepared wholesome, healthy meals that kept weight in balance.
These days, the young adult finds that there is never enough time in a day and is often grabbing snacks rather than meals, and fast food rather than wholesome healthy meals.
About 70% of teen males eat their meals away from home. That's a pretty big statement and shows how our daily dietary habits are changing from yesteryear.
More than 50% of adults take their meals away from home.
And those visits to the parent's or grandparent's digs often turn into feeding sessions rather than standard healthy fare. Holidays, celebrations - there's always something to celebrate.
In addition, meal time is no longer on a schedule as if was in the Good Old Days. Breakfast might not ever happen; lunch might be dinner and dinner might be a late night snack that contains more calories than the standard healthy meal. Rarely is the Meal Plate build on the five basic Food Groups with the American diet greatly lacking in fruit and vegetable servings.
These two groups are key to good health and in keeping illness at bay. They also fortify our body and protect us from many diseases by lowering our risks and building our immunity levels. These days, the vitamins and minerals contained in vegetables and fruits are generally received by the body through a multi-vitamin table, capsule or pill.
Less Activity
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Goodbye to Activity - The young adult is not only saddled with the strain of beginning a new life, they often forego activity due to their busy schedule. Fast food as well as boxes of sugary cereal and quick sugary snacks tend to make-up the daily diet.
While these foods are convenient, there will come a time in life when the ageing individual looks back - perhaps never visualizing growing older, and they may scold their self for not embracing a healthier daily diet - one with fewer calories and fewer dietary fat grams, particularly in the areas of saturated and Trans fats.
Stress Related to Finances
Money Woes - Believe it or not, a lack of money can indeed trigger weight gain. Whether it's stress over a thin wallet OR splurging on an ice cream sundae rather than being able to splurge on a new outfit, money woes can do big damage to the waistline.
While Mister Moneybags can afford to purchase a pound of the biggest shrimp at the fish market for his healthy meal, Mister Poorhouse must purchase tins of tuna and attempt to create genius in his humble kitchen. More often than not that tuna ends up getting buried in a casserole or in Mayo. And it doesn't take a weight loss guru to know which contains more calories - the steamed jumbo shrimp or the tuna bathing in noodles and full-blown Mayo.
New Relationships
Hello Love, Goodbye Bikini - Many young adults experience a substantial weight gain after settling into a relationship.
Fancy restaurants, new foods, fast foods, ability to branch out and create personal recipes - all of these situation can add up to quick, very rapid weight gain. I've known more than one married couple who has looked back on their wedding photos from the previous year, only to say, "We were so thin back then." It was only a year and that's all it took to do the damage.
In Summary
Aim to stop weight gain in its tracks by pinpointing your weaknesses when it comes to eating and limited activity, then work to drop those unwanted pounds before they have time to grow. Once they grow they are like a fungus - and very difficult to get rid of. The more fat cells we make, the more difficult it is to lose and maintain our weight.
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