Weight Gain That Slowly Crept Up Over the Years

Written by Sky Taylor, Diet Bites

When Weight Gain Sneaks Up Slowly

My mother once commented after she reached forty, "I appear to be packing on about five pounds a year and I don't know why!"

Her daily diet appeared to be much the same.  And as the years whirled by, she continued to pack on pounds, about five a year. Her once-slender figure held about 75 extra pounds while her eating habits remained much the same. So what's the deal here?

If your situation sounds a bit like my mom's perhaps we can identify some of the triggers that prompted weight gain:  

Holidays and Celebrations
Financial Security
Decrease in Activity
Slower Metabolism
The Boob Tube
Change in Interests

Here are a few suggestions that might work in keeping those weight gain triggers at bay:

During holidays and special times of celebration, keep a cautious eye on your diet.

With all the pies, cakes, gravy, meats, stuffings, drinks and no that are a familiar part of holiday celebrations, it's very easy to pack on five or more pound, particularly during the Thanksgiving to New Year's holidays.

It seems that after Halloween arrives, the holiday season is in full bloom - and at times, it can be more frightening that the skeleton costume that you donned on Spook Day. Also tossed into the mix are vacations and special days throughout the year such as wedding anniversaries, birthdays, and vacation days.

Financial security translates to being able to splurge in the things we like, including foods. 

With more money in the treasure box, we may dine out more frequently, or drop into favorite fast food spots more often, thus generating slow weight gain.

It's the worse type because we don't realize that it has attached itself to our bodies until it's too late.

Now cutting back simply won't do and we'll have to go on a big diet plan to get all those pounds off.

Decrease in Metabolic Rate, Sluggish Metabolism & Weight Gain

A decrease in activity not only encourages weight gain, it also slows down metabolism or more specifically, the metabolic rate. Whether it's walking, gardening or playing tennis, try to find an activity that you look forward to daily - or at least every other day. Just look at how many calories you can burn in about one half an hour by gardening:

It makes me want to run and grab a shovel and a few packets of seeds. In addition to getting in a dose of healthy activity, the gardener has some fresh fruits and vegetables to show for their hard work. It's a win-win situation - no doubt about that.

To put more activity into your day try to limit time in front of the tube as well as the computer. Too much down time not only encourages weight gain, it also sucks your life away. Living a real life is much more rewarding than living a vicarious life.

Ageing & Natural Weight Gain

As our bodies age, they naturally put on a few pounds. In fact, research has determined that older souls that have a few additional pounds tend to be healthier. Those extra pounds may prove crucial in times of ill health.

But if you're still a relatively Spring Chicken, those extra pounds can add up swiftly over the years. And a bushel of pounds equals many health woes as our lives wind down. So it's important to start getting the weight off now - before those pounds have time to accumulate over the coming years.  Go little cougar!

More articles on Ageing Gracefully & Staying Healthy:

Things You Can Do To Increase Life Span  |  How to Embrace a Healthy Diet |  How a Life Went Up in Smoke

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