We all know the obvious triggers such as eating too much and not getting enough exercise but there are some sneakier factors that can play a big part in weight gain.

If you notice your weight started to creep up once you hit 30 or maybe 40, your lifestyle could be having more effect than you think. Here are some of the most common ones to avoid so that you can keep your tummy trim and within a healthy weight range.

Which one of these fits your daily habits? Pick one from the list below that you can work on.

Too Much Stress

Struggling to keep your stress levels under control? There’s a good chance that it’s affecting your weight - especially for women. Your body releases the stress hormone, cortisol, during stressful periods and this can send your blood sugar levels haywire. According to studies, high cortisol production leaves you craving sweet foods and means you’ll probably eat more calories.

Cortisol also changes how your body uses glucose, makes it harder to burn fat and makes it easier to store fat. Women are more likely to store fat on their stomach but this can also be true for men. Abdominal fat has been linked to health issues so it’s definitely something you want to keep to a minimum!

2. Falling Into Emotional Eating Habits

Not taking care of your wellbeing can mean that you eat in line with your emotions rather than when you’re genuinely hungry. Feeling sad, stressed, lonely, bored or disappointed can lead you to eat to fill an emotional void and crave particular foods (usually the unhealthy kind!).

You might feel a little bit better in the immediate aftermath but in the longer term, this type of emotional eating can have a big effect on your weight. Most of the time, you won’t get a signal to say that you’re full and it’s all too easy to find that you’ve eaten a lot more than you planned in a very short space of time. And you probably won’t feel any better afterwards. In fact, you may well feel a whole lot worse as it’s common for emotional eating to make you feel guilty and ashamed of your food choices.

3. Not Sleeping Well

Poor sleep quality makes you more likely to eat more calories and gain weight. This is because it disrupts hormones that control your appetite. Lack of sleep increases production of ghrelin and decreases leptin levels, which means it’s harder to manage your appetite.

Sleeping well is one of the underrated ways to keep your weight in check as your levels of these hormones will be a lot more balanced.

4. Not Building Muscle Mass

If you spend a lot of time sitting down and aren’t very active, you probably don’t have much muscle mass. This might not seem like a big deal but it’s a common weight gain trigger.

Lean muscle boosts your metabolism and makes it that little bit easier to burn calories. If you don’t have much lean muscle, your metabolism doesn’t get this benefit and it’s harder to burn calories.

One of the best ways to build more muscle mass is through strength training. Don’t worry- you won’t end up looking like a bodybuilder! The idea of strength training is to build a toned body with minimal body fat rather than the bulky look we often associate with weights.

5. Not Eating Enough

Being on a diet more often than not means you’re definitely going to lose weight, right? Not always! Restricting your calorie intake too much slows down your metabolism and encourages the body to go into “starvation mode” so that it can run on fewer calories. This also means you burn fewer calories too as your body uses most of your intake to survive.

These kind of diets are very hard to stick to in the long term. Chances are, you’ll go back to a less restrictive way of eating but your body can still be more likely to store fat. This is why many people find that they gain weight after coming off a low calorie diet.

6. Eating “Low Fat” Foods

Just because a food claims to be “low fat” doesn’t always mean that it’s going to help you to stay in shape. A lot of supposedly “low fat” options are often high in sugar and salt to make them more tasty and can also contain a lot of calories. Eat too many of these “low fat” foods and you’re probably going to put weight on! Plus, we actually NEED fat in our diet, but it has to be the right kind.

Tips for Avoiding These Triggers

So, what can you do to avoid these common triggers and get your body in the best shape?

Make sure your healthy living program includes all 4 pillars of health.

Nutrition- Eat a healthy, balanced diet that isn’t too restrictive on calories and stay away from “low fat” foods that can promote weight gain
Exercise- Be physically active and help your body to gain a bit more muscle mass
Sleep- Get plenty of sleep to keep appetite hormones in balance
Mindset- Make stress reduction a big part of your self care routine and finding healthier ways to manage your emotions that don’t involve emotional eating. Adopting a more mindful approach to eating so that you don’t eat on autopilot

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