There are certain stages of life where weight gain seems common, even expected. Not surprisingly they are periods of transition. During any change we experience stress, even good stress from happy events. When our routines and expectations change, so do our coping abilities. Approaching these transition points with awareness can minimize the impact on our weight.
These are some common transition points which often result in weight gain:
- starting a new job – You have new time constraints and it is common to put in extra hours to learn the job.
- getting married – You may eat more regular meals, eat more, and pace your eating with your spouse.
- getting pregnant – The concept of “eating for two” is taken too far.
- having small children – Your constant supervision of kids leaves little time for exercise, shopping or prepping nutritious foods. Parents tend to “pick” from the kids’ plates.
- getting laid off or fired – Your stress sky rockets and you have tons of unstructured time.
- peri-menopause – Hormonal shifts result in lack of sleep and a new way of laying fat.
- caring for elderly parents – Your stress escalates and your time decreases; you turn to quick but poor food choices and cut out exercise.
- retirement – You have tons of unstructured time and may graze all day telling yourself you have plenty of time to exercise later.
Any change in routine leaves the possibility for weight gain. In response to stress we may choose comfort foods, often fatty, caloric, sweet, or starchy. When we suddenly have less time we regress in our scheduling ability; we panic and cut out exercise and sleep to gain a few more hours in each day and we turn to quick food options (often with more calories and fewer nutrients). When we suddenly have more time we tell ourselves we have plenty of time later to cook or exercise.
Be aware of where you are on the continuum of life events. Prioritize maintaining as close to normal as possible your sleep, stress management, exercise, and eating. You don’t have to gain weight at each life stage; take control and break the pattern.
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OMG . I decided to (finally ) look at your Website . The above article describes my current weight gain staus ….you would think you wrote this after talking to me last night ! Lived it , but was ill prepared to avoid the weight gain peril …..good advice will recognize and heed the warning !