Experts reveal what 12 unexpected things make you look fuller

1. Oral hygiene

Oral health has a big impact on your physical health. Why is that? One notable example is unhealthy gums that can cause you to gain weight. “There is a direct link between inflammation in the gums and inflammatory processes in the body as a whole. Inflammation can lead to the accumulation of body fat. It also makes you tense, you get tired quickly, and this leads to weight gain, ”says dentist Kelly Hancock. So don’t forget to brush your teeth!

2. malnutrition

Obviously, eating large quantities is a sure way to gain extra pounds. But did you know that malnutrition can also lead to this result? “If you don’t eat healthy foods in sufficient quantities, you will have trouble losing weight. Moreover, you can gain several pounds. When your body is confident that it is not given access to food, it tries to keep the fat inside, ”says physiologist Fiona Gilbert.

3. Eating food straight from the package

When you’re not measuring portion sizes, it’s easy to get confused about how much you actually ate. If you eat straight out of the package, you are eating a lot more than you think. “Be mindful of how much you eat. Put any food or snack on a plate. This will make it easier for you to pre-control your portion size and calorie intake, ”recommends fitness expert Nick Rizzo.

4. Hearty Post-Workout Snack

If you did a good job in the gym, this does not mean that now you can safely eat a huge portion of food with carbohydrates. This may be one of the reasons why you are gaining weight rather than losing it. “The problem is twofold. First, people tend to overestimate the amount of calories they burn during exercise. Second, they underestimate the number of calories they put on if they want to treat themselves to something tasty. To burn one piece of cheesecake, you have to run much more than you think, ”says nutritionist Julia Mancuso.

5. Thyroid gland

Your thyroid gland plays a huge role in maintaining your metabolism. And if you have hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid gland), then your metabolism may slow down to the point that you begin to gain weight. “The presence of hypothyroidism leads to a slowdown in metabolism, and this, in turn, provokes a gradual weight gain,” says Julia.

6. Depression

“Anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems can affect your eating behavior. This leads to weight gain, ”says Mancuso. Scientists from the University of Alabama observed people aged 15 and older. They found that those who were depressed gained weight faster than those who were able to control their emotions.

7. Stress

Unfortunately, one of the most common causes of extra pounds is stress. “The hormone cortisol can trigger weight gain by raising glucose levels through a process called glycogenolysis. The glycogen stored in the liver is converted to glucose. When it comes to sugar, it doesn’t matter if you ate it or if your body did it for you. If you don’t burn sugar, the body stores it as fat in fat cells, ”says Michael E. Platt, MD.

8. Medicines

Are you aware of the side effects of some medicines? One of them is weight gain. “Medications can increase appetite, slow metabolism and other effects that cause weight gain,” warns psychiatrist Jared Hitman. If you are worried that your medication will put you heavily on weight, be sure to talk to your doctor and find a replacement.

9. Insomnia

If you suffer from insomnia, you should definitely consult a specialist. A broken regime affects not only your well-being, but also your weight. “A sleep-deprived person has higher levels of ghrelin, the so-called hunger hormone. It also has lower levels of leptin, a hormone that makes you feel full. You will feel hungry and eat more because your body does not transmit the signal that you are full, ”says expert Jason Piper.

10. Late dinners

Everyone loves to eat heavy late at night, but if you’re worried about excess weight, then it’s best to avoid such meals. “Eating less than three hours before bed does not leave your body a chance to burn those calories. Your body then goes into a low energy mode, ”says Michael Russo, MD.

11. Dinner as the Heaviest Meal

If lunch is your heaviest meal of the day, then it’s not nearly as bad as a hearty dinner before bed. The more you eat, the more calories you get into your body. He simply does not have the ability to burn them, which subsequently leads to a set of extra pounds. “Replace a hearty dinner with a hearty breakfast or lunch. This will allow you to feel more energized throughout the day, and your body will be able to burn calories rather than store them while you sleep, ”recommends Russo at BestLife.

 12. Diets

It sounds ironic, but some trendy diets can have the exact opposite effect. “As a rule, on a diet, a person feels deprived. As soon as a person stops dieting, they begin to eat everything that they did not allow themselves before, and therefore they gain weight again, ”says clinical psychologist Kimberly M. Daniels. Kimberly also claims that she saw hundreds of women who were on diets, and then weighed even more than they originally were.