Calling all millennial women: These 5 mistakes are making you gain weight!

Healthy eating and working out is not enough. Being conscious about your eating habits also goes a long way when it comes to weight loss.
Your weighing machine is not acting weird but there might be a possibility that you are making a few mistakes that are making you gain weight. Image courtesy: Shutterstock.
Vandana Luthra Updated: 26 Nov 2019, 15:42 pm IST
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Millennial women personify energy and action. They want to achieve it all– professionally, socially, personally, and everything else in between. However, their quick pace along with attempts to hit the right balance in all facets of life makes makes them indulge in a lifestyle that’s not exactly healthy.

In fact, most millennials are completely oblivious to the repercussions of their chosen lifestyle and wonder why they cannot lose weight despite working out and eating healthy. Are you also a part of that bandwagon? Fret not! Here are some common mistakes that might be preventing you from losing weight:

1. Binge watching = Binge eating
Admit it: sitting behind a laptop screen to watch movies after coming back from work is your usual weekday routine. Getting completely engrossed in your screens goes hand in hand with unconscious eating, where you don’t realize what you’re eating and how much have you eaten.

Next thing you know, you’ve gulped down a whole bottle of cola and gorged on a big bag of chips without even being aware of it! To curb this urge, you need to be vigilant and peaceful while eating. Do not indulge in any activity while eating. Mindful eating is key

2. Your lack of a proper sleep routine is to blame
Millennial women are repeat offenders of another mistake: either sleeping too little or too much. Having an irregular sleeping pattern, eventually leads to problems that are often irreversible.

Lack of sleep affects the secretion of hormones that regulate hunger and appetite. Imbalance in the secretion of these hormones is the reason why you feel hungry even when you’re full. These hormones are extremely crucial as they act as a remote control for start and stop eating signals.

3. Shopping makes you hungry for unhealthy food
Shopping is no cakewalk! It takes hours and hours of running around and perusing in malls and streets. Once that’s done, you’re too tired and hungry to look for a healthy meal.

Most often than not, women grab a ‘quick fix’ with readily available junk foods to address their hunger. The best way to combat this is to carry a small meal, a snack, or a fruit when you’re out shopping or running errands to prevent bingeing on junk food loaded with fat and calories.

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4. You’re a post dinner sinner!
Craving a midnight binge is often the consequence of staying up late. Studies show that when you have meals outside your sleep/wake upcycle, the calories you consume are stored as fat.

Moreover, it leads to a habit of mindless eating that takes years to mend. You can combat this by choosing appropriate nutrient-dense snacks or low-calorie beverages. Selecting the right food options helps in releasing building blocks that are used to make sleep promoting brain chemicals. If possible, quit eating anything after dinner and plan an early dinner so that your food gets adequate time to be digested.

5. You don’t think when you drink
Millennials often lose themselves during social events and drink in abandon. Unfortunately, while both non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks go down easy–they don’t have the same effect on your body. Alcohol is loaded with empty calories that stay in your body long enough to make you gain weight.

To counter this, try and practice moderate drinking. You can also opt for drinks that are relatively healthier than others, like wine or champagne. The key, however, remains to drink in moderation.

All it takes is a little awareness and consciousness about bad habits to shed those kilos. And of course, exercise and proper diet!

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About the Author

Vandana Luthra is the Founder of VLCC and recipient of the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian honour, for her contribution to Trade & Industry. ...Read More

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