weight gain

How to Gain Weight in a Healthy Way

October 4, 2022

Whether you are burdened with work or your studies, it can be quite tough to stay healthy. Things can get quite complicated when you have to plan your meals and take care of your nutrition as well. And if not taken care of, you may gain weight or lose weight at extreme levels. And while people are generally aware of overweight issues, people need to know more about underweight issues. Being underweight can have serious implications in the long term leading to a weakened immune system, poor bone health, fertility problems, nutritional deficiencies, and more! Apart from a poor lifestyle, certain medical conditions can be responsible for making you underweight. People try out a lot of different remedies to reach their ideal healthy weight range like working out in the gym and other diet forms hoping that it would help. But, in most cases, they miss out on the right strategy suitable for them and are unable to see results. In this article, we will understand more about the harm of being underweight and how you can gain weight in a healthy way. How to Check if you\’re Underweight? In the current day and age, all of us see the crazy glorification of being skinny on the internet. Thus, it can be hard to determine whether you are skinny with a healthy BMI, or you are dangerously close to being underweight. The most common way used by the majority is to calculate one\’s body mass index or BMI. It is a measure that considers your height and weight and gives out a number through which you can determine if you lie in the healthy weight category or underweight. A BMI range of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered to be a healthy weight range. But if you have a BMI less than 18.5, then it means that you are underweight. If you fall into this category, it\’s time to make changes in your lifestyle for the better. Why you can\’t Gain Weight? If you aren\’t able to gain weight, the chances are that you have already tried stuffing yourself with food. You may have even gone for hours of exercise without seeing any progress. This indicates that there is something you are not doing right. While there are various factors at play, it is your daily calorie intake that will help you with gaining weight. This basically means that without consuming enough calories, you won\’t gain weight no matter what you do. To be more specific, you need to be in a calorie surplus to gain weight in a healthy way. However, there might be a few cases where you are already in a calorie surplus but still cannot gain weight. This can happen due to various other reasons some of which include the following: Factors Affecting your Weight Gain Fast Metabolism: A fast metabolism means that your body burns all consumed calories at a very fast rate. Thus, the current calorie surplus you are in may not be sufficient to gain weight. Intense Physical Activity: Since regular and intense physical activity burns a lot of calories, you may not be eating enough calories for the same. In other words, you might not be in a true calorie surplus and unable to gain weight. Medical Conditions: Certain medical conditions like hyperthyroidism, diabetes, PCOS, and others can affect your appetite and metabolism. And for many people affected by these, it can cause unintentional weight loss. If you have disturbed hormones, that too can affect your weight. Mental Health Issues: In case you are unfamiliar, both your mental health and gut health affect each other due to the gut-brain connection. If you are going through any kind of mental health issues, then it can definitely affect your gut health and metabolism. And hence, it can affect your current weight. Family History: According to recent research, your weight might be affected due to genetic mutation. However, usually, families with a history of a low BMI tend to be underweight because of their common lifestyle habits. Healthy Tips to Gain Weight While there might be multiple reasons for you being underweight, you can still overcome them by making the right lifestyle changes. You simply need to make the right lifestyle changes and essentially get into a healthy calorie surplus. Some of the simple changes that you can make in your lifestyle to gain weight in a healthy way include the following: 1. Calorie-rich Food to Gain Weight Your daily food intake plays the most important role in both weight gain as well as weight loss. When it comes to gaining weight, you can either start eating more or replace your current food meals with other calorie-dense options. Such calorie-rich food meals will allow you to increase your calorie intake without increasing your meal portions. However, it is highly important to make sure that you are also taking care of your nutrition intake for a healthy weight gain. For starters, you can try adding things like dates, nuts, smoothies, full-fat yogurt, eggs, meat, potatoes, and others to your diet. With the right combination of these and other food items, getting into a healthy calorie surplus will be fairly easy. 2. Regular Eating Intervals for Gaining Weight Even with calorie-dense food options, you may have to eat a lot of food. And depending on your calorie surplus food intake, you may have to eat large food portions. Because that is not possible for everyone, you can simply eat at regular intervals instead of eating in large portions. Even if you have a small appetite, managing multiple meals in a day is much easier than eating large portions of food. In other words, try having multiple meals in a day instead of three major meals with extreme portion sizes. 3. Avoid Junk Food for Healthy Weight Gain The other thing to keep in mind is that all calories are not equal. Since you would want to go for a healthy weight gain, choosing calories dense but healthy food

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How to Overcome Emotional & Stress Eating

Emotional & Stress Eating: Causes & Solutions

August 22, 2022

The modern world as we know it can be quite tolling on our mental health. And this can lead to all sorts of mental health issues like stress and anxiety. However, the issues don\’t stop there since mental health issues can lead to further health issues because of things like stress eating. If you are hearing about stress eating or emotional eating for the first time, then you are definitely at the right place! We will be going through all the important details regarding emotional eating and learning everything about it. More importantly, you can learn about the symptoms of stress eating and how you can overcome emotional eating with simple lifestyle changes. What is Stress Eating or Emotional Eating? When people turn to food to pacify themselves in a state of emotional imbalance, we call it emotional eating. Emotional eating is associated with mindless eating without being actually hungry. Although, if you’re an emotional eater, you might think you’re hungry when you’re stressed out. But, there is a difference between feeling hungry because of stress and being physically hungry. Actual Hunger vs Emotional Hunger To better understand emotional eating, let\’s learn about the differences between actual hunger and emotional hunger which leads to emotional or stress eating: Emotional hunger feels more like a sudden craving, whereas physical hunger comes gradually. If you are emotional eating, you will end up binge eating without minding the food quantities. For example, you may eat a whole bag of chips or a whole tub of ice cream without realizing how much you are eating. Emotional hunger comes after an emotional trigger and physical hunger generally takes place around your usual meal timings. While emotional hunger will be satisfied after eating a lot of food or feeling mentally better, physical hunger will be satisfied by eating just as per your usual appetite. Emotional hunger makes you turn to your favorite comfort food only and you will be eating particular food items. On the other hand, you will be open to more options if you are feeling physical hunger. Even if you end up eating a lot of food due to physical hunger, you won\’t feel guilty afterward. On the other hand, emotional hunger will definitely make you feel bad about binge eating. Whenever you are physically hungry, you will feel the effects of it in your stomach due to a growling sensation or something similar. However, emotional hunger is all in your mind and it is more of a thought than a feeling in your stomach. Symptoms of Stress Eating While there are various scenarios that can lead up to stress eating, the overall symptoms or reasons leading to emotional eating will be usually similar. Even if you recently had lunch or dinner, you may end up getting stressed due to work, studies, personal issues, or any other thing going on in your life. And if any of these factors make you crave eating snacks, then it is definitely a symptom of stress eating. While it is fairly normal to face such an experience once in a while, depending on food to overcome mental stress and agitation on a regular basis is definitely a matter of concern. Stress Eating is More Dangerous than you Think Now that you know more about emotional & stress eating, let\’s learn more about the dangers and effects of emotional eating: Weight Gain Relying on food to temporarily improve your mental health will make you eat much more food than required. Hence, it can result in serious weight gain issues over time. Lifestyle Diseases Since stress eating generally makes you eat comfort food including junk food and processed food items, it can lead to various lifestyle diseases like diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, heart problems, and much more. Economical Effects Apart from its effects on your physical health, eating a lot of food due to stress and anxiety can also have economical effects since you may end up spending a lot on food that you generally wouldn\’t eat. Mental Toll Even though you are opting for stress eating to overcome mental stress, emotional eating itself will also lead to a mental toll. If you are stress-eating on a regular basis, you will eventually start feeling guilty for the same which can make you further stressed about your health. Why do People Turn to Stress Eating? There can be multiple possible reasons leading to emotional eating including financial stress, relationship stress, work-related stress, and so on. Stressing out creates a sense of emotional vacuum in the mind. Because of this, people turn to stress eating as a way to overcome the stress in their daily lives. Eating food will make you feel psychologically full, thereby creating an illusion of filling any emotional void. These cravings are mostly for comfort food and fast food items that act as a dopamine hit and make you feel better. This is obviously a temporary relief because the hunger is for emotional fullness, not physical. And as discussed earlier, this dopamine hit comes at the cost of all kinds of health effects. Identifying Emotional Triggers Leading to Stress Eating: If you are struggling with emotional eating, then there are definitely some emotional triggers that make you do so. And if you want to overcome stress eating or emotional eating, identifying these triggers is highly important. Some common emotional triggers leading to stress eating include: Daily Life Stress As mentioned earlier, stress from various events in your daily life is one of the biggest emotional triggers of stress eating. Behavioral Habits For some, eating habits can be carried from their childhood to their adulthood. This simply means that if your parents rewarded you with food while feeling low, then you may build up a habit of the same. Social Gatherings While hanging out with friends is definitely great to reduce stress, people tend to hang out at restaurants and cafes. Hence, you may end up binge eating or stress eating in the name of a

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How to Reverse Diabetes?

May 24, 2022

Almost all of us like to indulge in sweets and sweet food items every now and then. In fact, there can be multiple reasons for these sugar cravings. It can be just to celebrate a memorable moment or maybe because of stress. In any case, there is nothing wrong with having sweets once in a while. But what if you simply cannot have anything sweet because of diabetes? So, today in this article, you will learn all about diabetes, how you can reverse diabetes, and how to enjoy your favorite sweets once in a while without serious health issues. Do you know that around 422 million people worldwide suffer from Diabetes! Furthermore, India itself is known as the diabetic capital of the world since the highest number of diabetes cases are in India itself. In the year 2019, diabetes was the direct cause of an estimated 1.5 million deaths around the world. And if people don\’t start taking care of their bodies, millions more will suffer from diabetes. What is Diabetes? Can you Reverse Diabetes? Diabetes is a medical condition where your body either doesn’t produce enough insulin or is unable to properly use insulin present in the body. Because of this, you can face high blood sugar levels. Insulin is a hormone released by the pancreas gland which is present behind the stomach. This insulin is responsible for the amount of glucose that is released into the body. Thus, any hindrance in insulin levels can lead to high levels of glucose, that is sugar, in the bloodstream which leads to diabetes. In simpler words, insulin releases glucose from your bloodstream to your organ cells. This glucose is then used as fuel by your body cells and organs. As a result, if you have diabetes, then your body is essentially unable to properly use the glucose or sugar in your bloodstream as fuel. Role of Glucose in the Body To better understand what exactly diabetes is, you first need to understand the functioning of glucose in our body. Glucose is a type of sugar that the body gets from carbohydrate-rich food items like bread, potatoes, rice, etc. Such food items are broken down into glucose by different enzymes and acids during digestion. And once glucose gets absorbed by the body, this sugar is released into the bloodstream. After this, the insulin helps in transferring the sugar from the blood to the cells which acts as a fuel or energy for the different functions of the body. Glucose also acts as a fuel for the brain and all the various nervous functions. Thus, without glucose, a lot of essential organs might not get enough fuel to work properly. Since glucose is highly important for various body functions, having the right glucose or sugar levels is quite important. Thus, the pancreas keeps a check on blood sugar levels for releasing insulin accordingly. If the blood sugar level increases, your body releases more insulin. Similarly, when sugar levels decrease, your body also reduces the production of insulin. Reverse Diabetes and its Different Types Now that you know the role of glucose in the body and blood sugar levels, let’s look at the types of diabetes that are usually seen in the population. Prediabetes: In prediabetics, the blood sugar level is higher than normal but not as high as type 2 diabetes. Hence, it is the earlier stage of type 2 diabetes. Type 1 Diabetes: This diabetes is an autoimmune condition. Here, the body itself attacks the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas which leads to a lack of insulin in the body. Because of this, blood sugar levels are increased in your body. It is mostly diagnosed in children but can also develop in adults. Type 1 diabetes constitutes around 10% of the total diabetes cases. Type 2 Diabetes: In this type of diabetes, the insulin released from the pancreas is not enough for the body. This is caused due to insulin resistance where the body resists insulin and does not respond to it. In a longer period of time, it can even impair the ability of the pancreas to produce enough insulin. As a result, you face high blood sugar levels resulting in type 2 diabetes which is the most common type. Gestational diabetes: This type of diabetes is seen during pregnancy. During pregnancy, your body develops a bit of insulin resistance. And if you are facing diabetes because of this phenomenon, then you have gestational diabetes. It usually gets better after pregnancy but increases the risk of type 2 diabetes in later stages of your life. Symptoms of Diabetes Getting tested in the early stage of diabetes can help you manage it and reverse diabetes before it turns into serious health issues. So, let’s look at the warning signs and symptoms of each type of diabetes: Type 1 Diabetes Symptoms of Type 1 diabetes tend to show up in the early stages which include the following: Feeling tired Frequent urination Extreme hunger Unexplainable weight loss or weight gain Blurred vision Changes in mood Increased thirst Type 2 Diabetes and Prediabetes The symptoms for these are not much noticeable in the earlier stages as they are very mild. Instead, they become visible in the later stages which can be as follows: Feeling tired Frequent urination Increased hunger Unexplainable weight loss or weight gain Blurred vision Increased thirst Slow-healing sores Numbness or a tingling sensation in hands or feet Gestational Diabetes Unfortunately, there are no major symptoms of gestational diabetes apart from frequent urination and increased thirst. Instead, the diagnosis of gestational diabetes is regular blood sugar tests. Severe Effects of Uncontrolled Diabetes With time, uncontrolled sugar levels can have adverse effects on your health and can even lead to death in extreme cases. Some of such severe effects of uncontrolled diabetes include: Heart disease Nerve damage Kidney problems Serious eye conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, blindness, etc. Alzheimer\’s disease Depression Skin and foot infections In gestational diabetes, uncontrolled diabetes can even have effects

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How to Improve Gut Health?

May 10, 2022

You might have heard about gut health a lot lately. Do you know if your gut is healthy? Your gut is an important part of your body. Keeping your gut healthy will help your body to stay healthier overall and lead a better and quality life. Thus, we are here to help you learn more about the gut, gut functions, poor gut health symptoms, and most importantly, the ways to improve gut health. Keep reading to discover all about your gut! What is the Gut & its Function? The Gut is also commonly known as the digestive system or the Gastrointestinal Tract, that is the GI tract. It is mainly responsible for digestion of the food you eat, absorption of nutrients, and excretion of waste as required by the body. It is a long tube-like structure present in the body starting from the mouth and ending at the rectum. Your gut consists of a vast variety of bacteria along with a few viruses, parasites, and fungi present mostly in the intestine. They collectively make up the microbiome inside your gut. The microbiome is essential to your body as it helps in the development of the immune system and the synthesis of some vitamins. In fact, your whole body has trillions of bacterias present which help in performing various important functions in your body. If you have a healthy gut and microbiome, it can even help in warding off serious diseases like diabetes, obesity, cancer, depression, etc. A healthy gut maintains a delicate yet proper balance of both good as well as bad bacteria. Both of these types of bacteria are important where an imbalance can lead to health issues of all sorts Importance of Gut Health To understand the role that your gut plays in your overall health, it is important to look at the effects it has on various parts of the body. Below we will discuss how your gut affects some significant functions going on in your body. Unhealthy Gut and Effects on the Body Heart Diseases and Gut Health The bacteria that are present in your gut are responsible for all sorts of functions. Every person has a different environment in the microbiome with different compositions of bacteria. This can depend on the type of food that you eat and your genetics. Hence, research has found that your gut health can help in identifying the risk of heart attacks or strokes. These heart diseases happen due to the formation of a compound called TMAO or Trimethylamine N-oxide. Your gut bacteria form TMAO from food items like eggs and red meat. And elevated levels of TMAO can result in hardening of the arteries causing heart attacks and strokes. Therefore, a healthy microbiome is highly beneficial for your heart health. Kidney Health and Gut Health TMAO can also cause chronic kidney diseases which can further change the composition of your gut microbiome. This can lead to the overgrowth of bad bacteria resulting in the breaking of the intestinal walls. If your intestinal walls break, the bacteria can go out of the intestinal area which is known as a leaky gut causing more inflammation in the kidneys. Thus, to keep your kidneys healthy and functioning well, it is highly important to have a healthy gut. Skin and Gut Health If you have a leaky gut, then it can even lead to inflammations in your skin as well. These inflammations can lead to different skin problems like acne vulgaris and psoriasis. In other words, having a healthy gut is vital if you want healthy and glowing skin. Immune System and Gut Health The microbiome plays a highly crucial role in the functioning of your immune system. The bacteria of your microbiome prevent any external toxins to invade the body. More importantly, having a healthy gut ensures that the bad bacteria in your gut don\’t attack your own body cells which effectively assists the immune system. In other words, poor gut health can lead to a rise in autoimmune conditions in the body. Gut Health and the Brain Your gut and the brain are interrelated to each other as well. Both your gut and brain are interconnected to each other where your gut health will affect how your brain functions and vice versa. The gut is directly connected to the brain through millions of nerves. In fact, your gut even produces several chemicals like serotonin and dopamine which affect the functioning of your brain. Due to the presence of a large number of nerves and neurotransmitter chemicals in your gut, which is similar to the central nervous system, the gut is also known as the second brain. A third connection between the gut and the brain is through the immune system of your body. When the gut is in an unhealthy state it increases inflammation in the body because of a leaky gut. This can lead to a few brain disorders like Parkinson\’s, Alzheimer\’s, autism, etc. Gut Health and Mental Health In recent times, people have started focusing on their mental health which has brought a lot of major mental health issues into the limelight. And as we are talking about the gut-brain connection, it is important to go through the effects of gut health on your mental health as well. The inflammation from the gut can lead to disruptions in the chemicals released to the brain. This can lead to mental illnesses such as stress, anxiety, and depression. And this in turn affects the gut by creating issues in digestion like feeling gassy and uneasy in the stomach while being stressed. While research is still being done about this gut health and mental health connection, there are still a few ways to overcome issues like this. You can consider practicing meditation or any other form of relaxation technique as a healthy mind leads to a healthy body and a healthy gut. How to Check your Gut Health? Since you now know the importance of gut health, you might also want

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Tips To Prevent Period Weight Gain

April 26, 2022

Have you ever faced weight gain during your periods? Women face a lot of challenges in their day-to-day lives. And one that bugs the most is period weight gain where you face sudden fluctuation in your weight. You can experience various premenstrual syndromes around your periods. It includes symptoms like mood swings, backache, acne, cramps, and even weight gain. Most women around the world experience weight gain due to PMS. This weight gain usually lasts for around a week or so after your monthly period\’s end. Unfortunately, despite being an issue that affects most women, there is not much awareness about this topic. So, we will take a look at the causes, symptoms, remedies, and everything else about period weight gain. With this article, you can be well versed about period weight gain. Should you Worry about Period Weight Gain? So, first things first. Should you worry about this sudden weight gain around your periods? Thankfully, the answer is no. There are various scientific explanations for this fluctuation in your weight. Period weight gain is fairly normal and seen in most women. This fluctuation is usually around 1-2 Kgs which comes back to normal within a week after your menstrual cycle ends. Causes of Weight Gain during Periods Around your menstrual cycle, your body goes through many hormonal changes. It mainly involves fluctuations in progesterone and estrogen levels. The level of these hormones increases and decreases during the whole cycle of approximately 28 days. Since it varies the most during your menstrual cycle, it causes symptoms like weight gain. Below, you can learn the possible causes leading to weight gain when you are on your periods: Water retention: Due to an increase in progesterone and estrogen hormones levels, your body tends to retain more water. This leads to a bloated stomach that can signify weight gain. Irregular exercise: You might leave working out during your periods due to cramps or some other PMS symptom. Unfortunately, this can lead to a feeling of weight gain and can also affect your mood. Bloating: Bloating is a common symptom of periods and a bloated stomach can make your clothes a bit tighter. Constipation: Due to hormonal changes, your digestive process gets affected. This can lead to constipation issues which can increase your weight. Caffeine: Excess caffeine in your body can lead to bloating which can give you a feeling of increased weight. Increased appetite: PMS is known to increase food cravings, especially for sweets and salty food. This leads to water retention resulting in temporary weight gain. Most of the time, your weight increases due to water retention or bloating. Your body may retain water or face bloating issues because of various possible reasons. Thankfully, there are some remedies to help you in the long run for reducing water retention and bloating during periods. Should you Check your Weight during Periods? As you know by now, your period weight gain is temporary and will go away once your periods are over. Although, checking weight during this time can affect your confidence and give you anxiety about your weight. Therefore, it’s better to not check your weight during this time to avoid any confusion and unnecessary tension. Tips to Reduce Weight Gain Symptoms There are certain ways to reduce the symptoms of periods including weight gain to a certain extent. Of course, you can’t remove the weight gain altogether. But you can still do a bit to make yourself feel better and help in managing the symptoms. Most of the time it’s just water weight which can be tackled with some easy remedies. Let’s have a look at some of them: Healthy snacks: Food cravings during your periods can be quite irresistible. So, you can stock up on healthy snacks that can help in avoiding weight gain due to extra calories. Not only that but these healthy snacks won’t make you feel guilty afterward as well. Proper water intake: Having a proper water intake of on average 2-3 liters per day can help in shedding off the extra water that your body is holding. Easy to digest food: During your periods, your digestion can get affected even while eating home-cooked food. Thus, it can result in constipation or other stomach issues. In these cases, it is a better choice to eat easy-to-digest foods to make digestion easier for your body during your periods. Magnesium: According to research, magnesium has shown to be effective in reducing water retention, bloating, and other PMS symptoms. Magnesium food sources include leafy greens, nuts, legumes, and others that can be helpful around your periods. Vitamin B6: Research has also shown that Vitamin B6 is effective in reducing bloating and water retention. Its food sources include fish, peanuts, soybean, oats, etc. Reduce salt intake: Excess salt in the body can make the body hold more water leading to water retention. Sleep well: A good night’s sleep can improve your metabolism and help in avoiding the cravings caused by deprivation of sleep. Long Term Prevention Remedies You also need to consider some more remedies to prevent period weight gain in the long run. By making the following lifestyle changes, you can effectively control your weight during your periods: Complex carbs: Consuming complex carbs with whole grains can help with period cravings which lowers the chances of weight gain. Limit salt intake: Salt makes your body hold the excess water. So, reducing your salt intake by avoiding fast food and canned food can help in the long term in avoiding such issues. Regular exercise: Exercising regularly can help with bloating issues quite a lot even if it is some light exercise, yoga or just taking a walk. Therefore, it is good to keep some movement during your periods to avoid weight gain. Reduce stress: Excess stress increases your cortisol levels which can worsen your PMS symptoms including bloating. So, try meditating or other ways to reduce stress. High fiber: A diet high in fiber and variety can reduce constipation issues. Hence,

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All you need to know about PCOS

April 6, 2022

PCOS has become very common in women nowadays and yet we are not equipped with all the important details. It is a condition that affects a majority of women everywhere and can be a risky factor causing other serious illnesses. Here, in this article, you will discover all the details about PCOS and will get a clearer view of how to manage it and improve your health. What is PCOS? Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder that can have various symptoms. For example, in some women, PCOS can cause enlarged ovaries with small cysts on the outer edges. Although PCOS is common in women of reproductive age, the exact cause is still unknown. Women with PCOS can face some or many of the following issues: Irregular periods Production of male hormones Cysts in the ovaries A PCOS patient can be identified if they have some or all of the above conditions. There are 3 types of PCOS: Insulin Resistant: Almost 70% of females suffer from this type of PCOS where their body’s response to insulin hormone is affected. Inflammatory PCOS: In this type of PCOS women have elevated CRP (C- reactive protein) levels suggesting that some kind of inflammation is present in the body. Adrenal PCOS: In this type of PCOS, you might be feeling constant stress and your DHEA levels might also be high. PCOS v/s PCOD v/s PCO You might have heard about PCOS and PCOD terms that are used interchangeably quite a lot. That is because they are referring to the same condition. They just vary in their full form where PCOD stands for Polycystic Ovarian Disease and PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Both have the same symptoms and similar causes. Another term related to PCOS is PCO which stands for Polycystic Ovaries. Here, the ovaries have partially mature follicles and generally have no symptoms nor does it affect a woman’s fertility in most cases. It is different from PCOS as PCOS is a complex condition that affects a woman mentally, physically, and emotionally. Symptoms of PCOS There is no definite list of symptoms that a PCOS patient might experience. They may or may not have any symptoms given here. Down below, you can find the most common symptoms seen in PCOS patients: Irregular periods Excess hair growth on the face, chest, tummy, and lower back Chronic acne Hair thinning or hair fall Painful periods Rapid weight gain Infertility or difficulty in getting pregnant Dark skin patches High cortisol levels (stress hormone) So, if you are experiencing some of these symptoms then make sure to consult a doctor. How to Diagnose PCOS? If you are experiencing the above symptoms, then it is important to diagnose them. This simply means to discuss your symptoms with a gynecologist and take their advice. Your doctor might suggest you get an ultrasound of the lower abdomen which can clearly show the size and location of the cyst if it is present. This is not a definitive test for PCOS as there are cases when no cysts are present. So, it is also advisable to get your hormones checked; majorly TSH, LH, Testosterone, Dhea, insulin, etc. How does PCOS Affect your Body? Having PCOS can affect your body and be a cause of other health issues as well. Some of the common effects of PCOS are the following: Complications with fertility: As PCOS is a disorder affecting the ovaries, it disturbs the process of ovulation leading to difficulty in getting pregnant. Depression and anxiety: PCOS leads to hormonal imbalances and altered brain chemistry which results in mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. In fact, around 34% of women with PCOS suffer from such issues. Eating disorder: The various symptoms related to PCOS can lead to body image issues in some women which may lead to certain eating disorders. Sleep Apnea: It is a sleep disorder that is more common in overweight women with PCOS. It includes episodes of repeated pauses in breathing while sleeping. Metabolic Syndrome: Women suffering from PCOS are at a greater risk of having metabolic syndrome which is a group of conditions consisting of increased blood pressure, increased sugar levels, abdominal fat, and abnormal cholesterol levels. A person who has this syndrome is more vulnerable to heart diseases, diabetes, and stroke. Endometrial Cancer: This cancer develops in the uterus beginning in the layer of cells that form the lining of the uterus. Having PCOS can increase the risk of getting endometrial cancer due to hormonal imbalances occurring in the body. Is PCOS Curable? As you are now familiar with the symptoms and effects of PCOS on your body and health, the next question arises of how to cure PCOS. And the certain answer to this is that PCOS is not an illness, rather it is a disorder in your ovaries that cannot be changed. Hence, it cannot be cured. However, it can be managed and the symptoms can be reversed with proper lifestyle changes. What can you do to Improve PCOS? So, what can you do to improve and reverse PCOS? Generally, your doctor might prescribe you some medicines and they help in most cases. But, making lifestyle changes will help you the best in the long run. Let’s dig into some sustainable and healthy lifestyle changes that can be made to improve the symptoms of PCOS: Reduce Processed food: Exclude highly processed food like white bread, refined carbs, sugary drinks, and others as they are known to increase insulin resistance. This creates difficulty in losing weight and thus can worsen a PCOS patient’s situation. Low GI food: Having low Glycemic Index (GI) food can improve your insulin levels as they control the sugar levels and thus can help in PCOS. Examples of low GI food include green vegetables, chickpeas, lentils, etc. Healthy Diet: A healthy diet for a PCOS patient should include whole foods, grains, fruits, tons of vegetables, and lean proteins like chicken, and fish. A combination of high fiber, low

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Metabolism and Weight Loss: Affects of Metabolism

March 29, 2022

Have you ever wondered why your friend can eat anything and everything and still look the same? And you might wonder about the relationship between metabolism and weight loss and then continue to blame your metabolism? In fact, if you have ever tried to lose weight you must have heard about having a slow metabolism as well. Thus, further in this article, we will look at what exactly is metabolism and the factors that affect your metabolism. You will also learn the role of physical activity, and lastly, what can you do to improve your metabolism. So, let’s explore everything you need to learn about metabolism and how it affects weight loss. What is Metabolism? Before moving on to the factors affecting metabolism, let’s look at the basic definition of it. Metabolism is the process by which the body converts the food you consume into energy. It determines the rate at which your body burns calories. Since it’s a complex process that combines calories and oxygen to create and release energy, it is broken down into two separate processes: Catabolism: It is the breakdown of food into simpler components, releasing energy. Anabolism: It uses the energy from catabolism to build and repair cells as well as for bodily functions. These both processes come together to make up your metabolism which helps in your daily bodily functions. What is BMR? Your body burns calories even while doing basic functions such as respiration, digestion, nervous functions, and more even while being at rest. And the rate at which your body burns calories to keep the body functioning at rest is determined by BMR i.e. Basal Metabolic Rate. In fact, it accounts for about 60-70% of the daily calories burned because of which BMR can affect weight loss as well. Slow v/s Fast Metabolism for Weight Loss In the past, you may have heard about having a slow or a fast metabolism. So, let’s see why different metabolism exists. The speed of metabolism varies from person to person and some part of it depends on genetics as well. Hence, you can have a slow or fast metabolism irrespective of your body size. If your body is burning fewer calories than required, then the excess energy is stored in the form of fat. Hence, if you have a slow metabolism with a slower calorie-burning rate, it can result in difficulty in losing weight. While on the flip side, if you have a fast metabolism, your body burns calories at a faster rate which explains why your friend still looks the same even after having literally anything in their diet. Major factors that define how your metabolism is the way it is are lifestyle-related; so you may be able to control how your metabolism works. Metabolism and Weight Loss The reason you are not able to see changes in your weight cannot entirely be your metabolism’s fault. The process of weight loss or weight gain is a complicated one, so there’s no one specific factor that affects your progress. To lose weight, you need to be in a calorie deficit which essentially means consuming fewer calories than what you burn in an entire day. If you are gaining weight, then it is most probably because you are consuming more calories than you are burning. Metabolism can affect your weight loss as it can be a bit easier to lose for those with a fast metabolism. Because if you have a fast metabolism, you will be burning more calories which can make up for the calories that you consume throughout the day. However, a slow metabolism cannot make you gain excess weight unless you have some sort of medical condition or you are in a calorie surplus. Factors affecting Metabolism and Weight Loss Genetics are just a small part of the reason why your metabolism might be affected. Instead, a major part is played by two types of factors including lifestyle and medical factors which are as follows: Lifestyle factors affecting Metabolism Unlike what you would expect, your metabolism is not only affected by medical factors but also lifestyle factors like the following: Age: With increasing age, BMR lowers and people tend to lose muscle mass which causes their metabolism to slow down. Physical Activity: With regular workouts, you can burn more calories than your BMR and build lean muscle mass which can effectively fasten up the metabolism. Body size and composition: Higher the weight, the higher is the BMR. Hence, it is more likely that a person with a higher weight will burn calories at a faster rate. Gender: Men have relatively more muscles than women of the same age and weight which helps them burn more calories. Sleep: Sleep plays an important role in keeping your metabolism normal. Lack of sleep slows down your metabolism and can trigger food cravings as well. Stress: Cortisol is a stress hormone that your body produces naturally. An increase in stress levels can increase cortisol levels which can affect your carbohydrate and fat metabolism. While this is useful for basic human survival, it can cause cravings which can cause weight gain due to increased calorie consumption. Medical factors affecting Metabolism Medical conditions can play a significant role in determining the cause behind your metabolism as well. Hence, it is important to be aware of these factors: Hypothyroidism: It happens when there isn’t enough thyroid hormone in the bloodstream which slows down the metabolism. Cushing’s disease: Here, the cortisol levels are high which leads to increased appetite resulting in an effective slower metabolism. Polycystic ovary syndrome: Women with PCOS, particularly with insulin resistance, have a low BMR which leads to a slower metabolism that can hinder weight loss. Pituitary gland disorders: The pituitary gland secretes hormones for the proper functioning of your body. Hence, any disturbance in this process can cause hormone imbalances which can affect your metabolism. Improving your Metabolism for Weight Loss By now we know what metabolism is, what all types are there, and the

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