Surprising Reasons You're Gaining Weight

Here’s what we do know about some of the most persistent mysteries of weight loss.

Are All Calories Equal?

Let’s start with the alcohol.

“There’s a big debate on whether alcohol calories are even useable, whether you can even turn them into fat. It’s not easy,” says Ken Fujioka, MD, a weight loss expert at Scripps Health in San Diego, CA. “When you look at various studies you actually get mixed results. Some studies say it’s not a problem, don’t worry about it, others say it’s associated with weight gain. So it’s a real open mess.”

Fujioka counsels his patients to pay attention to how alcohol affects their eating.

“Some folks, when they drink alcohol, feel like they have license to eat whatever they want to, and they get into problems,” he says.

If a glass of wine weakens your will to resist that plate of cheese and crackers, it’s not doing your waistline any favors.

But if booze doesn’t affect your eating, then one or two drinks is probably OK, he says.

As for calories from fat, carbohydrates, and protein, this is where one size, or one eating plan, really doesn’t fit all. Yes, it's true, all calories are not created equal. In other words, if you're trying to lose weight you can't just cut back on the same foods that put on the extra fat. Losing fat is the "key", not just losing weight.

Most people that just lose weight might drop a few pounds but they will usually increase their percentage of body fat which will cause you to burn less calories and after a few weeks the weight returns. So, be careful of the science you believe in. Science will conduct dozens of studies, but if they knew the real answer to weight loss, they would be selling it.

Surprising Reasons You're Gaining Weight

There is good science to show that people who have high blood sugar levels -- associated with conditions like type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, gestational diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, and fatty liver disease -- benefit from diets that are lower in refined carbohydrates and higher in healthy fats and lean proteins. Examples of this kind of diet are South Beach, the Zone diet, the Mediterranean diet, and the low GI diet. My favorite is the Mediterranean diet.

If insulin levels aren’t a concern, there’s little difference in the amount of weight people lose if they cut their calories from fat or from carbs, says Kevin Hall, PhD, a senior investigator and expert in metabolism at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in Bethesda, MD. But he says protein calories are a different story.

In the lab, researchers have shown that higher-protein diets tend to increase the number of calories a person burns, Hall says. “So in that sense, a protein calorie is not equivalent to a carbohydrate or a fat calorie,” he says.

Protein helps you burn more calories during the day and helps preserve muscle. When people lose weight, they don’t just lose fat -- they also lose muscle. The more muscle you lose on a diet, the more your metabolism slows. That can make it tough to keep the weight off down the road. Protein also helps you feel satisfied for longer after your eat.

But people can eat only so much protein without changing their kidney function. U.S. dietary guidelines recommend that adults keep their protein in a range of 10% to 35% of total calories each day. Most diets fall into that range. Atkins, for example, one of the highest-protein diets around, supplies 35% of daily calories from protein.

Pick a diet plan you can stay with for many years. To be successful you have to re-train your body to eat healthy. No refined or processed foods.

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“How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?”, is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.