Have you been trying to lose weight lately by making every effort to eat right and stay active with exercise, but you aren’t seeing the results that you were expecting? Then perhaps your brain is part of the problem. Continue reading to learn about the connection between your brain and weight loss.
Your Brain and Weight Loss: The Basics
Your brain has quite a bit of power when it comes to appetite, metabolism, and, yes, how much you weigh. The hypothalamus region of your brain can be considered the area that influences your hunger and thirst, and once your brain is made up, it’s hard to overcome its signals to the rest of your body.
Put simply, your brain knows how much food is required, as well as how much your body should ideally weigh. If you try to change these things through diet and exercise, you might find yourself hitting a roadblock because your brain is in control. For example, if you make it a point to eat less, your body will realize that there isn’t a lot of food to go around, so rather than losing weight, your metabolism will slow down in order to conserve fat, and your appetite might increase as well. It’s all about survival.
Your Brain and Weight Loss: What You Can Do
While your brain and body will resist rapid weight loss attempts, a slow and steady approach may be more effective. You can retrain the brain by doing things like gradually reducing your intake of simple carbs and added sugars, as well as by exercising on a regular basis, adopting healthier lifestyle choices, drinking more water, and sleeping more. Small, consistent changes might be just what you need to get your brain to stop resisting the weight loss.
With a greater understanding of your brain and weight loss, and how they are connected, you can take further steps towards shedding those pounds effectively. Keep the information above in mind as you work on developing a weight loss strategy that will work.
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