The Hidden Reason You're Gaining Weight!
posted on: April 29, 2018. posted in: Weight loss
I'd like you to imagine that you're walking through town on a bustling, busy evening, perusing the options for a place to eat.
You walk passed lots of different restaurants.
Some look fairly empty.
Some look fairly busy.
Some look absolutely packed.
If someone was to stop and ask you in that moment...
"Why are some restaurants fairly empty, some restaurants fairly busy, and some restaurants absolutely packed?"
The one thing you wouldn't say is...
"Because less people have gone into the fairly empty restaurants and a lot more people have gone into the absolutely packed restaurants."
That would be stating the obvious, right?
Well derr!! Of course less people have gone into the empty restaurants and more people have have gone into the packed restaurants!!
The question is WHY have less people gone into the empty restaurants and more people gone into the packed restaurants?
And there could be lots of reasons.
Starting with the more obvious...
"Maybe the empty restaurants serve bad food. Maybe the packed restaurants serve great food."
Moving to the slightly less obvious...
"Maybe the footfall influences how busy the different restaurants are, with the restaurants furthest up the high street getting the least trade."
Moving to the much more complex...
"Maybe a combination of the quality of food offered, plus the pricing, plus the ambience, plus the service, plus the position on the high street, plus personal recommendation, plus social media presence, plus X plus Y plus Z all come together to determine how quiet or busy a restaurant will be at any given time."
And the really interesting thing about restaurants?
One restaurant might serve absolutely shocking food, but all the other elements come together to make it one of the most popular restaurants in town.
Another restaurant might serve absolutely amazing food, but all the other elements are missing, making it one of the least popular restaurants in town.
Well, you know where I'm going with this.
Obesity is very much the same.
If you were walking through that same town, on that same bustling, busy evening, and you walked passed lots of different people, you might notice that...
Some look fairly slim.
Some look fairly average.
Some look very big.
If someone was to stop and ask you in that moment...
"Why are some people slim, some people average, and some people big?"
The one thing you wouldn't say is...
"Because less food has gone into the slimmer bodies and a lot more food has gone into the bigger bodies."
Again, this would be stating the obvious.
The question is WHY has less food gone into the slimmer bodies and more food gone into the bigger bodies?
And the answer is complex.
Like the various elements that come together to determine how empty or busy a restaurant is at any time, there are multiple elements that come together to determine how small or big a person is at any time.
Sometimes the mix of elements creates confusion.
Remember that one restaurant which serves absolutely shocking food, but all the other elements come together to make it one of the most popular restaurants in town?
That's a bit like that slim person you know who appears to live on complete junk, but all the other elements that contribute to slimness have come together to counteract their poor nutrition.
And remember that other restaurant which serves absolutely amazing food, but all the other elements are missing, making it one of the least popular restaurants in town?
That's a bit like that obese person you know who appears to eat perfectly, but all the missing elements that contribute to obesity have come together to counteract their good nutrition.
My point is this...
Obesity is complex.
Obesity is multifactorial.
Obesity is unique to each individual.
Telling a struggling obese person to "Take In Less Food Than You Burn" is about as helpful as telling a struggling restaurant owner to "Take In More Customers Than You Lose".
Stating the bloody obvious isn't helpful. But helping a restaurant owner understand WHY they're losing customers, or an obese person understand WHY they're overeating, could make all the difference.
So if you are trying to reverse your obesity, maybe you should approach it the same way you might approach opening your very first restaurant.
You want to maximise your chances of success by getting as many of the elements of success ticked off.
If you were opening your first restaurant...
• Try to get a great location.
• Try to get a great chef.
• Try to get a great price point.
• Try to get a great ambience.
• Try to get great service.
• Try to get great social media.
But remember...
If your location is a dud, it doesn't matter how good your chef is, how good your price is, how good your ambience is, how good your service is or how good your social media is. That one missing element can let you down and leave your restaurant the quietest in town.
Applying this to obesity...
• Try to eat nutritious food.
• Try to exercise consistently.
• Try to get good sleep.
• Try to reduce your stress.
• Try to find connection.
• Try to find purpose.
But remember...
If your stress level is too high, it doesn't matter how good your nutrition is, how consistent your exercise is, how much sleep or connection or purpose you have in your life. That one missing element can let you down and leave your body prone to weight gain.
The take home message?
You might feel like you're getting everything right, and doing everything right to stop gaining weight, but that ONE MISSING ELEMENT might well be letting you down.
What is it?
Liam
p.s. Please don't think my question is rhetorical! I want to hear what you think might be the missing element for you. Comment below! 👇😊
