Nobody can gain weight without food. No calories in yields no weight gain
Even you put calories in, so whats up with that?
After a little careful research I have found that you statement that only eating excess food causes weight gain to be completely untrue, according to medical science.
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It's true that we gain weight when we eat more than we can burn off. But this conventional diet wisdom does not always hold true. Weight gain can also be caused by health conditions such as hypothyroidism, food sensitivity, Cushing's syndrome, organ disease, prescription drug use, anxiety, blood sugar imbalance, and essential fatty acid deficiency.
Hypothyroidism
Thyroid hormone deficiency can decrease metabolism of food, causing appetite loss and modest weight gain. Weight gain is from fat accumulation and fluid retention caused by protein deposits in the body.
Symptoms of hypothyroidism can include fatigue, lethargy, swelling of the face or around the eyes, dry, coarse skin, decreased sweating, poor memory, slow speech and hoarse voice, weakness, intolerance to cold and headache.
Essential Fatty Acid Deficiency
Essential fatty acids, such as in flaxseed oil, are good fats that are needed by the body to make hormones and maintain the body's metabolic rate. A deficiency may cause cravings, particularly for fatty foods.
The first signs of deficiency are often dandruff, dry hair and dry, scaly skin. Deficiency is also associated with arthritis, eczema, heart disease, diabetes and premenstrual syndrome.
Food Sensitivity
Reactions to foods are not always immediate. They can occur many hours later as bloating and swelling in the hands, feet, ankles, abdomen, chin and around the eyes. Much of the weight gained is fluid retention caused by inflammation and the release of certain hormones. In addition, there is fermentation of foods, particularly carbohydrates, in the intestines which can result in a swollen distended belly and gas production.
Symptoms of food sensitivity can include headache, indigestion or heartburn, fatigue, depression, joint pain or arthritis, canker sores, chronic respiratory symptoms such as wheezing, sinus congestion or bronchitis and chronic bowel problems such as diarrhea or constipation.
Cushing's Syndrome
Cushing's Syndrome is a disorder caused by an excess of the hormone cortisol. Fat accumulates in the face, abdomen and upper back, often producing a characteristic rounded "moon" face and "buffalo hump". The arms and legs usually remain slender.
Other symptoms of Cushing's Syndrome include muscle wasting and weakness, thin skin, poor wound healing, easy bruising, purple "stretch marks" on the abdomen, menstrual irregularities, high blood pressure, glucose intolerance and hair loss in women.
Prescription Drugs
Hormone replacement therapy and oral contraceptives containing estrogen can cause fluid retention and increased appetite. Other drugs that can cause weight gain are steroids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), antidepressants and diabetic medications.
Kidney, Heart or Liver Disease
Disease in these organs can cause fluid retention, which appears as general puffiness all over the body, especially the eyes and ankles.
Emotional Eating
Many people respond to stress or depression by eating excessively. Sources of stress may not always be apparent, but may still affect eating habits and cause weight gain.
Blood Sugar Imbalance
Eating simple, refined carbohydrates can cause rapid fluctuations in blood sugar levels. For example, eating chocolate increases the amount of sugar in the blood. The hormone insulin is released which causes sugar to be stored away and blood sugar levels to be lowered, which can trigger cravings for more sweets in order to stabilize blood sugar balance.
Conclusion
Weight gain can also be caused by organ enlargement, such as from an ovarian cyst, and obstruction of lymph fluid.
The above conditions must be diagnosed by a qualified health care practitioner, especially since serious disease may not always be accompanied by overt symptoms.
References
1. Bouchier IAD, Ellis H, Fleming PR, eds. French's Index of Differential Diagnosis. 13th edition. Woburn, MA. Butterworth Heinemann, 1996.
2. OttC. Surprising obstacles to weight loss. Natural Health. October 1999.
3. Seller RH. Differential Diagnosis of Common Complaints. 4th edition. Philadelphia, PA. W.B. Saunders Company, 2000.
http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/treatments/a/WeightGain.htm
Some cancer medications cause weight gain=
http://www.oncologychannel.com/chemotherapy/
http://www.us.novartisoncology.com/info/treatments/managing.jsp?checked=y
medications for treating migraines can cause weight gain=
http://my.webmd.com/content/pages/19/103410
antipsychotic medications =
http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=About_Medications&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=51&ContentID=20703
medications for endometriosis=
http://www.emoryhealthcare.org/HealthGate/19388.html
medications that cause weight gain=
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/causes/weight_gain.htm
thyroid=
http://www.thyroid.ca/Articles/weight.html
http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/thyroid/HypothyroidismHP.html
cancer and liver disease=
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0846/is_9_21/ai_84599063
menopause=
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0846/is_9_21/ai_84599063
http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/16/263.cfm
http://bbsnews.net/bw2003-08-31b.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/12/041206210355.htm
The causes of weight gain
There are many reasons why you may gain weight and the cause may not be one factor but a combination of a number of different ones.
Dieting
Yes, one of the main causes of weight gain is dieting. Dieting makes you fat. As you reduce your food intake to lose weight, your body put itself on 'famine alert'. It gets the impression that food is scarce and therefore it slows down your metabolism to get the best use of the small amount of food it is receiving.
When you say you want to lose weight, what you actually want to lose is fat. If you lose weight rapidly, almost 25 percent of that weight loss can be made up of water, muscle and other lean tissue.
The reason for this is that your body is actually programmed to hold on to fat. So in times of what your body considers to be a 'famine', it will actually go as far as breaking down muscle and losing water in order to hold on to its fat reserves. Faddy diets suggest that you can lose up to 10 pounds in a week, but remember this: it is physically impossible to lose more than 900g (2lb) of body fat in a week.
Furthermore, if you lose weight quickly by restricting your intake and then go back to eating normally, a much higher percentage of the food you eat is laid down as fat. Why? Because your body wants to build up extra fat stores, in case this type of famine occurs again. There's also the question of metabolism. When you crash diet, your metabolism slows down to conserve energy and make the most out of the small amounts you are eating. What happens when you go back to eating normally? Well, everything you eat is being dealt with at a much slower rate and more fat is stored.
Too much food and not enough exercise
This is the obvious reason, because if you eat more than you burn off then you are going to gain weight. The idea has been that if the number of calories going into your body is less than the calories being used up by bodily activity and exercise, then you will lose weight. Nowadays, we know that the type of calories is also an important factor in this equation. In other words, you need to consider what type of calories you are eating - whether they come in the form of fat, carbohydrates or protein.
The type of food you eat
Researchers have found that fat and thin people can eat roughly the same number of calories, but it seems that the type of food they are eating is different.
There is a very popular theory that goes something like: too much fat makes you fat. This may be right in principle (large amounts of saturated fat in the diet are not healthy), but it's important to remember that some fats are absolutely essential, hence their name: essential fatty acids.
The result of this theory is that women go on low-fat and no-fat diets, which are dangerous. Furthermore, no-fat and low-fat food tends to be high in sugar and salt, which is required to make it palatable. This is the type of thing that makes you fat. In fact, it's sugar and other foods that are 'fast-releasing' that will encourage weight gain, and here's why:
The speed with which a food increases blood sugar (in other words, whether it is 'fast-releasing' or 'slow-releasing') determines whether or not it will cause you to gain weight. If your blood sugar levels rise very quickly your body has to secrete more insulin in order to control it.
Every time you eat, your body has a choice: it can either burn that food as energy or store it as fat. Researchers have found that high insulin levels cause you not only to change your food into fat, but they also prevent your body from breaking down previously stored fat.
These fast-releasing foods include anything that contains sugar and refined flour, such as cakes, biscuits, pastries, and other 'treats'.
If you crave sweet or starchy foods, feel tired during the afternoon, light-headed, dizzy or shaky if you miss a meal or wake up feeling tired after a full night's sleep, then your blood sugar levels are probably fluctuating too much.
Underactive thyroid
An underactive thyroid can be at the root of gradual weight gain, and it should be checked by your doctor.
Nutritional deficiencies
Food can be converted into fat or energy. You can either store what you eat, which means you will probably put on weight, or you can use it for energy. Whether food is burned or stored is determined by a number of chemical reactions that take place in your body. These are activated by enzymes, which are, in turn, dependent upon vitamins and minerals. Therefore, if you are deficient by even a small amount in certain vitamins and minerals, you will gain weight. Fortunately there are now some very good tests that can check for these deficiencies. Click Tests to see which tests are available to you.
Prescription drugs
Weight gain is often linked to certain medication, such as HRT, the contraceptive pill and steroids. Some antidepressants can also cause increased appetite and weight gain. If you have to take medication, discuss your weight problem with your doctor and ask if there are alternative drugs you could take. Never stop taking any drug without the advice and supervision of your doctor.
Food allergies
Could a food allergy be making it difficult for you to lose weight? A good clue would be whether you crave a particular food that you eat frequently. Once a food allergy exists the food becomes mildly addictive and you can feel compelled to eat it. If you are allergic to a food, your body can react by storing it away instead of using it for energy. If you eat a lot of foods to which you are allergic, there will undoubtedly be weight gain.
There are two types of allergic reactions.
Type A (classic allergy). In this type of allergy, you will experience a reaction immediately after contact with an allergen (such as shellfish or peanuts, for example).
Type B (delayed allergy or intolerance). Here the reaction can take place between one hour or three days after ingesting the food. Symptoms such as weight gain, bloating, water retention, fatigue, aching joints and headaches can all be due to a Type B allergy.
It is now possible to have a blood test that analyses the effects of 217 different foods and food additives. This test measures the release of certain chemicals that are responsible for the symptoms of food intolerance. Once you find out what foods are causing problems, they can be avoided for a short period of time. Unlike the foods implicated in Type A allergies, you do not have to avoid these foods indefinitely. Giving your body a rest from them, and then ensuring that they don't make up too large a percentage of your diet will probably do the trick. If you would like to know more about this test click Allergy Test
Yeast overgrowth
Do you suffer from any of these symptoms?
sugar cravings
cravings for foods such as wine, bread, cheese
migraines or headaches
chronic thrush
inability to lose weight
tired all the time
often feel spaced out
feel drunk on a small amount of alcohol
feel bloated and have flatulence
If these symptoms seem familiar, then you may have a yeast overgrowth such as candida albicans.
We all have the yeast' candida' in our gut, but is usually controlled by other bacteria. When the immune system is compromised (because of illness, for example, or a poor diet), the proportion of 'healthy' bacteria can be altered, causing candida to grow out of control
This overgrowth can be also be caused by overuse of antibiotics, the contraceptive pill, HRT, steroids and stress. If you would like to know more about this test click Stool Test
(If you are experiencing chronic thrush, then you should always see your doctor as this can be a symptom of diabetes and needs to be ruled out.)
http://www.marilynglenville.com/dieting.htm
Prescription Medication
Weight gain is a side effect of many drugs, including steroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, diabetic medications, and antidepressants. Oral contraceptives and hormone replacements containing estrogen may increase your appetite and cause fluid retention.
Hypothyroidism
A deficiency in thyroid hormones can slow your metabolism, causing modest weight gain even though you may experience a loss of appetite.
Blood Sugar Imbalance
There may be any of several causes for imbalanced blood sugar, but at least one cause is under your direct control. Eating refined carbohydrates causes a rapid rise in blood sugar levels. The body responds to this by releasing a large amount of the hormone insulin, which causes excess blood sugar to be stored as fat, thereby lowering blood sugar. The lowered blood sugar can trigger cravings for more sweet or starchy foods, causing the cycle to repeat itself.
Fatty Acid Deficiency
Essential fatty acids are needed by the body in order to maintain metabolic levels and to make hormones. A deficiency of essential fatty acids can cause a craving for foods containing them, which tend to be fatty foods. Symptoms of an essential fatty acid deficiency include dry hair, often accompanied by dandruff, and scaly dry skin. Prolonged deficiency can lead to the development of premenstrual syndrome, eczema, heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes.
Cushing's Syndrome
Cushing's syndrome is characterized by an excess of the hormone cortisol. In addition to other symptoms, Cushing's syndrome may cause an accumulation of fat in the face and upper back, producing a 'moon face', 'buffalo hump', and rounded abdomen, although the arms and legs may remain thin.
Heart, Liver, or Kidney Disease
These organs regulate the fluid balance in the body, so one symptom of disease can be fluid retention, often causing a puffy appearance around the ankles and eyes. In addition, a block in the lymphatic vessel of any organ can cause fluid retention, as can cysts (e.g., ovarian cysts).
Stress
Stress may cause emotional eating, which can cause direct weight gain. However, stress is also accompanied by a hormone cascade that can cause you to more readily store excess sugar as fat.
Food Sensitivity
Reactions to food result in inflammation. This swelling of the tissues and accompanying fluid buildup may not be appear immediately after eating the foods and may not disappear quickly either. Inflammation releases hormones that can make it more difficult to lose weight. The appearance of weight gain is also possible, since food sensitivity may cause fermentation of carbohydrates, producing intestinal gas and swelling the abdomen.
http://altmedicine.allinfo-about.com/features/weightgain.html
Seems you have judged people unfairly, untruthfully, you owe an apology for misrepresenting the truth. For letting your personal prejudices cause these judgements.
The long and short of it, you don't know what you talking about. But apparently can't stop yourself.
