This article was originally published on Jan. 22, 2022.
Packing on pounds seems way too easy these days. Working from home has replaced those water-cooler chats — and we eat more when we’re lonely or bored. Plus, those round trips from the computer to the pantry and back probably don’t help much either.
“A lot of us pick and snack way more than we realize we do,” says Debbie Petitpain, a registered dietician and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Those few bites here and there can quickly settle on our midlines. And as those of us who’ve tried to lose weight already know, gaining weight is easier than keeping unwanted pounds away for good.
Fortunately, diets are easy to find. We can try keto, dump carbs, go Paleo, or try fasting or grazing to boost weight loss. But picking the program is the easy part. Sticking to a diet is hard because our body reacts to fewer calories by slowing down our metabolisms. Once we’ve been on a diet for a while, our so-called “hunger hormones” start to change. Essentially, levels of hormones that help make us feel full will drop, while hormones that make us feel hungry get a boost.
