5. Not Getting Enough Sleep
Sleep and weight gain don’t seem like they can possibly be linked, but they are. Chemically speaking, missing out on too much slumber spikes your level of the stress hormone cortisol, which in turn messes with the body’s ability to process sugar via insulin. All that excess sugar turns to fat.
But in a behavioral sense, being exhausted leads to poor choices because we just don’t have the energy to shop for and cook healthy meals. We’ll just grab some fast food and skip the gym, creating a vicious cycle in which there is never enough energy to take the healthy actions necessary to turn the tide.