You’re eating healthy, exercising regularly and carefully trying to maintain a calorie deficit – so why is the weighing scale refusing to budge? The answer may lie not in the obvious choices you make, but in the everyday habits you barely notice. From skimping on sleep to overdoing your workouts, certain behaviours can quietly increase your calorie intake, making it harder to lose weight even when you feel like you’re doing everything right. The frustrating part is that these habits often influence your hunger and eating patterns without you even realising it.
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Chennai-based fitness coach with 18 years of experience, Raj Ganpath – founder of the Slow Burn Method, co-founder and head coach at Quad Fitness, and author of Simple, Not Easy – has revealed four seemingly harmless habits that may be quietly causing you to overeat and significantly increasing your daily calorie intake without you even noticing. In an Instagram video shared on June 17, the fitness coach highlights, “You eat a lot more than you think you do when you do these four things. But here’s the weird part. You don’t even realise it.”
1. Sleep deprivation
According to Raj, sleep deprivation can significantly alter your food choices, making calorie-dense foods far more appealing. When you’re running on too little sleep, your body tends to crave sugary, starchy and high-calorie foods for a quick energy boost. As a result, even if you try to exercise restraint, you may end up eating more than usual without consciously realising it.
He explains, “When you are sleep deprived, calorie-dense foods are highly tempting. Sweet things, crunchy things, starchy things, fun things, you really want to eat them, and as much as you try to control yourself, you actually give in one way or the other. You end up eating a little bit more than you usually do. You just don’t realise it.”
2. Meals low in protein and fibre
The fitness coach explains that meals lacking adequate protein and vegetables are often disproportionately high in carbohydrates and fats. Because protein and fibre play a crucial role in promoting satiety and keeping you full for longer, carb-heavy meals tend to be less satisfying. As a result, you may find yourself eating larger portions to feel full or getting hungry again soon after eating, which can ultimately lead to consuming more calories throughout the day.
Raj highlights, “When you eat meals that have very little protein and vegetables, such meals contain very little protein and fibre and high amounts of carbohydrates and fats. So satiety is very low and it takes a lot of food to fill you up. So you end up eating a lot of food and consuming more calories even without your own knowledge.”
3. Dehydration
According to the fitness coach, dehydration can sometimes trick your brain into mistaking thirst for hunger. As a result, you may find yourself reaching for snacks or eating more food even when your body is actually craving fluids rather than calories.
He explains, “When you’re dehydrated, because your brain can confuse thirst and hunger. That’s why sometimes when you’re thirsty, not really hungry, you still reach for food. And even if you eat the right foods, you end up eating a little more than usual.”
4. Over-exercising
According to Raj, exercising too intensely can sometimes have the opposite effect of what you intend. Excessive training places stress on the body, increasing its demand for calories and nutrients to recover. As a result, your hunger levels rise significantly, but because it feels like normal appetite, you may end up eating more than you realise – often leading to overeating.
He notes, “When you exercise really hard, because when you push your body extremely hard, your body can upregulate hunger. Your body is stressed after doing all this work, it’s craving for energy and nutrients. So, your body is naturally making you hungrier. You don’t realise this. You just feel like you’re eating based on your appetite, but you end up eating more food than usual.”
The fitness coach concludes, “As a general rule, when the basics are not in place, your body struggles to cope. So, make sure you sleep enough, eat plenty of protein and vegetables, drink sufficient water, and always keep an eye on your training intensity.”
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. It is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
