• What’s stalling your metabolism?
• Everyday products that encourage weight gain
• Melt off pounds by changing the way you shop

Okay, you’ve been doing everything right when it comes to dropping those excess pounds. You’re eating healthy, getting your exercise and being fairly honest with yourself.

So why does it feel like somebody threw your metabolism into reverse? How come each achievement feels like it’s followed by a setback? What the heck is going on!?

I’m here to tell you that you’re on the right track. Diet and exercise are key. But there’s one very important aspect of weight loss that you may be missing. It’s one your doctor has probably never discussed with you.

You see, there are chemicals all around you that promote obesity. They’re so closely linked to weight gain that they’re often referred to as “obesogens”. And they can cause some folks to gain weight, even when they eat weight-friendly diets and increase levels of physical activity.

These compounds influence the development of fat cell development and fat storage. Most of them are also considered to be endocrine-disruptors.

This is problematic because your fat tissue acts as an endocrine organ. It releases hormones that regulate your appetite, satiety and ability to burn calories. At the same time endocrine-disruptors are known to slow down thyroid function. This, in and of itself, can drastically reduce your metabolism.

But exposure to these chemicals doesn’t mean you’re doomed to be overweight forever. There are several ways to minimize their influence on your weight, metabolic function and life outcome.

Everyday Products that Encourage Weight Gain

The idea that chemicals in the products you buy could be contributing to the obesity epidemic isn’t new, by any means. But it’s not highly publicized either. So let’s take a look at a few everyday items you use that may be encouraging your body to store fat.

Food is a big source. And I’m not only talking about calories and fat content. Rather, I’m referring to other compounds that plague the foods we eat today.

• Commercial fruits and vegetables are loaded with toxic herbicides, pesticides and environmental pollutants that bind to your fat cells.

• Farm-raised fish can contain polychlorinated biphenyls, which have a direct link to obesity and diabetes.

• Meat from conventional livestock contains toxic compounds that tend to collect in the fatty areas of the animal. When you eat them, they collect in your fatty areas, too.

• Canned foods and those that come in plastic wrap and plastic containers frequently contain a substance called bisphenol A, or BPA. This is another one of those compounds that mess with your metabolism and fat storage. You’ll also find in plastic water bottles.

But food isn’t the only area you should concentrate on.

Chances are good that, whether you’re male or female, you buy shampoos, body washes, deodorants, colognes, perfumes and lotions so that you give off a pleasant aroma to others.

And it’s not limited to your body. In the home you probably use sweet-smelling air fresheners, laundry soaps, fabric softeners and cleaners.

Well, many of these products contain compounds called phthalates and parabens, which tend to bind to your fat cells. So they’re mostly found in fatty tissue. And they just keep building up inside your body, year after year.

So what should you do?

Change the Way You Shop

If you’re serious about weight loss, keep up the exercise.

But when it comes to choosing your healthy foods, stay away from those that come in cans and plastics. Make the effort to always buy organic fruits and veggies, wild-caught fish, grass-fed meat and organic pasture-raised poultry over those that are conventionally grown or raised.

Around the house make a conscious choice to avoid chemical-laden products – whether it’s your personal care products or those involved in house-cleaning.

The best way to narrow down your options is to visit the Environmental Working Group’s website.

You can find out which fruits and veggies contain the most pesticide residue on EWG’s Dirty Dozen page.

To find out what’s in your shampoos, lotions, soaps and so forth go to go to their Skin Deep page.

They also have a webpage dedicated to household cleansers.

The sooner you start limiting your exposure to obesogens, the more quickly you can recover from their effects on your metabolism and start dropping pounds.

SOURCES:

Heindel JJ, et al. Endocrine disruptors and obesity. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2015 Nov;11(11):653-61.

Holtcamp W. Obesogens: An Environmental Link to Obesity. Environ Health Perspect. 2012 Feb; 120(2): a62–a68.

De Coster S, et al. Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: Associated Disorders and Mechanisms of Action. J Environ Public Health. 2012(8):713696.