Are you plagued with unwanted pounds, despite your best efforts to eat healthy and get fit? You’re not alone. Millions of others across the globe, just like you, are struggling to shed weight in an uphill battle.

Here are 7 Sneaky Reasons You’re Gaining Weight…some of these might surprise you.

Sneaky Weight Gain #1: Sucking on Cigarettes. You may think it’s common knowledge that smoking helps you stay thin. However, you may be surprised that this is actually a common misperception. Recent research has shown that contrary to the long-believed lie that smoking keeps you thin, it actually leads to weight gain. This happens by interrupting your body’s metabolic function and causing it to be insulin-resistant. Interestingly, the same is true for those exposed to second-hand smoke.

Sneaky Weight Gain #2: Working Nights. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and for some, this measure is working the graveyard shift. While it may provide a boost to your pay (third-shift workers often get paid more than others), it wreaks havoc on your body. From messing up your sleep cycles to putting you in a position that requires less movement to eating more out of boredom, working through the night is full of weight-gaining risks.

Sneaky Weight Gain #3: Having Too Many Choices. If you’ve ever eaten at a buffet, you know what happens. There are so many options you don’t know what to pick. So you get a little bit of everything. Putting yourself in a position to be surrounded by food—even if there are plenty of healthy options—can be very dangerous. Even if you go with healthy options, it’s easy to eat too much of a good thing. When the options overwhelm you, stick to your guns: a small portion of lean meat and appropriate portions of a couple fruits and vegetables.

Sneaky Weight Gain #4: Overestimating Your Routine’s Intensity. Yes, you’re sweating up a storm when you make your way to the locker room for a shower. And your wobbly legs are the result of the squats and running you just combined in a single workout. But don’t use your routine as an excuse to eat everything in your path. To maintain a healthy weight or lose weight, you can’t eat more calories than you burned. Still feeling hungry after eating? You may not need to eat more. You may need to eat smarter.

Sneaky Weight Gain #5: Chilling On Your Backside. Everyone needs downtime. But if you’re not careful, you can wind up spending too much time on your rump. Between workouts, take a look at your daily routine. Do you work an office job? Does family time center around watching television shows together or playing board games? It may be time to make a change. No, don’t quit your job. But walk down the hall to talk to the person you’re about to email. And when family time comes around, use movie night to go on a scavenger hunt around the neighborhood.

Sneaky Weight Gain #6: Beefing Up Your Snacks. To stay healthy, you’ll need to eat something between meals. Otherwise, it’s very easy to overeat and put on extra pounds. However, you’ll need to watch what you eat for a snack. It’s easy to make a snack that is as large as a meal. But remember the purpose of your snack: to eat a little something before your next meal. It is not to fill yourself, but to knock the edge off your hunger. Keep your snacking light by drinking plenty of water.

Sneaky Weight Gain #7: Chasing Beer with Food. You go out to eat and there are no tables ready. So you grab a beer and hang out, waiting for an opening. Unfortunately, you just made a belly-busting boo-boo. Because research has proven that drinking beer before you eat will result in you eating more than you would have otherwise. On top of eating more calories for dinner, that beer you guzzle is full of calories, which means before you even take the first bite of your food, you’ve already sucked down quite a few calories.

One of your best defenses against unwanted pounds is to participate in a consistent, challenging exercise routine. That’s what I do for my clients to keep them filled with energy and in fantastic shape. And that’s what I’d love to do for you.

Give me a call, or shoot me an email, and let’s get started on getting you into the best shape of your life.