weight gainWho among us doesn't know how hard it is to lose weight and keep it off? (If you're not shaking your head slowly and sadly in answer, you must be one of the few lucky ones.)

We blame ourselves for our lack of willpower. We blame our spouses for buying our favorite ice cream. (We know, they were just trying to make us happy.) We blame our kids for not finishing their pasta, so we have to. (Can't let good food go to waste!)

But the next time we painstakingly lose a few pounds only to see them inevitably (oh so inevitably) boomerang back a few weeks later, we can go ahead and forgive all those people. Instead, we can start blaming our hormones.

A new study has found that even after people lose weight, they often put it back on -- not because they lack the understanding of how to keep it off or even the will to do so, but because their bodies continue to produce hormones that cue hunger. So even though they know they're not supposed to be eating that midnight plate of cookies, their bodies are screaming at them in no uncertain terms to scarf it right down.

Experts say this is evolutionary, that our bodies are built to rebel against weight loss. I say it's both liberating and depressing.

While it certainly explains why those extra pounds never seem to go away for good, it also means that, no matter what we do, those extra pounds probably never will go away for good.

But hope springs eternal. I'll probably keep trying ...

Right after I finish a few of these bite-size Halloween candy bars my hormones are telling me to eat.

Are you excited to blame your hormones for not being able to keep off extra weight?

 

Image via Nick J Webb/Flickr