You are doing everything you are supposed to be doing right?
You are watching what you eat, making sure you're eating the right foods, you are exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep. That should be working right? Sometimes, but sometimes not.
Do you still feel like
you’re not losing that stubborn weight? The truth is; eating well and exercising
often is a very relative and general statement. If we’re truly being honest with ourselves,
I’m sure we could admit that we’re all capable of trying a little harder in
both areas. We are all human, we are not perfect.
Total-body wellness is a lifestyle, not just a phase. Fat loss happens when
you ditch the scale, find an activity you enjoy, and start to see food as fuel
instead of something to feed your
emotions or occupy your time.
No matter who you are there is a chance that one of the following could be the reason behind all of your frustration.
8 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight!
REASON #1: Too much cortisol
While it is good for you, exercise is a stressor on your body. When you have a healthy balance of exercise-related stress and recovery time, your body is healthy and can lose its excess fat. However, not giving your body enough time to recover can also have a negative impact on you because you’ll start to produce an excessive amount of cortisol, which is a stress hormone. Because it is involved in processes that give your muscles the energy needed to get moving, cortisol is both normal and important while working out.
However, when your body is exposed to cortisol for longer periods of time, it starts to produce negative side effects i.e. - the stubborn fat in areas you don’t want. Aside from exercise, a stressful personal or professional life can also make your body produce too much cortisol. The good news is, when you stop exercising, your body stops producing cortisol. The bad news is, it's not quite as easy to turn off the mental stressors going on in your life. Make sure you’re keeping your mental and emotional health in check in addition to your physical health. You should always strive for total-body wellness to be truly healthy.
REASON #2: Eating
the wrong foods
If you’re not having any success on your weight loss journey, the place you should
always be evaluating first is the kitchen. Some people focus all their energy on burning off
calories that they don’t take the time to consider what they’re actually putting in their bodies as
fuel. Diet is at least 80% of the battle, believe or not. The exact foods you should be
eating depend heavily on your body type, metabolism, etc. so a good
rule of thumb is to stick to all natural,
whole foods. Avoid excess bread, sugar, and anything else that’s processed as much as possible.
Eat most of your starchy carbohydrates (like potatoes,
brown rice, grains) on days when you do strength training or more rigorous
exercise. On your rest days or when you’re doing light cardio, try to stick to
just protein and veggies. Look for foods that have the
fewest ingredients on the label—if you can’t pronounce it, it’s probably not
something you want to be putting into your body.
REASON #3: Eating too
much
If you’ve already cleaned up your diet big time and
you’re still not losing weight, it may be that you’re simply eating too much.
In order to shed pounds your body needs to run a calorie deficit, which means you
need to burn more than you consume. That being said, you shouldn’t have to
deprive yourself either - life is about balance so don’t become consumed with
counting calories or weighing yourself every day.
Eat whenever you’re hungry but eat slowly enough so you
can stop just before you get full. Healthy snacking during the day will keep
you from overeating
during meals. I always carry a few Kind Bars in my bag, because they’re a great
snack made with whole foods, and contain nothing artificial. Also, don’t be afraid
to give yourself ‘healthy’ cheats, like a few chocolate-covered strawberries or
coconut chia seed pudding. The moment you start depriving yourself is when you
start to feel like you’re missing out on something and you want to binge.
REASON #4: Not working hard enough
There’s no magic formula for working out and eating healthy—it’s a matter of trial and error to find out what works specifically for your body. That being said, the more time spent in the gym doesn’t always equal a more fit person, either. Unless you’re an athlete, body builder, or a marathoner-in-training, the average person shouldn’t be working out more than an hour a day.
Your workouts should be intensity-dependent, not time dependent. Keep this fact in mind: the harder you work, the shorter your workout time may need to be. That’s why it’s so important to maximize your time spent working out so you can achieve that after burn effect which keeps your metabolism revved up for 24-48 hours after your workout.
REASON #5: Doing too
much cardio
Of course cardio is a necessary part of your workout routine, it keeps your heart healthy, boosts your metabolism, and gives you a good sweat. However, only doing cardio—or doing too much of
it—can actually add to the problem. Longer cardio sessions like staying on the
elliptical for 90 minutes or going for regular 10-mile runs can eat away at
your lean muscle mass, which is essential for increasing
your metabolism to burn more calories.
This causes the body to become more endurance-focused,
storing energy as fat to ensure it has plenty of reserve fuel to keep you going
for all those miles. Not to mention it dramatically increases your appetite,
making you more susceptible to unnecessary snacking or overeating.
REASON #6: Not lifting
weights
This one goes hand in hand with #5 because I’m not saying
you can’t or shouldn’t do cardio. If you love to run or bike for reasons
other than losing weight, then by all means don’t stop. However, if your primary
goal is fat loss, there are other forms of exercise that give a much better
bang for your buck. The best way to lose weight and build lean
muscle by doing some form of strength
training in addition to cardio. The more muscle tone your body
has, the more fat you’ll burn, simple as that.
If you’re not ready to give up your cardio routine just
yet, try adding some interval
training by performing short bursts of all-out effort mixed into
your regular session. These workouts are much more effective at promoting
hormones that target stubborn fat. Then, start adding some resistance training
to your routine. Body weight
exercises like push-ups, squats, and lunges are a great place to
start to help build up to lifting actual weights.
REASON #7: Not taking
time to recover
When you do achieve that after burn effect and you’re really
feeling your workout the next day, those are the days to focus on different
muscle groups. If you prefer to work out your whole body, establish a
workout routine where you work your entire body one day and then take the next
day to do some light cardio, stretching,
or take a complete rest day.
Recovery and rest are often more important than the
workout itself because this is when your body does most of the
actual fat burning. Make sure to always give yourself that time to fully recover so you’re
ready to work hard the following day. Remember to always push yourself because you are capable of so much more than you think, but also always remember to listen to your body, too.
REASON #8: Not eating as healthy as you think
The vast majority of people are overweight
these days, yet research shows that the vast majority of people also think they
eat healthy and consider eating healthy a priority. Are you as confused
about that as I am?
Here's the thing: We all think we eat pretty well. Even people who eat a pretty
bad diet don't think it's that bad. No one really wants to admit that their
diet might be pretty unhealthy. Whether that's actually true or not, the truth is that the
vast majority of people could (and probably should) improve their diets
immensely. Want to see for yourself? Start a food journal. Write down exactly everything you eat everyday for a whole week - you may be surprised.
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