Are you wondering why you’re not losing weight? These common reasons below can be affecting your weight loss journey! Read more about each reason to make sure you are covering all of your bases when it comes to weight loss:
#1 You’re not dieting.
Diet is the main contributor to weight loss. I like to look at weight loss as 80% diet and 20% exercise. You have to start a diet and follow the diet over a period of time to lose weight. You can’t solely rely on exercising in order to lose weight. Having a plant-based, single-ingredient-food diet will help you lose weight extremely quickly.
#2 You’re doing the wrong diet.
I’m sorry to say this, but… the Keto diet won’t work. Sure, you’ll lose weight super quickly, but that’s only because you are starving yourself. And as soon as you go back to eating carbs, you will gain even more weight back than before you started. I’m not a huge fan of the “fad diets” like the Keto Diet or juice cleanses or the grapefruit diet. They’re not long term and they’re super limiting. You’re not going to stick to these fad diets for the rest of your life so as soon as you start eating like a normal human again, you’re going to gain all of that weight back. The best dieting tip I’ve ever heard was find a diet that doesn’t even feel like a diet. Just making small changes to the food you are already eating will help to lose weight and you won’t even feel like you’re dieting.
#3 You’re over-dieting/changing your diet too often
When you are over-dieting, your body goes into starvation mode because it thinks that you are stranded on a desert island somewhere and your body needs to hold onto every single calorie and carb and gram of fat so that you don’t die. So what happens? You don’t lose weight!!! And, when you are constantly switching between diets, like giving up cheese for two weeks and then cutting out carbs the next four weeks and then not eating any dairy products the next two weeks, your body gets confused and starts storing all of that fat and again, you don’t lose weight. After college I went through a phase where I tried all of these different diets every few weeks because I wasn’t immediately seeing results, and then I gained 20 pounds. Don’t over diet and don’t constantly change up your diet. Find a diet that you are okay with and then stick to it for a few months at a time and you will see results.
#4 You’re building muscle instead of losing fat
It has been said that lifting weights will help burn fat, which might be true, but it takes a long time. Lifting weights will not burn all of the fat off around your waist and it will not make you lose 50+ lbs. It will build muscle under the fat and you will actually gain weight. When I was 22 I weighed about 120 lbs and I worked with an online trainer to try to help me lose weight. She gave me personalized workout plans for every single day that had me lifting weights and guess what happened? I went from weighing 120 lbs to weighing 146 lbs. I was just building muscle underneath my fat. In order to lose weight and lose fat, you have to be doing cardio or HIIT workouts or spin classes or some kind of physically active workout that gets you sweating and gets your heart rate up. Once you have lost the weight, then you can lift weights and start toning up and building muscle. You have to first have a flat stomach before you can get a six pack, if that makes sense?
#5 You’re not doing the right workout for your body & your goals.
My weight loss workouts of choice are running and yoga. I lost 30 pounds when I started running at this park in my neighborhood. And the yoga helped slim my waist and tone my arms. But most importantly, I enjoy running and yoga. It’s important to find a workout that you enjoy doing, then losing weight will be fun and not like a chore. Find a workout that fits your lifestyle and doesn’t feel like a workout, like spin class/cycling, swimming, running, yoga, pilates, Crossfit, Camp Gladiator, zumba, barre, etc.
#6 You’re eating foods that you didn’t know were bad.
When I was 22 and started gaining weight, my doctor kept telling me to quit eating “fatty meats” like chicken, beef, steak, pork, turkey and some fatty fish. I thought meat was supposed to be good for me and a good source of protein but according to doctors, meat is one of the hardest foods for your body to digest so the calories and fat and whatever else just sit in your body and don’t get digested out for a long time, which can keep you from losing weight. Once I stopped eating meat, I lost a ton of weight AND I stopped bloating so my stomach got super flat once I made the switch!
#7 You’re not getting enough sleep.
When you aren’t getting enough sleep at night, your body produces more hunger hormones called “ghrelin” and decreases the amount of satisfied/fullness hormones called “leptin”. So not getting enough sleep will make you feel hungrier more often and will keep you from feeling full after you eat.
#8 You’re stressed out.
A lot of people eat when they’re stressed out, myself included. Stress also produces hormones that promote body fat, which can make weight loss harder. But good news for you, many workout are a stress-reliever, so find a workout that you like and try to exercise the stress away so you can lose weight more easily!
#9 You’re comparing yourself to fitness models & body builders
Fitness is not a one-size-fits-all. (Rant coming). They literally get paid to workout and look good. Yes, you would lose weight quickly, too if someone was paying you to, but they’re not. You have a full time career, kids to keep track of, a super busy schedule, it’s not feasible for you to go to the gym at 10am and stay there until 1pm… you don’t have the luxury of being a full-time fitness model. So stop comparing yourself to the people that do. It took me a really long time to make this realization for myself. There is one Instagram/YouTube fitness model – I won’t name names – but she has been an inspiration to me for a long time now. Her and I are both in our mid to late 20s, we’re both 5ft tall, we both have fake boobs, we both have long hair, etc. However, she weighs 110 lbs aaaand I do not. And it was so frustrating to me because I kept saying to myself, “why is she 27 and 5ft tall and she only weighs 110 lbs and has a six pack and a perfect ass, and I’m 26 years old, 5ft tall, and I weigh ~quite a bit more than that~??” I would just beat myself up over it all the time. But then I took a step back and compared our lives more than just our appearances. I get paid to be in the office from 9am to 5pm and she gets paid to go to the gym and workout. Meaning: I’m setting my expectations for myself way too high. Trust me, if the roles were reversed and I was vlogging about my successful career in marketing, she would compare herself to me and feel inferior also. So stop comparing yourself to these fitness gurus who get paid to be fit and start setting real expectations for yourself. You don’t have the same lifestyle as they do. You don’t have the same gym schedule as they day. Their life literally revolves around fitness and being fit, and yours doesn’t. So relax and start comparing yourself to ONLY yourself and your own schedule.
#10 You’re not drinking enough water.
Trust me, I know how exhausting it is to wake up early, work full time, make time for exercising, taking care of a house/family, going to sleep late, then waking up the next day and doing it all over again. It is truly exhausting. Therefore, coffee and energy drinks are must to get through the day. But it’s hard to get water in between all of the coffee and tea and sodas and energy drinks. So be sure to swap out some of the caffeine for water or try to drink a glass of water before you drink a caffeinated beverage. That’ll cut out a lot of calories and fat right there.
#11 You’re being too strict with yourself.
Losing weight shouldn’t be this huge burden. Eating healthier and doing workouts that you enjoy should make you feel great and then the weight loss will follow. If you’re being too strict with yourself like extremely limiting your diet and making yourself workout twice or more times a day, you will be exhausted, stressed out, and not in a good mental state. Which will make losing weight harder. Your life shouldn’t revolve around diets and losing weight. Just making healthier lifestyle changes and trying to be healthier and happier should be your top priority. Then the weight loss will follow.
#12 You’re weighing yourself too often.
I know it sounds weird, but when you obsess over whether or not you are losing weight, and get on the scale every day, it will make the weight loss happen slower. Just like watching water boil: it takes longer when you watch it constantly. So only weigh yourself once a week!
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#13 You aren’t taking weight loss supplements or you’re taking the wrong ones.
Everyone needs help sometimes. Especially if you’re getting frustrated. Seek help! I have been using these amazing supplements for over a year now and I have not gained a single pound in over a year. I’m not trying to lose weight right now, I’m trying to maintain my weight while also toning my body (six pack, huge perky ass, and cute, slim arms) and these supplements are my goals a reality. You can check out what I use for my meal replacement shakes, protein, metabolism booster, fat burner, etc. here!
