You’ve made excellent dietary changes and begun an effective exercise regimen, but you can’t lose weight?. Or, you’ve been able to lose a small amount of weight, but it appears that you always gain it back, leaving you to wonder, “Why am I not losing weight? ”. There could be several explanations.
First and foremost, you must acknowledge that you have made the decision to start getting healthier. If you’ve already started working out or making dietary changes, you’ve already cleared the greatest obstacle.
Obviously, everyone needs additional information and knowledge to approach weight loss in the most effective manner. If you’ve been wondering why you’re not losing weight, let’s find out.
7 Possible Causes You’re Not Losing Weight
1. Exercising Too Much
You have begun a new exercise regimen and are beginning to get the hang of it. It’s exciting to become more in tune with your body through physical activity and to feel better as a result. It is also encouraging to observe some strength gains and even some lean muscle.
If you’ve been enjoying it and noticing positive results, it may make sense to start exercising longer and harder. If three days per week felt wonderful, why not five? Why not seven consecutive days of cardio and strength training?
Unfortunately, this is not the case, and it is better to allow your body to rest. When you exercise excessively, you can strain your central nervous system. You place your body in a situation in which it is continuously stressed and releases stress hormones.
Overtraining can result in muscle tears, strains, and injuries. It can also weaken your immune system and increase your susceptibility to illness. You must avoid this overtraining syndrome in order to continue weight loss.
When your stress hormones are elevated, it is more difficult to lose weight because your body wants to conserve its resources. Therefore, engage in regular exercise, but also give yourself time to recover and rest in order to enhance your fitness and weight loss.
2. Not Getting Sufficient Sleep
The following will build upon the first point. This same overtraining syndrome can develop in your body if you do not get sufficient sleep. If you are experiencing a lack of sleep, your body begins to believe that a traumatic event is occurring; otherwise, why wouldn’t you be sleeping?
This can also result in increased stress hormone levels, which can become quite noxious over time. They can cause a great deal of inflammation in the body and may be the root cause of a variety of dangerous diseases. In addition, these stress hormones make it very difficult to lose weight, and your metabolism begins to slow down.
According to studies, sleep deprivation can result in weight gain due to increased food consumption. According to one study, increased food consumption during insufficient sleep is a physiological adaptation that provides the energy required to sustain additional wakefulness.
This is fairly reasonable. If your body does not receive enough energy from sleep, it will seek it elsewhere (through food). Get at least seven to eight hours of sleep per night. This requires establishing a relaxing evening routine, adhering to it, and beginning it at the same time each night.
Consider eliminating blue light from electronics, which can disrupt sleep, and avoid consuming alcohol or caffeine in the evening. Keep your room as dark and cool as possible to promote rest and rejuvenation. With a fully rested and repaired body, you set the stage for improved weight loss and fitness.
3. Not Consuming Enough Food
This may appear perplexing as if you are eating less, you should be losing weight, right? This is all related to metabolism and the issue of stress hormones. If you wonder, “Why am I not losing weight? It’s time to evaluate what and how much you’re consuming, as you may be in a calorie deficit.
Consider your body fat as an alternative fuel source. Stress and trauma can be broken down and used as energy by the body when they occur.
When the number of calories you consume is insufficient for your body type, your body perceives another type of trauma, such as drought, because you are not feeding yourself. The body may store fat as a form of contingency planning.
Your metabolism slows when you don’t eat enough because your body doesn’t want to waste what it has. At this point, your body’s primary concern will be preserved, and weight loss will no longer be a top priority.
In addition, overtraining in the gym can significantly impede weight loss. As your body attempts to slow things down as much as possible, this is also when injuries and illness can occur.
Permit yourself to be fed and nourished by nutritious foods. Your body requires consistent fuel to function properly and sustainably lose weight.
4. Not Increasing Muscle
Good, lean muscle can be a factor in weight loss, although we’re not talking about massive bodybuilder muscles. Initially, the act of building muscle through resistance training will require a total body effort. This burns a lot of calories, contributing to weight loss.
In addition, the high-intensity style of training that promotes muscle growth will improve your body’s hormone balance. Your body will continue to burn calories long after you’ve completed your workout. Your metabolism will now be faster, making weight loss more feasible.
Simply having more muscle boosts your ability to burn calories. Even at rest, lean muscle is metabolically active, so having more muscle will cause you to burn more calories.
5. Consuming Insufficient Protein
You probably hear a lot about protein, but its primary function is not to build muscle mass. Protein is essential for numerous bodily functions, including the synthesis of hormones and the regulation of tissues and organs.
Additionally, protein has a thermogenic effect, meaning that it requires energy to consume and digest it.
Are you familiar with the term “meat sweats”? This is the thermogenic function at work, as protein digestion and absorption require a great deal of energy. This process of muscle protein synthesis can be a significant caloric burner.
Protein can also be useful for preventing cravings and stabilizing blood sugar levels. This will prevent the large peaks and drops in blood sugar levels that can lead to a desire for more carbohydrates and possible weight gain.
6. Consuming Too Much
If you are serious about losing weight, you are likely more conscious of your food portions and caloric intake. Counting calories is not as straightforward as it may appear, as not all calories are created equal. 100 calories of walnuts will affect your body differently than 100 calories of a soft drink.
Even if you’re eating healthy, it’s important to be aware of how much you’re eating, as you may be surprised by how many calories you’re unknowingly consuming.
To lose weight, it is essential to stop consuming calories through beverages. This includes eliminating soda, juice, sports drinks, specialty coffees, etc. These are fast-acting calories that do not satisfy hunger and can lead to overeating.
Since these beverages contain only sugar, they can cause a blood sugar spike and subsequent crashes. During this phase, you tend to crave more of these quick-acting carbohydrates in the form of simple sugars or refined carbohydrates. This will make it difficult to lose weight, so do yourself a favor and stick to water.
You can try keeping track of your calories for a few days to get a sense of your current situation. From this point on, you will know how things need to be reorganized.
Consider almonds as an example. They are an excellent, healthy snack, and a small handful can be delicious. But suppose you perform this action multiple times per day. One cup of almonds contains approximately 530 calories, which may be more than you intended to consume.
You don’t have to be a slave to food and calorie tracking, but get a general idea of where you stand and make adjustments as necessary.
7. Eating Too Many Carbs
You may be sick of hearing about carbs, but if you’re asking, “Why am I not losing weight?”, you must be cognizant of them. If you’ve had trouble losing weight or have blood sugar issues such as type 2 diabetes, you may want to reduce your carbohydrate intake.
This is something you should discuss with your physician, but the vast majority of carbohydrates we are exposed to are completely unnecessary. White bread, white rice, white flour, and white sugar, for instance, provide no nutrients and are very high in glycemic index. This keeps your blood sugar elevated and makes weight loss more challenging.
Maintaining a low-carb diet can have positive effects on triglyceride and cholesterol levels, as well as on blood sugar control and weight loss. At three months, “subjects on the low-carbohydrate diet had lost more weight than subjects on the conventional diet in a study involving 63 obese men and women who were randomly assigned to a specific diet.
Carbohydrates based on your workout can still be a great source of energy, but you should select the best options. Target foods such as steel-cut oats, wild rice, sweet potatoes, and quinoa; the more vibrant your plate, the better!
Conclusion
“Why don’t I lose weight?” is a frequent inquiry heard in gyms and health clubs worldwide. Identifying the cause can make it simple to resume fitness and weight-loss efforts. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you begin to lose weight if you regulate your diet and exercise routine. Get going today!
- What advice or tips would you give to someone who is just starting their weight loss journey?
If you enjoyed this blog post, share it with your friends!