Introduction:
The primary reason a lot of people start a fitness lifestyle is to lose weight. But the reality of the situation for a lot of people is despite dieting and exercising they still don’t lose weight. This might be some of the reasons why:
1. You might not realise you are actually losing weight:
If you think you are experiencing a weight loss plateau, you shouldn’t fret just yet. It is very common for the numbers on the scale not to change for a few days (or weeks) at a time. This does not mean that you are not losing fat.
Body weight tends to fluctuate by a few pounds. It depends on the foods you are eating, and hormones can also have a major effect on how much water your body retains (especially in women).
Also, if you recently started exercising, it is possible to gain muscle at the same time as you lose fat. So the muscle gain replaces the weight on the scale and it appears you are not losing weight when you are. This is a good thing, as what you really want to lose is body fat, not just weight.
This is why it is a good idea to use something other than the scale to gauge your progress. For example, measure your waist circumference and body fat percentage once per month. Also, how well your clothes fit and how you look in the mirror can be very telling. I tell my clients to focus on how they feel and look.
2. You might not be paying attention to nutrition:
This might come in several forms:
You are not paying keeping track of what you are eating
Awareness is incredibly important if you are trying to lose weight. Many people don't have a clue how much they're really eating. Studies show that keeping track of your diet helps with weight loss. People who use food diaries or photograph their meals consistently lose more weight than people who don’t. because it helps you review, be aware and track progress. While I definitely don’t subscribe to calorie counting, keeping track helps you check yourself. keeping a food diary is paramount in a weight loss journey. Some diets prescribe eating little meals often, but this usually translates to eating too much.
You are not eating enough proteins:
Protein is the single most important nutrient for losing weight. Eating proteins can boost your metabolism and greatly reduce the desire for snacking throughout the day. This is partly mediated by protein's effects on appetite-regulating hormones, such as ghrelin and others. If you eat breakfast, be sure to load up on protein. Studies show that those who eat a high-protein breakfast are less hungry and have fewer cravings throughout the day. Some say it is because proteins tend to last longer and make you fill full longer.
You are eating too many calories:
A large number of people who have trouble losing weight are simply eating too many calories. You may think that this does not apply to you, but studies consistently show that people tend to underestimate their calorie intake by a significant amount, just like they underestimate just how much they are actually eating.
Now before you go crazy and cut all the calories from your diet. If you are not losing weight, you should try keeping a food diary and cut out processed foods and drinks for a while. These usually contain high amounts of calories. Tracking your calories can also be important if you're trying to reach a certain nutrient goal, such as getting 30% of your calories from protein. This can be impossible to achieve if you're not tracking things properly.
It is generally not necessary to count calories and weigh everything for the rest of your life. Instead, try out these techniques for a few days every few months to get a feel for how much you’re eating. By applying lifestyle modification techniques, after a while you are able to make suitable choices without the daily prompt.
You are not eating whole foods:
Food quality is just as important as quantity. Eating healthy foods can improve your health and help regulate your appetite. These foods tend to be more filling than their processed equivalent. Keep in mind that many processed foods labelled as "health foods" aren't really healthy. Stick to whole, single-ingredient foods as much as possible and prepare most of your own meals from scratch.
You are not practising mindful eating
A technique called mindful eating may be one of the world's most powerful weight loss tools. It involves slowing down, eating without distraction, savouring and enjoying each bite, while listening to the natural signals that tell your brain when your body has had enough. Numerous studies have shown that mindful eating can cause significant weight loss and reduce the frequency of binge eating.
Here are some tips to keep in mind to eat more mindfully:
Eat with zero distractions, sitting down at a table with just your food.
Eat slowly and chew thoroughly. Try to be aware of the colours, smells, flavours and textures.
When you being to feel full, drink some water and stop eating.
3. Your water intake might be poor:
Studies have shown that people who increase their water intake tend to lose more weight. It’s recommended drinking about half your body weight in water daily. Making a constant effort to drink more water limits your intake of sugary drinks which usually has high-calorie content. Water also helps with portion control by suppressing your appetite. By drinking a glass of water before a meal and another one with food, you reduce your portion size.
But that's not all: When you're dehydrated, your kidneys can't function properly, so the body turns to the liver for additional support. Because the liver is working so hard, more of the fat you consume is stored, rather than burned off.
4. You are sitting all day;
Even if you log a solid hour of exercise almost every day. But outside of that, most of your time is spent sitting at a desk or in front of a computer. This might be the reason why you are not losing weight.
Research finds that dedicated workouts simply cannot compensate for being sedentary the rest of the time. According to a study at the University of Missouri–Columbia, sitting for just a few hours causes your body to stop making a fat-inhibiting enzyme called lipase. Getting up and walking for just two minutes during each of those hours burns an additional 59 calories a day, according to a research study from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
This is some ideas of how you can reduce sedentary like behaviours and keep moving throughout the day:
1. Set a timer on your phone or computer to remind you to move every hour. You can also invest in a fitness tracker or smartwatch.
2. Try and log in the recommended 10,000 steps a day. I know it sounds like a daunting task but trust me it is easier than you think if you employ a few hacks:
Take the stairs instead of the elevator
Park far away from the mall, market or office.
Take phone calls while pacing or marching in place.
Use a grocery store, pharmacy or supermarket close to home so you have a reason to walk here.
Take daily walks.
3. Start a movement club with friends and family, track your physical activity level throughout the day and report to each other. This keeps you accountable and motivated.
4. Keep a physical activity diary. This helps track progress and keeps you motivated
5. Find a sport or hobby that involves physical activity and make it a weekly routine.
5. You might be under stress:
I am one of those people who turn to comfort food and pack on pounds when they're under duress. The stress hormone cortisol triggers the fight-or-flight response, which is an appetite stimulant. It also steps up the production of a certain brain chemical, neuropeptide Y, which increases cravings for carbohydrates.
Even when you don't give in to cravings, stress can stall your weight loss progress because, too much cortisol slows metabolism. Even worse, excessive stress causes fat to be stored in the abdominal area, where weight is harder to lose.
Luckily, a lot of the things you do to lose weight also eases stress:
Exercise reduces stress
Balanced, nutritious meals can repair the damage that stress does to the body,
A social support network also helps.
6. You might not be sleeping well:
Poor quality or insufficient sleep may affect weight loss. Studies show that poor sleep can increase the risk of obesity and diabetes. It is also possible that a lack of sleep can disrupt the body’s ability to regulate hunger.
Lack of sleep can work in two ways:
- Tiredness may trigger a reduction in activities to conserve as much energy as possible
- It might also trigger an increased appetite in an attempt to boost energy levels.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults aged 18–65 should aim for 7–9 hours of sleep per night. Older adults should aim for 7–8 hours.
7. You might be exercising wrongly:
Your routine might be wrong. There are an art and a science to writing a kickass fitness routine. You should incorporate all the components of fitness and take into account the rules of exercise prescription. This is why a routine that seems to be working at first may stall after a while. When you over train a component of fitness, it plateaus out and the body sees it as an assault on its system and immediately goes into defence mode.
Here are some of the most common mistakes with exercise:
Too much cardio
Yes, 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.
It causes the body to become more endurance-focused or go into survival mode, by storing energy as fat to ensure it has plenty of reserve fuel to keep you going for all those miles. Not to mention it greatly increases your appetite, making you more prone to unnecessary snacking or overeating.
Not lifting weights:
This one goes hand in hand with excess cardio. 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. But if your primary goal is fat loss, there are other forms of exercise that give a much better value for money. The best way to lose weight and build lean muscle by doing some form of strength training in addition to your cardio. The more muscle tone your body has, the more fat you'll burn.
Now don’t give up your cardio routine just yet, try adding some interval training by performing short bursts of muscle strength and endurance training. Then, start adding some resistance training to your routine. Bodyweight exercises like push-ups, squats, and lunges are a great place to start to help build up to lifting actual weights. And you can skip the weights totally if building muscle bulk is not part of your goals.
You are not taking into account the rules of exercise prescription:
These rules are simple and straight forward and when taken into account makes for a good workout.
This is why it is important to ask a professional before starting a fitness program.
Have questions? Call or send us a message via WhatsApp today on +2348115795094 or send us titanphysiotherapy.ng@gmail.com to talk to our fitness experts. We also offer a broad range of affordable custom fitness plans and packages.
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