A lot of people complain about hitting a weight loss plateau or not being able to achieve any weight loss to begin with. We understand; it is frustrating to put all your effort into something that does not seem to happen, especially when it is a game-changer for your health.
So, we gathered for you 10 factors that could be the reasons why you are not losing weight as you wish.
1. You’re Not Eating Enough Protein
Eating enough protein at every meal gives you a sense of true fullness that makes you less prone to crave sweets and snacks.
Aim to fill the quarter of your plate with protein-rich food like chicken, lean meat, fish, eggs, and legumes.
2. You eat more than your body needs.
You feel full but you keep eating. Say you eat one more rice tablespoon past your fullness every day, it will result in 5000 additional calories by the end of the year, all stored as fat in your body. In fact, overeating could be the reason why you gained weight in the first place.
So, trust your fullness cues and practice to stop eating as soon as you feel full. To do that, you need to be focused and present when you eat.
3. You’re Not moving your muscles
One of the most important keys to sustainable weight loss is to do resistance training. In fact, the metabolic slowdown is a natural result of weight loss and is the main reason why people reach weight loss plateaus. Thus, when you do resistance training, you maintain your metabolic rate high enough to keep shedding off the extra weight.
So, make sure to keep strengthening your muscles through regular resistance training.
4. You eat to avoid emotions.
Whether you are angry, happy, sad, stressed, or excited…. You eat. This goes back to the inability to deal with the emotions themselves, so you use food as a distracting joy.
The quick solution for this behavior is to think of a fun, distracting or relaxing alternative that you could do instead of eating, such as watching a funny cat’s video, writing down your thoughts, going for a walk, dancing in your room…. The long-term solution is to learn to recognize the feeling and accept its presence, rather than avoid it. Taking a session with a psychologist or a related course is a starting point to acquire this skill of dealing with emotions.
5. You’re stressed
When you are stressed, a hormone named cortisol is elevated and it causes your body to crave simple carbs that are present usually in junk food. Besides, it affects other hormones in the body in a way that leads to weight gain, especially around the waist.
So, maybe it is time to adopt a new resilient mindset where you trust your capabilities and embrace the challenge rather than considering it as a negative event.
6. You’re Still Drinking Sugar
Carbonated sugary beverages, some coffee and milkshakes and even natural fruit juice, are loaded with sugar that transform into fat in your body. Additionally, in simple terms, whenever you have extra sugar in your blood, your body will not lean to burn any fat and will use this sugar as source of energy instead.
So, start replacing those sugary drinks with water, teas, or refreshing nutrient dense shakes. (Subscribe to our newsletter from here to get shakes and other foods ideas https://www.droobihealth.com/contact-us
7. You’re Not Sleeping Well
Studies show that poor poor sleep is one of the main risk factors for obesity. When you do not sleep well, the hunger hormone (ghrelin) in your body raises and so you feel like consuming more food, more often. In addition, the fatigue that comes because of not sleeping well hinders your physical activity efforts the next day.
So free up your night schedule, to relax your mind and sleep.
8. You’re Not Cutting Back on Carbohydrates
When most of the days and on most of the meals you have rice, pasta, bread, milk, potato, or fruits, this means you are having too many carbs. In some studies, the low carb style of eating resulted in a double weight loss in comparison to a low-fat diet.
For some meals, you can cut your carbs in half, for others you can eliminate carbs all together and double your vegetable intake instead, for an extra boost of revitalizing vitamins and minerals. This might be the next best thing you do for your health!
9. You’re Not Drinking Water
How the body is supposed to do anything, let alone burning fat without water? It has been said that humans can survive 3 weeks without food but only 3 days without water! It is that important. Also, one study found that people who drank half a liter of water before their meals could achieve a greater weight loss than those who did not.
So, set a schedule for water drinking and make you sure you stick to it by keeping water nearby and adding phone reminders.
10. You’re Not Keeping Track of What You’re Eating
Studies show that time after time, people who keep track of their food through diaries or photograph lose more weight than people who don’t. This goes back to the awareness gained in tracking, regarding food quantity and quality.
So, whether you like to do it using a pen or paper or phone application, do it; it might bring valuable insights to your attention.
Finally,
Even if you do everything right, you should know that the weight loss rate is different for different people, so do not over expect and compare yourself to others. Give your body its time, keep moving, try to find joy and pride in what you are doing as self-care and you will certainly find yourself in a better position.
Moreover, remember that it is normal that weight loss slows down with time and most importantly, you should know that it is better to have progressive weight loss; fast weight loss puts you at risk of gallstones, constipation, hair loss, fatigue, malnutrition, electrolyte imbalances…
If you need help with your weight loss, the Droobi application provides easy tools to track food and physical activity, backed by professional feedback to level up your weight loss. Learn more about what the Droobi app can offer here (Our Programs)
Keep up the good work!