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If you’ve been finding it difficult to lose weight lately no matter what you do from hitting the gym regularly to eating healthier foods, maybe there is a reason that’s standing in the way of your weight-loss goals and make you hit a plateau.
While there are lots of other wholesome achievements along with your fitness journey, it may be frustrating not to see any difference in the scale number.
Surprisingly being a female makes a difference in the way you shed weight. A recent study indicates it is easier for guys to lose pounds fast, but women generally have more success with long term attempts. Also, the first part you see the weight come off can differ: Men first lose belly fat, but that can be tougher for the ladies.
The first step to losing weight is to identify why you are not losing weight. These are a few of the main factors that might be holding you back.
1.) You Hit a Weight-loss Plateau
Just about everyone hit a weight loss plateau eventually because our body adjusts to our workout routine. Then it expends fewer calories doing the same exercise, slowing down weight loss or not letting the pounds come off anymore.
So What is the Solution?
- Your body has to be challenged to advance, so be sure that you’re changing your fitness routine every four to six weeks.
- If you do not consume enough carbs, your body does not have sufficient fuel to maintain your level of activity, which means that your body will preserve, instead of burning calories.
- Cease overtraining as if you exercise a lot. Your body will react by reducing the number of calories that you burn for the rest of the day.
2.) Bad Eating Habit
We can ruin our weight-loss plan by bad eating habits without knowing.
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Waiting too long in-between meals
If you space out the meals too much, you will overeat in the next meal as you feel too hungry, your metabolism slows down and is not able to burn all the extra calories. Those added calories may be stored as excess weight around your belly, so try eating smaller portions, and eat more frequently.
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Not Drinking Enough Water
Drinking water can assist in losing pounds, and research had shown that individuals who drink half a liter of water before each meal dropped 44% more fat compared to those who didn’t and that drinking water fosters the amount of burned calories by 24 to30 percent1.
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Not Eating Mindfully
Mindful eating could be among the world’s most reliable weight loss tools that means slowing down, eating without diversion, savoring, and appreciating every bite while noticing to the natural signs that tell your brain when you feel full.
Several studies have revealed that mindfully eating can lead to substantial weight loss and lower the frequency of overeating2.
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Working out on an Empty Stomach
Exercising on an empty stomach spoils your sweaty training as research reveals that the calories burned come from muscle instead of fat. Not to mention more muscle mass benefit shedding pounds as muscle burns more calories than fat. So fueling your body not only helps you avoid losing muscle but also gets you more power to push yourself through your workout.
- You Do Not Cut Your Meals
Cutting your foods can be an effective way of preventing a binge. Reducing food portions or cutting food into tiny bits might seem somewhat childish, but studies reveal that individuals find smaller parts more pleasing.
Therefore, maintain a set of scales, measuring cups, and spoons handy to be sure your serving sizes are suitable and find out how to show your body the fullness signs that will assist you to stop at the right time.
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Skipping Breakfast
When you take a pass on the starter meal of your day, you are more likely to get hungrier later, which means you could overdo it on the launch. A high-fiber, protein-packed meal will be able to help you feel full longer.
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Eating right before sleep
Eating before bedtime might increase your body temperature, blood glucose, and insulin, making it harder for the body to burn off fat. Watch out for snacking after dinner as you take more calories than you expect if you nibble while watching TV or surfing the internet.
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Underestimating sugary beverages
Among fattening items, sugary drinks compromise dieting more than others because your body doesn’t seem to treat these calories the same as the energy you get from healthy foods — it breaks them down too quickly. They’re also low in fiber, so you don’t feel full afterward, and you’re likely to eat or drink more.
Also Read: 25 Simple Ways To Lose Weight & Keep It Off
3.) Your Diet Plan is Not Tailored Enough
Sometimes a wrong weight-loss diet doesn’t give you essential nutrients to let your body burning fats properly.
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Low-Protein diet
Protein is the single most essential nutrient for losing pounds and preventing weight regain.
High-protein foods help prevent metabolic slowdown and also make you eat a few hundred fewer calories every day. Additionally, it may radically reduce cravings for snacking and suppress your appetite by releasing appetite-regulating hormones, such as ghrelin and others.
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Low-fiber diet
You might eat too little fiber. Adding fiber in your diet can help you feel fuller longer because fiber-rich take longer to be processed by the body, and it will be easier to moderate your appetite and calorie intake.
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High-calorie diet
Many people are not losing weight as they hope because of simply eating too many calories. Notice that you most likely are one of them as research consistently shows that people usually underestimate their calorie consumption by a significant amount3.
These calories are much more than your body needs no matter what their sources are, junk foods, or relatively healthy foods, including fruit, nuts, dark chocolate, cheese, etc.
Hence try weighing your foods and tracking your calories for a while as sometimes a single overeating can ruin an entire week’s worth of dieting.
Also, prevent the temptation to grab something on the go by planning out your meals and preparing high-protein, low-carb, and healthy snacks.
Not to mention low-carb diet can also boost metabolism by improving triglycerides and “good” HDL cholesterol levels as well as regulating blood sugar.
4.) Unhealthy Lifestyle Choices
Occupational stress, overdoing alcohol, lack of sleep, addicting to junk food, and sitting all day behind our desk is the dark side of our modern lifestyle that goes hand in hand with weight gain.
According to a study, 19.9% of people in North America and Europe satisfy the criteria for junk food addiction4.
Also, studies continually have shown that sleep deprivation is one of the single most significant risk factors for obesity so that it increases the risk of becoming obese by 55% in adults and 89% in children5.
5.) Your Fitness Life Sucks
- Not doing the right workouts
Jogging is effective for weight loss, but it is not enough after a while, so choose the proper exercise to see the weight come off as you want.
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Not lifting weights
If you confine yourself to running on the treadmill but never lift a dumbbell, then you’re refraining one of the essential pieces of the weight-loss puzzle. Lifting weight not only prevents injury by supporting the joints muscles but also increases metabolism by building muscle mass. The rising metabolic rate helps you keep burning calories long after your training session.
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Not doing cardio
Cardiovascular or aerobic exercise increases your heart rate, which includes activities such as jogging, cycling, and swimming. It’s among the most effective methods to improve your health in addition to burning belly fat, the dangerous excess visceral fat that builds up around your organs, and lead to lots of diseases.
6.) You Have a Health Condition
Weight reduction is an intricate process involving several factors. Some factors can be under control, like managing our daily diet and exercise, handling stress, and developing decent sleep habits. There are a few elements that affect weight reduction that is out of control, like our genes, gender differences, age-related issues, and our physique.
If you are not shedding weight despite modifications to your daily diet and activity level, visit your physician to rule out a health condition as the root cause. For example, steroids can change your metabolism and make you feel hungrier so that you may overeat and gain belly fat.
These are some of the health conditions and drugs which are associated with weight gain:
Diseases
- Thyroid conditions
- Heart disease
- Hormonal disorders
Medicine
- Medicines to treat Diabetes, Bulimia, Birth Control, Depression, etc
- Corticosteroid (steroid) drugs
- Some antidepressant drugs
- Beta-blockers was used to treat hypertension stress
7.) You Hit Menopause
Your weight creeps up throughout menopause because hormonal fluctuations, less muscle mass, and also little sleep from hot flashes may lead to extra pounds. In this period, you may wake up exhausted and more likely to need to munch on snacks to get a boost of energy later in the day.
8.) Your Muscle Mass Has Declined
Some estimates reveal that muscle mass decreases about 4 percent every decade from ages 25 to 50. That’s a reason for lowering the metabolic rate.
Final Thoughts
If you are still eating the identical amount of calories since your metabolism drops, your weight could creep up over time. Hence begin exercising and lifting pounds frequently from today to balance out your metabolic hormones.
-Shameka Renee
References:
1.Dennis EA, Dengo AL, Comber DL, et al. Water consumption increases weight loss during a hypocaloric diet intervention in middle-aged and older adults. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md). 2010;18(2):300-307. doi:10.1038/oby.2009.235
2.Timmerman GM, Brown A. The effect of a mindful restaurant eating intervention on weight management in women. Journal of nutrition education and behavior. 2012;44(1):22-28. doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2011.03.143
3.Goris AH, Westerterp-Plantenga MS, Westerterp KR. Undereating and underrecording of habitual food intake in obese men: selective underreporting of fat intake. The American journal of clinical nutrition. 2000;71(1):130-134. doi:10.1093/ajcn/71.1.1304.
4.Pursey KM, Stanwell P, Gearhardt AN, Collins CE, Burrows TL. The prevalence of food addiction as assessed by the Yale Food Addiction Scale: a systematic review. Nutrients. 2014;6(10):4552-4590. doi:10.3390/nu61045525.
5.Cappuccio FP, Taggart FM, Kandala N-B, et al. Meta-analysis of short sleep duration and obesity in children and adults. Sleep. 2008;31(5):619-626. doi:10.1093/sleep/31.5.619
Results may vary. Information and statements made are for general purposes and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor. Her Own Health does not dispense medical advice, prescribe, or diagnose illness. The views and nutritional advice expressed by Her Own Health are not intended to be a substitute for conventional medical service. If you have a severe medical condition or health concern, see your physician.
