6 Reasons why I can’t lose weight
Clients come to me daily, with many questions and concerns but of course one of the most frequently asked is why am I having such a difficult time losing weight. You try hard, but that scale won't budge. As humans we all wonder if those pounds will ever come off. But don't raise the white flag and chuck your healthy lifestyle just yet. See if one of these sneaky things is secretly messing with your weight loss hopes.
Is it because I skip breakfast?
It could be. When you take a pass on that first meal of the day, it can work against you. You're likely to get hungrier later, so you may overdo it at lunch.
Try to eat within an hour of waking up. A high-fiber, protein-packed breakfast can help you feel full, longer. Try cottage cheese with fruit, eggs with whole-wheat toast, or Greek yogurt with a banana.
Do I eat too close to bedtime?
A late-night meal can spell trouble for your weight loss plan. It may raise your body temperature, blood sugar, and insulin, which makes it harder for you to burn fat. This is why I advise against eating past 7 or 8 pm. Try to eat dinner at least 3 hours before you go to sleep.
Also, be careful about snacking after supper. You take in more calories than you realize when you nibble while you watch TV or use the computer. You may also be tempted to eat unhealthy foods like ice cream or potato chips.
Is it because I'm under too much stress?
Possibly. Stress tends to make you reach for high-calorie, high-fat foods. Your body also tends to store more fat when you're stressed out.
To reduce stress, try meditation, to relax your mind and exercise with a camp, extra classes or personal training to release stress through the body.
Do I burn calories more slowly than other people?
Possibly. How fast you burn them is based on your metabolism -- chemical reactions that maintain your body.
If you have a slow metabolism, your genes may be to blame. Or you may not have enough lean muscle mass. People with lean, muscular bodies burn more calories than people with a higher percentage of body fat. You can assist in the speeding up of your metabolism, with B12 shots and the Get Up and Go IV Therapy. Also, strength training will help you build more lean muscle, which will then burn more of the calories.
Other things that can affect how you burn calories:
- Getting older. Your metabolism slows down about 2%-8% every decade. That may be from decreased muscle mass.
- Eating too little. It sounds strange, but the truth is, if you skip meals or follow a very low-calorie diet, it can backfire by making you burn calories more slowly.
Am I getting enough sleep?
When you don't get your ZZZs, it can make it harder to lose weight. Your metabolism may slow and you won't burn calories as fast as you'd like.
You may also have less energy when you don't get enough sleep. That makes it harder to exercise.
Also, when you're tired, you're more likely to make poor diet choices, like choosing sweets over fruit. In a recent study, people who didn't get enough sleep ate about 300 more calories per day than those who got more rest.
Is it my genes?
Maybe. Some bodies are simply better at burning fat than others. It's something you inherit from your parents or grandparents.
You don't have any control over the genes that were passed to you, so you may need to work a little harder to burn calories and lose weight.
That’s my quick and dirty checklist of why you may be having a hard time losing weight. It will probably be helpful to review your life, what are you eating, when are you eating, when are you sleeping and for how many hours, etc. Your daily meal plan can come in handy to help track some of these metrics. This will give you the ability to see what needs to be changed and or improved upon. Weight loss is a matter of a number of things coming and working together to see the results you desire, as you can see it’s not just one thing, but many that have to be tweaked to suit your body and it’s needs. Don’t give up just figure out what works best for you and the pounds will come off. No Mess!
