In this post I’m breaking down 5 Reasons Why You Can’t Lose Weight. They might be things you’ve thought about before… but I bet some of these ARE going to surprise you. Let’s jump right in then.
5 Reasons Why You Can’t Lose Weight
Today I want to talk with you about 5 reasons why you probably can’t lose weight. You haven’t had a bite of pizza or had a sneaky bag of chips in what feels like forever, but you still can’t seem to shift the pounds. What’s up with that? Here are the real reasons that may be stopping your winning streak, plus some of our top tips.
The Science
We all know that you lose weight by eating less. But it’s when you’re in a calorie deficit that we will find ourselves losing weight. Along with regular exercise and a well-balanced diet, the weight will gradually and naturally drop off you as your body uses up your fat stores and burning those calories.
The Possible Weightloss Pitfalls
1. You’re eating too much healthy food
Yes, you’ve heard us right. The saying “too much of a good thing” applies right here. Everything that you eat contains calories – yes, by making healthier food choices it’s better for your health, but it doesn’t mean it’s better for your waistline. A good example of healthy foods that are high in calories are Avocados, Nuts, and even Granola. All of these are good but in moderation. Make sure that you are measuring out your portions and tracking what you’re eating to avoid going over on the calories.
2. You are drinking your calories
This is easily done, varying from soft drinks to alcoholic beverages – there are pitfalls where you can be drinking away hundreds of calories. For example, your tasty drive-by Venti Latte from Starbucks is a whopping 250 calories. Your 12oz can of Coca-Cola contains 140 calories and get ready for it… Your Medium McDonalds Milkshake contains 670 calories. Without even knowing it, we are drinking a large number of calories each day. Can you cut any out?
3. You are not burning as many calories as you think you are
The calorie burn that is calculated as you work out isn’t the only calorie burn that counts – what you do in between your structured workouts can have more of an impact on your health than you realize. Especially with the recent Covid-19 outbreak, people are moving less and our calorie burn is lower than before, it’s important to consider our NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis).
NEAT in simple terms is the energy expenditure that we don’t typically take into account. It might be energy that we use as we work, stand, walk, talk, tidy the house, or even just fidget. These somewhat trivial-sounding physical activities can actually have a remarkable impact on our metabolic rate and as a result, stimulate greater energy expenditure over time. The scale of this effect, of course, depends on the amount and what type of physical activity you engage in. Also, it’s important to take into account its thermogenic cost, which means how much the activity drives energy expenditure above your resting metabolic rate.
4. Condiments
You’re on track with your calories. Dinner time comes round and you’re plating up a delicious healthy grilled chicken fillet, a pile of veg on the side but then you cover your meal in lashings of mayonnaise or BBQ sauce. We’ve all been there. Sadly, our condiments have more calories in them than we would like to think. That goes for the olive oil we cook in too. It’s the hidden calories you didn’t know or think you were having.
Shockingly Mayonnaise carries around 94 calories per tablespoon as opposed to BBQ sauce which is only 29 calories. Tomato ketchup comes in at around 19 calories. Olive oil has around 119 calories per tablespoon serving as well however, extra virgin olive oil is one of the healthiest fats packed full of antioxidants and can offer some powerful health benefits including a reduced risk of heart disease.
5. You are not sleeping enough
If you’re lacking sleep, pulling those late nights, early mornings, you may find weight slowly creeping on, but you can’t put your finger on why.
Sleep deprivation causes changes to your hormones that regulate hunger and appetite, changes that you didn’t even know were happening. We have 2 main hormones in our body that help us when it comes to sleep – Leptin, and Ghrelin. The hormone leptin usually suppresses appetite and encourages the body to expend energy. This is the feeling you get when you wake up after a long lay in and feel brand new. However, sleep deprivation reduces leptin levels within your body which can leave you feeling groggy and low on energy.
The hormone ghrelin, on the other hand, triggers feelings of hunger. Ghrelin levels increase in your body when you’re tired and your body needs more sleep. With these 2 hormones fighting against you, your only way to gain instant energy to replace the lack of sleep is food and drink to keep your body energized. This is why you’ll be more likely to want junk food and feel the need to have a lay-in after you’ve had a night out. As opposed to feeling motivated and energized to do a workout and make a healthy dinner.
The Takeaway
The best way to track your weight loss/gain is to track your calories, you can do this with calorie-tracking apps – one we recommend is MyFitnessPal. Work out how many calories you need each day. You can do that by working out your NEAT. Then put a plan together on how you are going to achieve those goals.
If you need a hand on putting together a plan, whether it be fitness or nutrition then get in touch today. Let me help you stay on top of your fitness and nutrition with fat-torching home workouts and nutrition plans specific to your needs. Together, we can make those dreams a reality.
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