Why Am I Not Losing Weight? 5 Reasons Revealed

Everyone who is on their weight loss journey at some point wonders, “why am I not losing weight?”. When you decide to start getting healthy by working out or making changes in your diet, you think you have nailed it. It is critical to have a proper understanding of the weight loss process and how unique each process is depending on a person’s age, sex, family history, body mass index, etc. Sometimes, despite all your efforts, you’re still not dropping the pounds! There may be many reasons why this happens. This article explores the 5 main reasons causing it and throws light on some extra info on mindful weight-loss techniques and start your weight loss journey in a most beneficial way.

How Hard is it to Lose Weight?

The biggest hurdle to lose weight is to acknowledge the fact that obesity is a chronic disease, and you need to start getting healthy. If you have this determination, then you have the best start to your weight loss journey. Losing weight is not an easy process and it is even harder to keep it off. However, understanding why exactly losing all the excess flab is so hard to attain will help you overcome setbacks and increase your chances of success in your weight-loss journey.

Social media over-pours with ideas like fad diets, magic pills, advertisements about fancy equipment, and various other weight-loss products, and yet none can give you sustainable results. It is vital to realize that as easy as these promises sound, it usually isn’t. Losing weight doesn’t solely mean choosing salads over junk food or finding time to exercise. These factors certainly get you closer to your goal, but true weight loss can only be achieved through perseverance and commitment. Everyone’s body is unique, and you need to commit to a plan that best suits you.

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5 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight

You have been genuinely committed and consistently working hard but yet, hit a plateau? At some point, everyone in their weight-loss process experiences this. However, not all for the same reasons. Therefore, understanding the “why” behind your plateau can help you achieve long-term results. Losing weight and keeping it off requires you to change your choices even after you reach your goal weight. It’s about commitment and making a genuine effort to better your health regardless of the success or setbacks you experience. To this end, here are five reasons why you’re not losing weight despite all your hard work.

  1. Lack of hydration- Not drinking enough water and complaining about not losing weight? Well, a low intake of water not according to your body’s requirements will lead to toxins and fat accumulation in your body. Drinking water and staying hydrated cleans and clears out your intestines, aids digestion, and improves metabolism. Without proper hydration digestion, metabolism, excretion, and cell functions are not at optimum levels and that affects you adversely, especially if you’re trying to lose weight.
  2. Lack of good sleep- It is a no-brainer that lack of sleep can lead to weight gain. Despite working out and eating healthy, if you still experience weight gain or not losing weight as you should, then you must monitor your sleep patterns. Your brain needs a break after working tirelessly throughout the day and so does your body. So, when your body is deprived of sleep, it leads to muscle fatigue and hormonal imbalance which subsequently leads to weight gain.
  3. Taking prescription medications- Another reason for your lack of weight loss is drugs or other prescription medications. Certain drugs induce hunger, interfere with metabolism, and even lead to water retention in your body. Weight loss becomes exceptionally difficult as medicines like painkillers, contraceptives, antidepressants, cortisone capsules, allergy, and blood pressure medicines hinder your weight loss process. Seek guidance from your doctor for potential alternatives for these medicines and discuss your weight-loss goals as well.
  4. Skipping meals- If you are thinking skipping meals is a good idea to pertain to a low-calorie diet, then you are wrong. Skipping meals decreases your metabolic rate which means low-calorie burn and fat accumulation. It may also result in bad nutrition and leaves you starving, making you overeat during your next meal. A good rule of thumb regarding diet is eating 3 meals a day with 2 snacking sessions. However, portion control is still mandatory alongside good nutrition. Eating clean will give you positive long-term results in terms of weight-loss management.
  5. Careless calorie intake- Last but not least, be mindful about what and how much you eat. If you manage to track your food but not the calories, then the purpose is moot. Most foods have hidden calories, added sugar, or even worse artificial additives or preservatives. All these hinder you from losing weight even if you think you are eating right It is indeed a fact that your body needs calories to survive, but more importantly, it needs nutrients to function properly. Counting calories doesn’t necessarily mean healthy eating, however, being mindful of what you consume on a daily basis certainly aids proper nutrition and prevents weight gain.

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How to Overcome a Weight-loss Plateau?

As discussed earlier, it is common for people to experience weight-loss stalls, even after regular exercise and a healthy diet. In the beginning stage of weight loss, it is easier to drop pounds as your body gains energy from its stores of glycogen, especially if you are following a calorie-deficit diet. However, as you move on, you lose fat along with muscle and this leads to improper metabolism. Thus, your weight-loss progress dies down slowly, and you hit a plateau. This is when the number of calories you consume becomes equal to what you burn, resulting in no noticeable difference in your body weight. To overcome this obstacle, two things are to be changed: the amount of exercise you do and the number of calories you consume. Reassess your eating habits and rev up your exercise regime by packing more activity into your day. This would certainly aid in further weight loss as the calories you burn would outweigh the calories you ate. Remember, you will hit a weight-loss plateau if you are too strict with your diet as well. To prevent this, enjoy cheat-meals once a week that has 500 calories more than your normal diet days.

Conclusion

To lose weight organically and successfully, you need to make sustainable lifestyle changes and be consistent at it. If not, you are most likely to regain what you lost more quickly than how and when you lost it. However, if you still cannot lose weight after following a sustainable plan, then it is time for you to seek professional help. There might be specific underlying health conditions that are making weight-loss a difficult process for you. You could also consult a dietician or nutritionist and even a personal trainer, who will be able to develop a proper weight-loss plan suiting your personal needs and lifestyle factors. Understand that shedding those unwanted pounds is no easy game. Everybody sheds weight differently and there is no one-size-fits-all mantra. Begin by finding out what’s hindering your weight-loss and stick to new goals and refrain from regressing to old habits. Keep your goals realistic. Good luck with your unique journey!

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