13 Reasons You’re not Losing Weight

Weight loss isn’t an easy thing to do. There are so many different facets to a realistic and maintainable weight loss program. Are you exercising? Eating well? Trying to stay hydrated? Staying away from unhealthy options? Still not losing weight?

Here are a few reasons why you may be at a weight loss plateau. Go through the list and evaluate yourself – in how many of these categories do you find yourself?

You Snack Too Much
This might be out of boredom and not hunger. Snacking is good, but too much of anything is not healthy. Try snacking on raw vegetables like carrots and cucumber, and hot drinks – they are likely to fill you up so you do not keep snacking. Drinking a glass of water with your meals will help so your snacks aren’t too large, as well – and you may find that what you thought was hunger is actually thirst.You’re Generous With Portion Sizes

You’re eating the right foods, and at the right times – just too much of them. Protein (meat, fish, chicken, etc.) should be the size of your palm. A serving of salad and vegetables should be as much as two cupped hands. A portion of cheese needs to be the size of a matchbox. Larger portion sizes are all around us; know what looks (and feels) like too much, and cut back some calories!

You Think You Are Hungry – You’re Actually Thirsty
Time and again, we all mistake hunger for being thirsty, so, whenever you think you want more food have a drink first. Judge your hunger after drinking a glass of water and waiting about 15 minutes – you may find you were actually thirsty, and not hungry.

You’re Eating Late At Night
If you’re juggling a job and a family it’s hard to eat at regular times. But eating late at night means that whatever you eat isn’t given a chance to be burnt off, and it sits in your body all night long. Sit down to eat with your family at 6 or 7 pm if possible, or, eat something before everyone else has their dinner. When in doubt, or if you’re on a non-traditional schedule, try not to eat in the two hours before bedtime.

You’re Eating Your Kids’ Leftovers
Nobody likes wasting food, but finishing off everyone else’s dinner will give you a waist you don’t like! Instead of throwing food away, make a bit less than usual, start a compost heap for your leftovers or learn to enjoy a “second” session of that meal the next day for lunch, instead of later that night. If you’re still making too much food, find a food bank or shelter to donate your leftovers!

You’re Getting Older
After the age of 35, metabolism slows down and hormones begin to change, resulting in fat accumulating in different places such as the waist, hips, thighs and butt. Know what that means? You must be more diligent in your eating and exercise habits the older you get, as there is less room for error. That chocolate cake isn’t the same as it was ten years ago!

You’re Doing It Alone
Having a friend, family member, or trainer to motivate you and share those times when you’re feeling down can make all the difference. Join a club or ask a friend if they will be your diet buddy. A professional is great, but it can also be expensive – if you’ve got a friend going through the same trials you are, join up in arms and help each other! Together, we can overcome anything!

Your Goals Are Unrealistic
If you haven’t set yourself a realistic goal, then you’ll easily feel down when you don’t reach it and you’ll give up without thinking twice. Start off with a small goal – even just a pound – and you’ll soon feel more able to stick to your diet. No success so far? Suck it up. We all fail – it’s what we do after failure that defines us.

You’re Not Eating
Your body thinks you’re starving, so it holds on to fat and goes into survival mode. Then, when you start eating again, it’s so confused that it keeps hold of any fat that you eat, thereby putting on more weight than you lost originally. Sounds bizarre, doesn’t it? Stick to a balanced diet to lose weight, and forget starving yourself on unrealistically low-calorie diets – you’ll find that they are unsustainable and quite frankly, extremely unhealthy for you.

You’re Stressed
There are two ways that stress can make you fat: you eat more when you’re worried about something, and stress causes your body makes more of a hormone that stores fat. There’s nothing like exercise to help beat the blues, stay relaxed, take out frustrations and, in turn, burn calories. Take the stress out on the treadmill or in the weight room!

You’re Not Sleeping
It has been proven time and again that lack of sleep increases your weight. The reason for this is when you are tired, your body must eat more to stay awake. On top of that, lack of sleep interferes with metabolism and appetite-regulating hormones, which means your body may store more fat than if you were well-rested. Go to bed right now (well, if possible!).

You’re A Binge Eater
You’ve had a good week and lost a couple of pounds, so what do you do? You eat chocolate cake. You might think that one little treat won’t matter, but you can have your whole days’ calorie allowance in one cheat meal. Of course you can have a small treat, but gorging as a reward sets you back. Consistency Matters. And remember that whole “you’re getting older,” thing from above? Yeah. That binge counts more the older you get. You don’t need to be perfect, but you can always be better.

You’re Going Halfway
You want to be easy on yourself and do things gradually, but there’s no point doing five sit-ups and then rewarding yourself with a cream cake. You need to exercise and cut the fat and sugar from your diet while increasing the vitamins, minerals and fiber. Anything worth doing is worth doing right; come correct, or don’t come at all. Get real about what you want, and what it’s really going to take to get there.

About the Author: Bobby DeMuro, NSCA-CPT, CSCS, is the Founder of FusionSouth, a personal training and sports conditioning firm in Charlotte, NC. He is also the Founder and Executive Director of NoFizz Charlotte, a non-profit dedicated to awareness on the importance of proper health and nutrition. He resides in Cornelius, NC, with his dog, Dakota.