Weight loss is the most common health & fitness goal in the world. You want to lose weight because you’re worried about your well-being. So, you begin a weight-loss journey and start doing everything you can to shed the pounds.
After a few months, you look in the mirror or check the scales and see no changes. If anything, there’s a slight increase in weight. How can this be? You follow all the tips and tricks you discover online, yet still find it hard to lose weight.
It’s an incredibly demotivating situation that millions of people find themselves in all the time. As a result, you start thinking that weight loss is unattainable and too difficult, so you pack it in.
Rather than giving up, what if you learned why you’re not losing weight? 90% of the time, your weight loss struggles are down to one of these reasons:
#1 You don’t like what you’re eating
Weight loss needs to be sustainable. You have to lose weight doing things you enjoy doing, so it comes easily and you don’t feel like you’re sacrificing too much. The most common problem is following a terrible diet plan. You hate what you eat and drink every day, so very quickly stop following the plan. This pushes you back into your old habits where you eat things that aren’t good for you and will make you gain weight.
Avoid any diet that’s either overly restrictive or forces you to eat things you hate. It will never yield long-term, sustainable, weight loss results. Focus on bringing the calories down in your meals. For some, this could be as simple as managing portion sizes. There’s nothing wrong with eating a bowl of pasta, as long as the portion isn’t crazily big!
As long as you consume fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. Mould a diet plan around this concept using foods you like. If the meals are balanced and you’re eating lots of whole foods, you’ll be healthy AND will start losing weight.
#2 You’re hungry all the time
Hunger is the second most common reason you’re not losing weight. Again, it goes back to the idea of restrictive diets and terrible weight-loss meal plans. Some of the diets out there will make you eat barely anything in a day. The concept is to reduce your calories, which therefore helps you lose weight.
Okay, great – but what happens when you’re hungry? A very hungry person who feels tired and drained. So, you’re more inclined to give up or give in and start snacking between meals. In turn, you pile on extra calories and continue struggling to lose weight.
The better approach is to eat things that keep you fuller for longer, yet aren’t too calorific. Good meal replacement shakes work well as they’re full of protein and fibre, which are hard for the body to digest. Therefore, you feel a lot fuller and don’t have cravings between meals. You’re less likely to push your calories too high, so weight loss becomes more achievable.
#3 You’re focusing on diet or fitness, not both
The third problem is when you only focus on diet or fitness.
Rewind a few paragraphs and we said that losing weight is all about calories in against calories out. We know what brings the calories in (food/drink) but what helps you burn calories? Every human being burns a set amount of calories per day by existing. This is the energy your body uses to complete its normal functions. We then add to this by moving around and using up more energy. The more we move, the more calories we burn. Better yet, the more we move with intensity, the more calories we start burning.
That’s why exercise is so beneficial – it helps you burn more calories per day. If you only focus on your diet, you might fall short in the calories burned category. Sure, you only eat 1500 calories a day, but what if that’s all you burn? Reducing your calorie intake below this can make you super hungry and tired, so what’s the solution? That’s right, you become more active to increase your calories burned, helping you reach a deficit to lose weight.
On the other hand, what if you follow a great fitness routine but don’t focus on your diet? You’re burning 2500 calories a day by walking everywhere and going to the gym daily. But you’re not managing what you eat. You eat whenever you’re hungry and snack loads, meaning you could consume 2500 calories also. Despite all the work you’re putting in, you won’t lose weight.
You must focus on both diet AND fitness to see true weight loss results. Don’t rely on one or the other as it makes life harder. The secret to losing weight is to remain active while following a diet that fills you up and is enjoyable. If you’re in a calorie deficit of around 300-500 per day, you will start losing weight!
