WHY CAN’T I LOSE WEIGHT?! 8 POSSIBLE REASONS

Why can’t I lose weight?! 8 possible reasons 

Many people are surprised that, despite the fact that they think they are doing all the right things, every time they step on the scales, there is no change in their weight. You’d think that losing weight is simple, eat less and exercise more, but, there is more to it than that. Sometimes, what appears to be a very insignificant decision that you make in your everyday life, can have a major impact on your weight. Another reason for you not being able to lose weight is that you think that you are doing all the right things, but you are not quite doing enough. Whatever the reasons, it is completely de-motivating when, despite all your best efforts, your weight stubbornly refuses to budge, so read these eight reasons why you might not be losing weight:

1. Exercise alone seldom does the trick

Exercise does burn calories and it is good for you in many other ways too, but it doesn’t burn as many calories, as you might think. On average, an hour of intensive exercise will burn only approximately 450 calories, but you can eat many times that number of calories in just a few minutes. The temptation, when you rely on exercise alone, is to think that you can eat more, because you are exercising and so, you actually experience no weight loss whatsoever. You have to create a calorie deficit, in order for your body to start burning fat, so both reduced eating and exercise are both necessary, if you want to lose weight.

2. Why can’t I lose weight? You can lose fat without losing weight

It’s not only what the scales say that matters, it’s the amount of fat that you are carrying. If you are exercising, then you will be building up lean muscle mass, as well as losing fat, and the weight that you have lost in body fat might be being countered by the weight you have gained in muscle. Don’t only rely on the scales, check yourself out in a mirror and see whether your body shape is changing to find out if you are making any progress.

3. You need to be consistent

It’s far easier to put on the weight, than it is to lose it, so you need to stick with your diet and exercise regime pretty religiously. The odd slip or occasional treat is inevitable, but it is the frequency of these treats that you need to be aware of. Just because you’ve followed the rules for a week doesn’t mean you can go mad for a day.

4. You need to take all the calorie burning opportunities

The little choices that you make during the day can make a huge difference to your weight loss. Take, for example, the choice of taking the stairs or the escalator. Take the escalator and, of course, you burn no significant amount of calories. Take the stairs and just one flight will burn off around 10-20 calories. Take the stair option, every time you’re faced with that choice in a day, and you could be burning off an extra 200 calories a day. There are opportunities to burn calories all through the day from whether you walk or ride, to even just where you park the car.

5. You might be eating more than you think

If you are not concentrating on what you eat, then the chances are that you are eating a whole lot more, than you think. Most people now tend to eat while reading, eat while looking at the computer or eat in front of the TV. Eating while distracted has been proven time and time again to increase the likelihood of your overeating, so switch off, sit down, concentrate on what you are eating and enjoy it, and that way you are likely to eat much less.

6. You need to have an eating schedule

There is evidence that suggests following a regular eating pattern is very beneficial, when you are trying to lose weight. When you eat on a regular schedule, your metabolism is more stable as are your blood sugar levels, both of which will assist with weight loss. The other factor here is that, if you eat to a pattern, it is much easier to keep a track of what you have eaten.

7. You’re probably eating more sugar than you think

Another tip that might answer your question ‘why can’t I lose weight?’ is that you are probably eating more sugar than you think. You might think that you are eating the right foods, but it is easy to be misled, especially, when it comes to the added sugar in some products. The best advice is to check food labels carefully and watch out for the hidden sugar. You can find hidden sugar in breakfast cereals, muesli bars, sauces and relishes and pre-prepared meals. It’s not always labelled as sugar either, you also need to watch out for added glucose, sucrose, fructose, corn syrup and even fruit juice concentrate.

8. Why can’t I lose weight? May be you are not getting enough sleep

There has been plenty of research and it has been proven that there is a link between lack of sleep and weight gain. If you don’t get enough sleep, it alters the hormones in your body that are responsible for you feeling hungry and feeling full. An average adult should be aiming to get, at least, eight hours of sleep a night and any less than that can increase your craving for food the next day to a point that you will overeat again.

Do you have some other tips for people who wonder: ‘Why can’t I lose weight?!’

Feel free to share your tips to lose weight in the comment section below.

Stay happy and healthy!

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