Why you may be dieting and exercising but not losing weight
Dieting and exercising but not losing weight is a common problem for people trying to lose weight. Its really troubling staying away from your favorite ‘unhealthy’ calorie-packed foods like pizza, cakes but things fail to work your way. Worst of all, you may be hitting the gym 5 days a week with over 2 hours of working out but results don’t come as you would want them to. But sit back, relax and let’s find out what is wrong and we find a solution. It’s you who knows where you are going wrong but we shall find a solution together just hang on.
There are various reasons why you may be on proper diet and good workouts but then fail to lose weight. They include impatience, slowed metabolism, genes, diseases, stress and many more reasons in this article.
Why am I not losing weight after exercising?
Weight loss is a matter of many dos and don’ts. So with exercising alone, you may not achieve the desired weight loss goal. Exercising should be accompanied by a healthy diet, staying stress-free and lots more weight loss-friendly activities. Losing weight is not complicated but it’s about adapting some healthy habits and dropping some. An example is avoiding unnecessary snacking and taking lots of water. Try making your weight loss approach wide hitting it from different angles with a proper weight loss diet inclusive.
What should I do if I can’t lose weight?
If you can’t lose weight you should first find what’s wrong. ‘Knowing a disease is half the cure’ and it implies in this situation where you first have to figure out what you are doing wrong that’s making your weight loss difficult. Below are some of the reasons you may not lose weight.
Maybe you are losing weight without realizing it.
Many people tend to put much focus on the scale and get disappointed in the end or even quit. Yet in the real sense, things were working out fine. When you get onto the scale, it does not only measure fat but all your body from muscles, bones, fluids. So it’s better to use other means of checking your progress. For example
- Take pictures at the start of your dieting and exercise and compare them to those taken 2 weeks after, a month after if you see progress in the reduction of body mass then you are burning fat.
- Try on the same jean after a month of dieting and working out, if you see it is doesn’t fit like before jackpot!! You are on the right track. Checking yourself in the mirror can tell too.
Unless you have been stuck on the same weight for a week or 2, then that’s when you can start worrying about it.
Patience is virtue
Weight loss will not come overnight after you have decided to do a good diet and exercise. It will take some time. Maybe you haven’t waited long enough and you want to see a great weight loss after a week or two. Many people expect too much when on diet and workouts, those unrealistic expectations will make you feel like not progressing. Bear in mind that weight loss is a slow process and you shouldn’t aim at losing so much weight in a short period of time. The healthy weight loss is 1.5 pounds per week. If it’s so that you are losing that weight, then you are on the right track just be patient with yourself and stay on diet with exercise. Don’t get disappointed and quit because weight loss will come at its time, just be patient.
Slowed metabolism
Some people tend to burn more calories than others even when they are on the same diet or workouts. It is with the absence of enough lean muscles. People with more lean muscles are capable of burning more calories than those with a higher percentage of fat. Another reason for slowed metabolism is age. As people get older, their metabolism gets slowed and so they won’t be able to burn calories as they used to in their youthful age. With that put into consideration, just aim at boosting your metabolism. You can boost your metabolism by taking a cup of any of these teas; peppermint, green, rose or ginger tea.
Not doing enough or the right exercise.
No matter how we may be dieting and exercising, we won’t lose weight with ineffective workouts. Sometimes, we tend to go easy on ourselves when it comes to doing exercise. It’s out of laziness, tight schedule or tiring too quickly. But this will affect your weight loss goal as you won’t be able to accomplish. In order to lose weight, we should have calories burned with the right exercises and intensity. Weight loss experts recommend spending 60-90 minutes working out and can be lowered to 30 minutes if the workouts are of high intensity. And other times we are doing it all wrong.
Have you ever been told that you are doing the push-up or sit up wrong? It happened to me when I got corrected to how I did an ineffective push up I had been doing for over a year. Such happens and you may not be effective in burning fat and calories. And so, get a proper workout guide or trainer. With plenty of workouts on YouTube from experienced trainers or videos sold on amazon, all these could help you work out effectively.
Not getting enough sleep
As we lay down to sleep, our bodies don’t completely rest that’s why you wake up hungry yet you have been ”inactive”. Our bodies do a lot of body processes as we sleep and it is estimated that a 7-hour sleep burns about 400 calories. Since sleep is important for the body to function well, you will also feel relieved and be free from stress which is also a major weight gain cause. And as you sleep, you won’t be snacking which is a sure weight gain measure. Lack of proper sleep will result in feeling hunger making you eat adding more calories into your diet. The lack of sleep will also make you feel tired making you unable or ineffective to workout. It is recommended to get over 7 hours of sleep to effectively lose weight. Here is an article on how to lose weight by sleeping.
Drinking too much alcohol
Beer, wine and sugary alcoholic beverages are high in calories and not good if you are trying to lose weight. You may be doing everything right but those four beers you take in the evening may add your body’s calorie intake by about 612 calories. Wines and beers have a lot of calories in them, for example, 12 ounce of beer has around 153 calories and a glass of red wine with 125 calories on average. Sometimes even when you get drunk you may forget about your health like how a friend spent his credit card ordering 5o pizzas and eating 10 while drunk yet he was on a weight loss diet just imagine those calories. And we had pizzas to eat all week round. And so, when you can’t do without alcohol try taking calorie fewer drinks like vodka or whiskey and avoid getting drunk.
You are not drinking enough water.
Taking juice or sweetened drinks every time you are thirst is a disaster to your weight loss. If you are not taking enough water, then it may be the problem why you aren’t losing weight. Drinking plain water will help you lose a couple of pounds every day. Water satisfies your thirst without adding calories or weight onto your body. It also removes the temptation of you grabbing sweetened or processed drinks like soda, juices which are high in calories. Drinking a glass of water before meals will make you feel satisfied quicker and so you will consume less amount of food. If you haven’t been taking enough water, it’s not too late to start now.
Related: How to lose weight by drinking water.
Sitting a lot
Sitting most of the time most probably at work or in front of the Tv will make your body slow in losing weight. Think it out, your body’s metabolism will be low since you will be inactive and thus very few calories burned. And that sitting always causes the urge to snack even when you are not hungry but that boredom. It will be a wise move to get up every after an hour and make some stretching or a 10-minute walk. It will be a short period of time but its better than none at all. Always get an excuse to walk around from your desk as this will help you burn some calories.
Following a poor quality diet plan.
Diet plans are money-making nowadays, many people are making diet plans in efforts of getting money but what has this left to the people who buy them since some are of poor quality. Whether you have bought it or made it yourself, a poorly planned diet plan will not deliver desired results since it may not be science-based. And also some diet plans may be so boring to follow having the same kind of foods making people drop them after a few days. Here is a solution, get a science-based diet plan from a reliable and trusted source.
Pregnancy
It’s very healthy and normal to gain weight while you are pregnant and losing weight while you are pregnant that’s when things are bad. But when you have someone growing in your womb it’s obvious you will be gaining weight as the baby grows. Therefore, go easy on yourself if you are pregnant and think about postpartum weight loss instead.
Genes
Some people are able to stay slim even when they are on what you may call an unhealthy diet. They can do all the cake at the party, eat 3 pizzas but then they stay slim. With others, they are able to gain weight even on a low-calorie diet all this due to the genes. It is the same case with burning calories where some are able to burn them faster than others even when under the same diet and workouts. If you happen to have low-calorie burning genes, then you should put in an extra effort while at the gym.
Putting much focus on food.
If you are the type of person who puts so much focus on food, eating right but going slow or skipping workouts you better change it. Because to lose weight, the body should be in a calorie deficiency. Diet may not be a fully effective measure for weight loss. In the long term, dieting will not get you the desired weight but rather gain weight instead. You should approach weight loss by covering both diet and exercise equally for better results.
Consuming sugary drinks.
If you are a person who grabs soda, juice or sweet drinks whenever you feel thirsty, then you won’t lose weight easily because these sweet drinks have a high-calorie count. For faster burning of body fat and weight loss, substitute these sugary drinks with water. Water is healthier than processed drinks and it is calorie-free.
Being stressed out.
Stress causes weight gain in many people, especially around the tummy. Being stressed out will cause you to get comfort in eating. This is caused by hormone cortisol which will increase the person’s appetite and make you overeat. You won’t even be able to keep up with proper dieting and exercise with a stressed mind. Happiness is linked to weight loss in such a way that 10-15 minutes of laughing will help you burn 40 calories. Therefore, try to stay happy by hanging out with friends, doing yoga and join a support group to improve your moods.
Monotonous workouts and diet
Sometimes we tend to have a ‘working’ workout plan and diet we got from a famous website and we stick on that one for ages. This one of the reasons you will be dieting and exercising but not losing weight. In the end, it gets so damn boring since the mind will get used to it. When we stick on one plan and workout, our bodies tend to get used to it and exercises will no longer be challenging and effective. This is when you find out that the workout you used to do is now simple and you can do lots of sets and repetitions without tiring. But for workouts to be effective, they must be challenging. Therefore, switch up workouts now and change your diet if you have been using it for so long that it no longer works effectively.
Gender
I know of couples who hit the gym at once but the men happen to lose weight faster than the women. It’s not that the women are lazy but it’s about how men and women were made. A man is able to burn calories and fat faster than a woman. So don’t get compared to your husband and term success that way. Just stick to your workout plan and diet.
Taking a long time in between meals.
You may think it helps to starve yourself and taking longer to eat. It may not be effective as the body will slow down metabolism when it senses hunger so as to keep you safe. This may be one of the reasons you are dieting and exercising but not losing weight. Because when you finally eat, you may overeat due to hunger. The same applies when you skip a meal, your body will force you to overeat to compensate for the meal you missed. Those extra calories that weren’t burned by the body when it sensed hunger and the overeating, may all lead to weight gain rather than loss. It is wise to grab healthy snacks or drink water in between times for meals so as your body won’t go in starvation mode to cause you to overeat later on.
Medical conditions
Some medical conditions will make you not to lose weight even when on a proper weight loss diet and effective workout plan. Many diseases may hinder weight loss. And if you happen to think a disease is hindering your weight loss, then seek help from your doctor.
Is working out 30 minutes a day enough to lose weight?
Working out will depend on the intensity and weight loss target. But generally, weight loss experts recommend working out for about 60-90 minutes. With this time of working out, you are sure of burning lots of calories whether you are jogging, swimming or in the gym. But if your workout intensity is high and you are doing burst exercises with little time of rest, then 30 minutes may be effective.
Bottom line, don’t give up just yet. Figure out what you may be doing wrong, correct it and then weight loss will be a lot simpler. Don’t give up, winners never do.