Help! Why am I not losing weight? I started exercising and eating better and the pounds just aren’t coming off. Sound familiar? If you have started a new diet and exercise program and you have not seen any significant weight loss or are not yet meeting your weight loss goals it can be very frustrating. However, there is no need to fret and give up already after the work you have put in at the gym and go back to sitting around and eating fatty foods because your troubles can be corrected and you can start to lose weight again you just need to diagnose the problem. In this hub I will explore and discuss some possible causes to why you are working out and dieting but still not losing the weight. Transforming your body is something that takes patience and regular adjustments in order to be successful so please don’t give up just reevaluate.
You need more sleep
You could argue that sleep is the most important part of our daily routines and not getting enough sleep can have dramatic effects on how we live our lives. First of all sleep helps you to recover from your previous workouts and if you’re not getting enough your fitness goals will be hindered because your muscle aren’t getting the proper rest that they need. Sleep can also effect your moods which can cause you to cheat on your diet or simply get off schedule and miss a workout. Think back over the period of time that you have been trying to lose weight and try to remember if you have had any days where you lacked sleep and it caused you any problems with your diet or routine. If so one of your weight loss problems might be cured with more sleep which isn’t such bad solution right?
You haven’t given it enough time
In theory if your exercise and eat right your body will start to lose weight but this isn’t always going to be the case right away. I know personally that last year when I started to workout again after months of being away from the gym I didn’t see any weight loss for the first month or so. While it was frustrating to not see any results on the scale I looked for other signs of my physical improvement such as new strength, endurance, elevated mood, and some new muscle. That extra bit of muscle I put on when I first started could have been the difference on the scales that first month and just as an aside I dropped 30 lbs over the next year which was all the weight I needed to lose. Your body isn’t going to change overnight but if you give it time I assure you that it will.
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You have hit a plateau
If on the other hand you were seeing great results in the beginning of your routine and now after a couple months your weight loss or strength gains are almost non-existent then you may have hit a plateau. Our bodies are surprisingly adaptable to stress and new situations and if you don’t change up the type of workouts you do then losing weight will be increasingly difficult to do. You can make adjustments to your workout by introducing new exercises into the mix every couple of weeks or completely change the type of training you do every six weeks or so.
Too many calories
Working out doesn’t give you a free pass to eat whatever you want and still lose weight. In order to lose weight you need to create a caloric deficit each day meaning burning more calories than you take in. If you aren’t losing weight there is a very good chance that you are consuming more calories than your body needs in order to lose weight. Use an online calculator to figure out what your daily maintenance calories are while undertaking your current fitness routine and begin to slow reduce your calories. This doesn’t mean starve yourself, you want to eat lots of nutrient dense foods within your allotted range of calories each day. Stick to more natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, and lean cuts of meat that are high in protein and try to stay away from processed foods as much as possible.
You aren’t lifting weights
Some people trying to lose weight simply head to the gym and do half an hour to an hour of slow cardio and that is the extent of their workout. I’m not saying this is a terrible strategy to lose weight because any exercise is better than no exercise but they are ignoring a whole segment of physical activity that cannot only increase the amount of weight you lose but also help to shape your body.
Lifting weights helps you burn more calories during your time at the gym as well as giving you strength and more muscle mass which helps to burn even more calories. Also, if you want to give your body a certain look you are going to need to engage in weight lifting. If you are a woman who questions weight lifting because you don’t want to get bulky you don’t need to fret because you do not have the testosterone necessary to add that kind of bulk and lifting weights will give you they sexy shape that you desire. It is a good idea to start out a lifting routine maybe 3 times per week and then gradually add a fourth or even a fifth day when your body gets used to the new stress you are placing upon it.
Not Enough Cardio
I know, I know cardio for all intensive purposes sucks. Sitting on an exercise bike or on an elliptical machine can be terribly boring but it must be done to burn a sufficient number of calories and lose weight. The good thing is that cardiovascular exercise can be done in many forms such as playing your favorite sport a few times a week or even joining a group class that can be fun and a great way to meet new people. For me I like to play basketball at least once a week and for my other days on which I need to do my cardio I simply do 15-20 minutes on the track, then the same on an exercise bike, and then the same on the elliptical so that I’m not totally bored doing the same repetitive exercise for 45 minutes.
With that in mind not doing cardio or doing an insufficient amount of cardiovascular activity will be a huge hindrance in you losing weight. While a good body is made in the kitchen you still need to put the work in while at the gym. I would try to aim for a cardio session 4 or 5 times per week and making sure that you give your body a few times a week in order to rest. Once you have established that routine you may once again hit a plateau and you will need to ramp up the intensity of your workouts. So for instance if you have been jogging you could throw in one or two days per week where you replace it with sprinting which would not only force your body to adapt to new challenges but also a shorter cardio workout for you.
You Haven’t Been Consistent
Sticking with the program both by performing each of your scheduled workouts and keeping you diet in order is absolutely imperative while trying to lose weight. Too many people treat exercise and nutrition as something that is temporary and that they can achieve great results by putting forth mediocre effort. I’m sorry but it isn’t going to work very well with that kind of attitude. You became overweight in the first place due to your lifestyle and you are going to try to lose weight and keep it off by temporarily changing some habits? The negative effects of how you have been living your life must be addressed if you are truly going to make a life altering change in your body and health. So if you have been sticking to an exercise routine and diet during the weekdays and then let yourself have free reign to eat like a slob on the weekends you are pretty much letting most of your hard work go to waste.
Be consistent with everything, you can still treat yourself every once in a while but do so in moderation and pay attention to the nutritional content of the foods that you eat. I found out when I was younger that once I educated myself about proper nutrition I became way less likely to eat the foods that would have an ill effect on my health and appearance. As an added bonus I lost over 30 lbs and stay fairly lean year round just by sticking with the plan I have laid out for myself and when beach season starts to creep up I never have to do anything dramatic in order to look my best, just make minor adjustments.
Losing weight can definitely be a challenge but it is not impossible to accomplish. The fact that you have already started on the journey to good health and a better physical appearance should be applauded but complacency and discouragement are always ready to knock you off track when you aren’t seeing the weight loss results that you want. Take a good long look at your life and these tips and see what areas of your life you could tighten up to make your goals a reality. Once you have identified a suspected problem for you do some more research on how to correct it and get back to watching those pounds of fat come right off.