[dropcap]Y[/dropcap]ou’re doing everything you can but still struggling to lose weight, check out these 7 common reasons why you may be being cheated out of progress…
1. You’re not eating enough
This has to be first on the list. All the time I have clients come to me explaining that “nothing’s working” and once they go over their diet to me more often than not I measure (with the help of my good friend Myfitness Pal!) their calories at a measly 1000 calories or less… that’s seriously low (even for 10 year old!).
It’s easy enough when trying to lose weight to keep dropping out food as we’re not seeing results quick enough but dropping your calories too low will slow down your metabolism and once you stop losing that initial weight from eating less, you plateaux… and where do you go from there…? Down to 750 Calories? The key to losing weight is to keep that metabolism high by eating enough of the right foods.
2. You’re not following the diet plan
This is a frustrating one for us personal trainers. We send of the plan accommodated to your lifestyle, come back to review the progress 2 weeks later and the scales haven’t moved. “Have you followed the plan?” “Well I’ve only been eating 1 egg for breakfast and I’ve been eating this instead for my mid-morning and mid-afternoon meal…” Now you’re either not eating enough or eating the wrong things, your metabolism has failed to increase and stayed low so you’re still struggling to lose weight.
If you receive a nutrition plan try to follow it as much as possible. There’s a reason you are given a big breakfast, so many smaller meals, and only allow you to have carbs at certain points of the day (if at all). Trust your personal trainer when it comes to your diet! If you follow your diet exactly and you’re still not losing weight after 2 weeks then it’s all on your personal trainer and not you. If your follow the plan you will lose weight.
3. You’re not drinking enough water
Hydration is extremely important when it comes to losing weight. Not only does it supress your appetite but if you are dehydrated, your kidneys can’t function properly and therefore your body will turn to your liver for additional support. As the liver is working so hard this means that fat coming into the body will stored rather than burned off!
The recommended standard when it comes to water intake is between 8-12 glasses a day. When undergoing regular exercise I would stick to the upper end of this.
4. You’re under too much stress
Reducing stress in everyday life will lead to a greater weight loss. Whether it’s emotional stress, physical stress, financial stress, relationship stress, your body can not tell the difference between any of these. Any form of stress on the body releases cortisol into the body which catabolises muscle and promotes fat storage… and nobody wants that!
5. You’re not getting enough sleep/rest
Just like stress, sleep deprivation releases that dreaded fat storing hormone cortisol in the body. The biggest spike in growth hormone plasma levels which help with fat burning occurs in deep sleep. Get 7 to 8 sleep a night to ensure you are getting enough rest.
6. You’re not active enough
Are you spending 3-5 hours a week where you push yourself? Where you can safely say afterwards “yes I worked hard”?
There is no exact equation for how often you should be working out. It’s a case of trial and error for what works for your body type. Some people will need to train harder than others to drop pounds but it is down to you to determine if you are doing enough exercise per week to reach your goals. If you are not sure, contact a Fitness professional.
7. You have no accountability
It’s easy to give up if you are not held accountable for your actions. This is a big reason why personal trainers and even weight loss clubs work so well. Having someone there to hold you accountable each week is huge. Everyone needs some degree of accountability, even us PT’s!
Justin Perry
Impact Personal Training – Personal Trainer
