Food & Nutrition, Health, Lifestyle, Motivation, Weight Loss
11 Possible Reasons Why You Are Not Losing Weight | Possible
May
The very fact that you are reading this article suggests that you have maybe hit a plateau in your weight loss plan and now trying to find out the possible reasons which may have hindered your weight loss journey.
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Wondering why you are not losing weight? Well, you may be able to find it out for yourself reading what we have to say about the possible areas of weight loss where you may have missed the plot.
Other than mapping your situation with the 11 possible reasons hindering your weight loss, try and understand the best way to lose weight through a healthy and natural route by our Possible Nutritionist.
The first consultation is on us! Click here to avail it.
Did You Know?
During any weight loss journey, it is much easier to lose weight in the beginning and at a faster rate.
It is important to know that our body fights weight loss and resists the process and after some time, the weight loss process slows down or even stops completely.
That is where you have to figure out the reason of the slowdown and how to get things moving again!
So let us tell you the various possible factors which may have played that villainous role in stalling your weight loss and you will not be surprised to find your reason listed here.
1. You are Not Conscious of What You are Eating
Eating consciously is a major step towards a healthy weight loss. Being aware of what you are consuming and their calorie content is extremely important. A good step towards achieving awareness of your food is to prepare a weekly food chart and follow it to the T.
How about clicking photographs of the food you are eating along with maintaining a diary that keeps track of your food type and calorie intake?
Studies show that tracking your food and how much you are eating greatly helps you in your weight loss tryst [1] [2].
2. Your Protein Intake is Not Sufficient
It is an established fact that proteins are essential for weight loss [3]. Your metabolism needs energy from the foods you are consuming to burn the stored fats in your body.
Our metabolism first uses the available carbohydrates, followed by proteins and then fat stores for energy. The process of burning body fat requires proteins and carbohydrates.
If these nutrients are not included in our diet, the body will use up lean body tissues for the protein and convert it into carbohydrates for energy.
The metabolism needs the stamina to burn fat effectively, which it receives from the nutrients present in our diet.
Here we have something to say about the role of protein in weight loss along with a comprehensive list of high protein foods.
3. You’re Not Eating Whole Foods
Stacking up on nutrient-rich whole foods helps you steer clear of processed foods that are critically low on nutrients. Consuming natural whole foods keep you feeling full for longer and keep the hunger pangs away (which more often than not direct you towards attractive junk and processed counterparts).
Eating whole foods like fruits, vegetables, fish, meat and grains can help you gain health, regulate your appetite and ultimately, lose weight. Many processed foods that are labelled as health foods do not really offer health in real life.
So sticking to natural whole food is a much smarter choice to make. We thought you may want to read up on so-called health foods that are not really healthy and also a few genuinely super healthy foods you should incorporate into your diet.
4. Binge Eating Is The Problem
Binge eating often accompanies dieting as a side effect. Binge eating may mean giving in to untimely hunger pangs or eating plainly because you are feeling bored or depressed.
Dieting anyway sets in a gloomy mood and binge eating often appears as a temporary saviour. In the process, you end up eating much more than your body needs spoiling may be your entire week’s effort of dieting and staying away from junk.
One of the points to be noted here is that bingeing even on healthy foods like dark chocolates more than the body requires stuffs your body with extra calories (calories are calories after all!).
5. You Are Laid Back In Doing Cardio Exercises
Healthy weight loss always results from a judicious mix of diet watching and exercising. If you let either of the two slip away, be ready to get disappointment as a result.
Cardio exercises like walking, jogging, running, swimming, climbing stairs, etc are extremely useful for burning belly fat and are one of the best ways for you to remain fit and healthy. So put on your running shoes today.
6. Sugary Drinks Find A Way To Your Lips
Sugary drinks straight imply empty calories! There is simply no other way to describe their calorific nature. They are probably the most fattening items on our food list for the fact that our body does not compensate its intake by making us eat less of other things on the table.
In fact, our body takes it as a supplement with the other food items we are consuming. The worst part of sugary drinks is that they are highly addictive and outright harmful for our health [4].
Not only Pepsi and cola but also the packaged fruit juices are part of the league. They contain artificial sweeteners and preservatives which have the capability of just sabotaging your weight loss goals.
7. You Are Sleep Deprived
When you sleep less than the required number of hours, your cortisol (hormone that regulates appetite) level rises and makes you feel hungry even when you are full. And with that, our calorie intake increases which sabotage the weight loss plan.
Lack of sleep also increases fat storage in our body. It is also known to interfere with the body’s ability to break down carbohydrates leading to a high blood sugar level in our body.
This acts as a conducive environment for overproduction of insulin which leads to storage of fat and insulin resistance [5] [2].
8. Water Is Not Your Favourite Drink
If water is not your favourite drink, you surely do not know that you can lose weight drinking water! It is one of the easiest things to do to shed some pounds and support your weight loss plans.
Research says that drinking water increases your metabolism and improves your fat burning rate [6] [7]. Drinking water before a meal can help you feel more satiated and help you consume lesser calories during the meals.
Being hydrated keeps you energized while maintaining your physical and mental health. Moreover, drinking adequate water helps you to get rid of water retention and reduce bloating of your body.
9. Boozy Habits Die Hard
If you are someone who likes your drinks, you may be in for some trouble as far as weight loss is concerned, especially if you like sugar alcohols like beer and wine [8]. If you must have alcohol with your buddies, try to limit it to having whiskey or vodka (spirited drinks) as they have lesser calories than beer and wine.
Also, keep in mind to have your whiskey and vodka with water and not soda and sugary beverages like soft drinks or fruit juices.
While moderate drinking is fine for weight loss and general health, heavy drinking will definitely act as a hindrance to your weight loss plans and health.
10. Any Medical Condition That Is Hindering Your Weight Loss?
Not losing weight? For all you know, you may be suffering from a medical condition like hypothyroidism or polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), which may be hindering your weight loss journey.
These medical conditions lead to weight gain which makes it much obvious that they make losing weight hard to achieve.
Certain hormonal medications related to depression and contraceptive pills can also lead to weight gain [9]. Also, know about your weight gain issues from these blood tests.
11. You Have Denied Yourself Some Good Food For A Long Time
Have you been “dieting” for too long? If yes, for all you know, you may have hit the plateau and that is why you have stopped losing any more weight.
This means that you need to take a break and treat yourself to food that you prefer and enjoy. Now here, taking a break does not mean that you go berserk over food but what it means is that you have to follow a healthy eating pattern along with gorging on some delicacies of your choice once in a while.
If you can think of any other reason which might be hindering your weight loss, share it with us and we will try to come up with a solution to help you.
You might be missing the plot by just a step and we at Possible will help you get there. So eat right and stay healthy, stay happy!
I have hypothyroidism and hence has been gaining weight. I am trying best to lose weight naturally with foods.
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