Reasons Why You Are Not Losing Weight
Desperately trying to lose weight but not seeing any results? Here are some reasons as to why you might not be shedding the pounds.
Drinking Too Often
Drinking alcohol has a domino effect. After one drink, their inhibitions are lowered and their appetite spikes. So as well as the calories in the alcohol itself, you’re also likely to consume surplus calories through snacking and making unhealthy choices the following day when you wake up feeling a little worse for wear!
Think that this doesn’t apply to you? It happens more often than you realise! Most people underestimate how much they drink until they begin keeping a food diary.
The good news is when you consciously cut back, you will drop weight like a hot potato.
So if you think you might fall into this category, try out 30 free alcohol days or stick to only drinking one or two nights a week, and set a max of 2 drinks per night. The results can be dramatic.
Eating "Diet" Foods
I hate the term ‘diet foods’ for two main reasons.
Firstly, they are packed with lots of unwanted additives, or substitute ingredients to still allow them to taste okay, such as ‘low fat’ foods being full of sugar. This means that whilst you might be trying to be healthy, you may infact be doing the very opposite.
So not only are they not that good for you in the first place, but they are often a poor substiute for a ‘proper’ meal. This is the second reason I dislike them.
Have you ever eating a ‘diet food’ meal but still felt starving hunger afterwards? Well you’re not alone. Many of these such foods simply do not satisfy people’s hunger. For as long as you’re hungry, your mind will be filled with thoughts of food which can lead to snacking or consumption of a whole other meal.
As a reason, people end up intaking far more calories than they would have had them simply eaten a healthy, satisfying meal, rather than a ‘diet’ one.
Overeating Healthy Foods
It’s fantastic when people fall in love with healthy foods such as vegetables, lentils, avocado and whole grains. However, there is a risk that these foods can become unhealthy when consumed in vast quantities.
For example swapping a fast food breakfast sandwiches for oatmeal is fantastic. However, if the oatmeal portion is too large (especially if you’re sat at a desk all day) and in addition to topping it with fruit, you combine it with a smoothie, which was really a meal in and of itself. The truth is, while whole foods are nutrient rich and they enhance metabolism, you can overdo it. To prevent that, listen to your body's hunger and fullness cues, and use visuals to guide your portions. For example, a serving of fruit should be about the size of a tennis ball, a portion of cooked oatmeal should be half that amount, and if you add nuts or seeds, stick with a golfball-sized addition.
Skipping Meals
You’ve probably heard this time and time again but it really is a killer when it comes to being healthy and losing weight.
Going long stretches without eating can create two unwanted side effects that undermine weight loss. First, you'll likely burn fewer calories as a way to compensate for not having fuel when you need it. Second, you'll up your chances of overeating later in the day, and on unhealthy snacks. Instead, eat 3 regular meals during the day with some healthy snacks in between and never let more than four to five hours go by without eating.
Emotional Eating
The habit of reaching for food due to boredom, anxiety, anger or even happiness is by far the number one obstacle faced by many people when trying to lose weight. We bond over food, bring it to grieving loved ones, use it to celebrate or turn to it as a way to stuff down uncomfortable feelings. It's a pattern that's socially accepted (even encouraged) and it's challenging to overcome. But it's not impossible. And even if you found non-food alternatives to addressing your emotional needs 50 percent of the time, you'll lose weight.
So before you plug all your energy into doing the latest fad diet, it’s worth remembering that there are much easier ways to lose weight. Simple adaptions to your everyday eating habits can make a massive difference to your waist line, especially if they’re done alongside one of our great workouts.
