Reasons You're Not Losing Weight
At any one time, approximately 2 out of 3 people are on some form of diet and trying to lose weight. However, with obesity rates increasing year on year, clearly something is going wrong here. If you’re eating healthier and exercising but struggling to lose as much weight as you’d like, you might be getting caught by one of the following traps.
1. Underestimating calories consumed
A study found that only 9% of people accurately calculated the number of calories consumed during the day. In order to lose 1lb of fat per week, you need to lose 3,500 calories (average of 500 calories per day) through a combination of diet and exercise. However, if you’re wrongly calculating your daily calories, you’re going to struggle to reach that 500 daily calorie deficit and lose weight. Recording your food and drinks in a food diary will not only help you to be more accurate at calculating calories because you’re less likely to forget what you’ve eaten, it may also help to discourage you from those naughty afternoon snacks because you know that you’ll have to write them down! Many of my clients forget about the 2 or 3 glasses of wine, or the chocolate biscuits that they have. However, writing them down makes them more aware of what they really do eat, rather than just those foods that they remember! Therefore, you’re much more likely to be able to lose the weight that you want to. If you have a tendency to overeating, avoiding second helpings, measuring out food and eating from a smaller plate are all ways of trying to reduce your calorie consumption.
2. Overestimating activities and calories burned
Not only do most people underestimate the number of calories that they’re eating, they also overestimate the number that they are burning whilst exercising, making that calorie deficit goal of 500 more and more difficult to achieve, and so little or no weight is lost. It is important to remember that you cannot always trust the cardio machines at the gym. Several studies have found that machines such as treadmills and cross-trainers overestimate calories burned by as much as 10%. Also, many people like to eat a larger portion or a not-so-healthy option in reward for going to the gym. In many cases, you can end up eating more calories than you burned and so you would have been better off not going to the gym at all due to that treat! Eating something healthy after your workout, such as peanut butter or eggs on toast, or low-fat Greek yoghurt with berries, will not only give your body the nutrients that it needs, it will also help you to stay on track with your weight loss goals.
3. Not eating regularly
If you’ve ever been guilty of skipping breakfast and not eating until lunch time in order to lose weight, you are not alone. However, you are in fact doing your weight loss mission more harm than good. When we don’t eat, our body slows down our metabolism in order to preserve energy. Therefore, when we do finally eat, less of what we eat is needed for energy, and so more will be stored as fat. So try and have a healthy breakfast, such as porridge or eggs on wholemeal toast, followed by a mid-morning snack of berries or low-fat Greek yoghurt. Similarly have a snack between lunch and dinner, such as fruit or carrot sticks. This regular food consumption will fuel your body with the energy that it needs, whilst keeping your metabolism working at a faster rate, and thus burning those all important calories for helping you to lose weight.
4. Poor sleeping habits
This is great news for anyone who loves to hit the snooze button! Studies have shown that people who get fewer than 6 hours sleep per night have higher levels of a hormone which stimulates appetite, and also higher levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, which can lead to weight gain. Therefore, try to go to bed earlier to get those precious hours sleep, especially as you’ll need the energy for your Free Fitness Gym workouts!
1. Underestimating calories consumed
A study found that only 9% of people accurately calculated the number of calories consumed during the day. In order to lose 1lb of fat per week, you need to lose 3,500 calories (average of 500 calories per day) through a combination of diet and exercise. However, if you’re wrongly calculating your daily calories, you’re going to struggle to reach that 500 daily calorie deficit and lose weight. Recording your food and drinks in a food diary will not only help you to be more accurate at calculating calories because you’re less likely to forget what you’ve eaten, it may also help to discourage you from those naughty afternoon snacks because you know that you’ll have to write them down! Many of my clients forget about the 2 or 3 glasses of wine, or the chocolate biscuits that they have. However, writing them down makes them more aware of what they really do eat, rather than just those foods that they remember! Therefore, you’re much more likely to be able to lose the weight that you want to. If you have a tendency to overeating, avoiding second helpings, measuring out food and eating from a smaller plate are all ways of trying to reduce your calorie consumption.
2. Overestimating activities and calories burned
Not only do most people underestimate the number of calories that they’re eating, they also overestimate the number that they are burning whilst exercising, making that calorie deficit goal of 500 more and more difficult to achieve, and so little or no weight is lost. It is important to remember that you cannot always trust the cardio machines at the gym. Several studies have found that machines such as treadmills and cross-trainers overestimate calories burned by as much as 10%. Also, many people like to eat a larger portion or a not-so-healthy option in reward for going to the gym. In many cases, you can end up eating more calories than you burned and so you would have been better off not going to the gym at all due to that treat! Eating something healthy after your workout, such as peanut butter or eggs on toast, or low-fat Greek yoghurt with berries, will not only give your body the nutrients that it needs, it will also help you to stay on track with your weight loss goals.
3. Not eating regularly
If you’ve ever been guilty of skipping breakfast and not eating until lunch time in order to lose weight, you are not alone. However, you are in fact doing your weight loss mission more harm than good. When we don’t eat, our body slows down our metabolism in order to preserve energy. Therefore, when we do finally eat, less of what we eat is needed for energy, and so more will be stored as fat. So try and have a healthy breakfast, such as porridge or eggs on wholemeal toast, followed by a mid-morning snack of berries or low-fat Greek yoghurt. Similarly have a snack between lunch and dinner, such as fruit or carrot sticks. This regular food consumption will fuel your body with the energy that it needs, whilst keeping your metabolism working at a faster rate, and thus burning those all important calories for helping you to lose weight.
4. Poor sleeping habits
This is great news for anyone who loves to hit the snooze button! Studies have shown that people who get fewer than 6 hours sleep per night have higher levels of a hormone which stimulates appetite, and also higher levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, which can lead to weight gain. Therefore, try to go to bed earlier to get those precious hours sleep, especially as you’ll need the energy for your Free Fitness Gym workouts!