Why am I not losing weight?

Trying to lose weight is not always easy and there are a lot of different ways to go about losing weight. However many people struggle getting the results they are looking for and end up giving up. Weight loss is possible for pretty much anyone and can be achieved with the right effort and education. Sometimes even when we start to make healthier choices we still don’t lose the desired amount of weight and end up plateauing or not losing any from the start. If this happens there are a few important things to remember to ensure your best results.

Activity
Make sure you are getting enough activity throughout the day while combining that with a workout routine. Your daily step count goals should be roughly 10,000 or more to ensure movement throughout your entire day and not all just during your workout. For your workouts make sure you are lifting at least 2-3 days a week and performing cardio for 20-60mn for at least 3-4 days a week. If you have already been meeting these goals then try increasing the intensity or volume of your workouts or try changing the workouts themselves.

Nutrition
Before starting a nutrition plan or changing up your diet, it is important to establish a baseline. Track your normal daily intake for a week to figure out what you calorically consume normally each day. After you do this try eliminating 250-500 calories each day to put yourself in a calorie deficit, if done correctly this should help you lose 1/2-1lb a week just from a change in calorie intake. It would also be beneficial to make sure that most of your calories are quality calories that will help fuel your workouts and help you recover.

Sleep
If you feel like you are doing everything correctly but still aren’t seeing results you may not be recovering which could be a result in a lack of sleep. Getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night is important to have energy throughout the day and recover from your daily activity. Lack of sleep also affects our hormones, it can increase ghrelin which causes us to feel hungry. It can also decrease leptin which is the hormone that tells your body you are full. Also if you are not getting enough sleep you may rely of food to provide yourself with some much needed energy causing you to eat more than usual.