Discover The 6 Reasons Why You Are Not Losing Weight
If you’ve been on a diet for a long time and aren’t seeing long-term results, it’s most likely because you’re doing something wrong. We review the main reasons why you are not losing weight.
1. Not eating enough
Oddly enough, one of the reasons why you are not losing weight that may go unnoticed is the fact that you are not eating enough. Starting a weight loss diet does not imply excessively restricting caloric expenditure. In fact, this is something that you should not do, as it will increase the risk of feeling anxiety and not controlling your food intakes.
Therefore, the appropriate measure is to calculate the amount of calories we need during the day to day, and make sure not to exceed them. In this way, to follow a diet correctly and to be able to lose weight in an effective way, it will be essential to eat properly.
2. Eating in front of the television or computer
Another very common reason why many people fail to lose weight is because of distracted eating. Eating in front of the television or the computer, while we play a video game or watch a series or a movie makes us not control well the amounts we eat. This is because the distraction our brain is subjected to prevents it from properly managing the feeling of satiety.
In this sense, we must try to focus solely on eating. In addition, doing it with friends or family can slow down the rate at which we eat, making our body feel full more quickly.
3. Not getting enough exercise
Another common problem why you are not losing weight is that you overestimate your caloric expenditure during exercise. A walk around the neighborhood may not be enough as physical exercise for the whole week.
We can consult with a professional about what type of exercise is best for us according to our needs and according to the objectives we want to achieve. In this way, we will know if we need to increase the amount of daily exercise that we must do in order to lose weight.
4. Forgetting the diet during the weekends
There are many people who indulge in certain luxuries while dieting. On the one hand, this is highly recommended. Following a diet, especially one that is quite strict, can increase our anxiety level in the face of food cravings. Therefore, it never hurts to give ourselves a little treat as a reward for our efforts throughout a week.
The problem is when those licenses that we allow ourselves make the diet counterproductive. If we properly follow a healthy and balanced diet during the week, but take advantage of the weekend to eat exclusively junk food, we will be damaging the principles of the diet and ourselves.
5. Your exercise routine is little varied
Another reason you may not be losing weight is that you follow an exercise routine that hardly changes. If you do this, you run the risk of your body getting used to those exercises and developing the muscle memory to do certain movements. Over time, your body will have adapted to exercise and will become more efficient at these activities, reducing caloric expenditure.
If you want to get the most out of the hours of physical exercise, try to vary your routine every several weeks. In this way, you can “confuse” your muscles so that they do not adapt to a specific type of exercise. Do not forget to accompany it with a healthy diet, as stated in this study from the University of Illinois.
6. Not getting enough sleep
Lastly, adequate rest will be essential in order to lose weight. If you do not find your problem in any of the previous points, perhaps the reason why you are not losing weight is because you do not sleep properly. Adults should sleep approximately 8 hours a day. Otherwise, we can alter our metabolism, making it much more difficult for us to burn calories during the day to day. This is stated in this study by the Miguel Hernández University.
In fact, research conducted by the University of Chicago indicates that there is a relationship between sleep duration and poor sleep quality with disorders such as obesity.
Specifically, sleep loss causes metabolic and endocrine alterations linked to obesity, such as decreased glucose tolerance, decreased insulin sensitivity, and increased hunger and appetite.
In short, when we do not see positive results after several weeks or months of dieting, it is probably because we are within one of the points on this list. If you want to lose weight in a correct and moderate way, follow a healthy diet and combine it with a good rest and regular physical exercise. This way you can achieve less sedentary habits that will help you enormously in your day-to-day life.
