5 Reasons Why You Are Not Losing Weight

There are many people who follow their diets, do the exercises, track their progress and count their calories and yet do not seem to be losing any weight. This is highly demoralising and depressing to them.

There are a few reasons why you may not be shedding those pounds and seeing the scale change. I’ve listed 5 possible reasons that are most common.

1. You are eating more calories equal to or more than you expend. Often times when people exercise, they overestimate how many calories they have burned. Just because their workout is exhausting, they assume that they burnt a ton of calories. They then go on to give in to temptations and sneak in a snack or consume alcohol.

They feel that it’s ok to stray from their diet because their training will compensate for their dietary slip up. All these slip ups add up and you may easily eat more calories than you have burnt. Not a good thing.

2. You are only relying on exercise to work wonders for you. It’s a strange thing but most folks find it easier to exercise rather than control their diet. They prefer to keep their diet unchanged and just rely on exercise to burn the fat off. This will really hinder their progress.

Burning calories through exercise is difficult. A really intense workout for an hour may burn 400 to 500 calories. However, you could consume 500 calories in about 20 minutes just by eating pizza.

Imagine eating whatever you wish throughout the day and expecting an hour of training to burn off those calories. It’s just not going to happen. You must watch your diet and consume your calories wisely and ensure that it’s at a deficit.

3. You’re doing the wrong kind of exercises. There is a very common misconception that doing sit-ups will burn your abdominal fat. Nothing could be further from the truth. To burn fat, you must engage in cardio training at least 3 times a week. Cardiovascular activities are your best bet for fat burning.

You may do weight training on days that you do not do cardio to have an all rounded training program. You’ll also maintain muscle tone and raise your metabolic rate. However, the bulk of your training should revolve around cardio activities.

4. You are basing your progress on your weighing scale

It is common for people to burn fat and gain muscle at the same time. Since muscle is denser than fat, it takes up less space. This explains why many people say that their clothes are getting loose but the numbers on the scale have not changed.

What has happened is that they have burnt a pound of fat but the body gained a pound of muscle. So, the scale will show the same number despite the person having become leaner and stronger.

It would be a good idea to use measuring tape to measure the different parts of your body and track those measurements. Alternatively, you may rely on the mirror. If you look better and leaner as the days pass by, then you don’t have to worry about the numbers on the weighing scale

5. Finally, one reason that you may not be losing weight is the possibility that you might be having a medical problem. Thyroid problems, medical disorders or other health issues may be impeding your progress.

It is recommended that you consult a doctor to find out what is wrong. In many cases, medication will help solve the problems and you will lose weight successfully after that.

These are a few of the most common reasons for you not losing weight. Self-reflection and analysis of your diet and training will show you what you are doing that’s hampering your weight loss. Correct your mistakes and you will lose the excess weight effectively.