Why am I not losing weight? It’s one of the most commonly asked questions. You are doing everything right. You are eating less, eating healthier, and working out more, but still, you are not losing weight.
Effective & healthy weight loss is not a simple calorie-in, calorie-out equation. Nor is it only a simple diet and exercise model. So, a question often comes to your mind is: “How Do I Lose Weight?“
Weight loss has much to do with your mood, temperament, willpower, genes, establishing good habits, and eliminating the bad ones.
Sometimes, you diet, work out, control your calories, and do the rest of the things right – but you are still not losing weight. And then it’s not easy for you to answer with reasons – why are you not losing weight? Then a list of possible reasons runs through your head that could be the culprits for your weight woes. I will tell you a list of likely reasons you are not losing weight. Ready? Read on here why you are failing to lose weight.
Why am I not losing weight – 9 Reasons For Not Losing Weight
# 1
You Are Eating Much More Calories Than That You Burn
The calories equation works like this. When we do something – we burn calories. We intake calories when we consume anything (minus obvious stuff like water). Now, if the amount of calories we intake exceeds the amount we burn, we save calories. That we can call caloric surplus, forcing the body to store these surplus calories in some form for subsequent uses. The form in which such leftover calories are stored is most often body fat and responsible for our gaining weight.
Wait, we have good news for you also. The opposite scenario gives you opposite results. If the amount of calories you intake is consistently less than the amount of calories you burn, you will lose weight over time. That happens due to your caloric deficit, which forces the body to burn other available fuel sources. This source is typically body fat.
The above Calories in vs. Calories out, the so-called energy balance equation, is scientifically proven. So, one of the most probable causes of gaining weight (or not losing your weight) can be that you are not creating a consistent caloric deficit by burning more calories than what you are eating, or in other words; you are consistently eating more calories than that you are burning.
# 2
You Are Burning Enough Amount Of Calories, But Then Eating Them Back All
When you exercise, you burn calories. That is why trainers always recommend a workout for quick weight loss. But take care not to overestimate how much you are burning by doing work out or take the “I exercise today” excuse to later overeat, overdrink, or overindulge.
Just think how often you have encountered a food lure – inducing you to think, “Well, I exercised today, so I deserve this time.” Or even, “Well buddy, I will have just this time now, but promise I will exercise extra hard tomorrow to burn it off.” If this happens to you, this can be one of the main reasons you are not losing weight. You cannot lose weight by working out hard to burn calories on the one hand but then later re-eating all those extra calories you burned.
You also need to be careful about one more thing. Usually, we tend to overestimate the calories we actually burn and underestimate the calories we consume. For example, you may make a mistake using that 4-mile extra walk you did today (320 calories burned) to justify a restaurant meal (easily + 1,000 calories). Is it, not a blunder to get you in a worse situation – a hefty calorie surplus!!!
Bottom Line: Don’t skip the above reason number 1. Please read it carefully again. It’s important. Don’t take an excuse to eat more, thinking I am working out hard. You need to have a caloric deficit to lose weight. A caloric surplus is usually one of the main reasons to gain weight.
# 3
You Think You Are Eating Healthy, But Actually, You Are Not
Americans and others who eat modern Western foods face many weight problems. Most people are overweight because their diet contains lots of empty calories. Low-carb or not, they consume lots of diet soda and ready-to-eat junk foods. You think you are eating healthy foods, but actually, you are not. Go beyond the labels and look inside to know the reality – the foods/drinks you consume may be just crap and empty calories. It’s just not about low-carb only – there is much more beyond that to be seen. We are not eating that well, which is why there is a steady increase in heart disease, type 2 diabetes, overweight, and obesity cases.
Useful Article: Best Foods To Lose Weight
# 4
You Are Relying On Exercise Alone, But That Won’t Help Much
Yes, you are right; exercise helps you lose weight and it also has so many other health benefits. Exercise undoubtedly helps create a calorie deficit, crucial for reducing body fat. But this is not the whole truth. Doing exercise alone won’t help you in losing weight. I re-emphasize here exercise alone will not make you lose weight. If you think that will do the trick, you are fighting a tough crusade. Here is the reason.
Exercise does burn calories, but not as many as you probably may be thinking. When you consider how many calories you can actually burn by working out, you will understand where things stand. And on top of that, it takes a lot of effort, energy, and time to burn enough calories. Just imagine this; you may need a full hour of intense workout to lose about 400-500 calories. Compare it with that; you only need a few minutes to eat hundreds and thousands of calories easily. Now imagine how much time you would require to offset those calories.
Bottom Line: So, the bottom line is you need to change your diet to reduce calorie intake, as exercise only will not help you much. You can’t win the battle with a bad diet. You better do both (not one or the other) for effective weight loss – creating a calorie deficit through diet and exercise.
Helpful Article: Ways To Lose Weight Safely
# 5
You Are Not Doing the Right Kinds Of Exercise
If you exercise regularly, that is not only good for your health but helps you to lose weight as well. But for weight loss, you must do the right kinds of exercise focusing on weight loss. Someone will tell you that strength training is the best way to lose weight. Someone else will say, concentrate on cardio. Then you probably will hear intervals and intensive intervals. Are you not confused?
The truth is any body movement can burn calories. And the way to lose weight is also to burn calories. But which kind of exercise will burn more calories is the crux. And in most cases, cardio is at the top end of burning calories. On the other hand, strength training is not a major calorie burner. Do not rely only on strength training as your weight loss strategy, as it may flop.
Bottom Line: Combine both – with cardio as your primary calorie loss strategy with strength training to preserve lean muscle.
Related Article: Cardio vs. Strength Training For Fat Loss
# 6
You Have Reached A Plateau
You have been losing weight, and then it stopped – you have hit the dreaded weight loss plateau. Yes, it can happen when you have an equated calorie deficit, and the amount of your calorie intake does not allow you to create a further calorie deficit. Let me tell you how and why it happens. You hit a weight loss plateau when you no longer create any more calorie deficit, and your already created calorie deficit has been exhausted and no longer exists. In other words, you have to relook at your calorie-in vs. calorie-out equation & adjust your diet and workout plan accordingly. In other words, in the changed situation, you are eating more calories for your new current weight and must create a calorie deficit again. So set a revised equation – eat a little less or/and burn a little more calories – wow, your dreaded weight loss plateau stands broken.
# 7
You Are Not Being Consistent Enough
You enthusiastically start and stick to your strict diet and fitness plan for days or weeks, but as it usually happens – your habits may not remain consistent for long enough, so you lose your pursuit.
It can also happen that you eat “perfectly” and exercise “religiously” for a whole week, only to see at the weekend that you have not lost an ounce, so you think – “What is the point.” As a result, you are likely to go on an all-out eating spree and skip the gym for a few days.
Or you might be consistent in your habits, but the occasional – a seemingly harmless cake or drinks with your friends actually happens more often than occasionally. Or, on receiving some good news, you excuse that you deserve an eat-out in a restaurant and have a dessert packed with hidden calories that may offset all your sincere endeavors.
Bottom Line: You need to eat right and exercise consistently as much as you can. And then, you have to apply both moderation and portion control mantras when indulging occasionally.
# 8
You Are Eating High-Carb Foods
Carbs in your diet play a major role in the weight loss program. The trick is avoiding processed foods, which contain lots of hidden sugar.
Helpful Article: Best Ways To Lose Weight Without Exercising
# 9
You Have An Underlying Medical Issue
When you have been consistently following your weight loss program – having a weight loss healthy diet and none of the above reasons seems to you to be a probable cause for your not losing weight – the possible cause could be an underlying medical problem, such as a slow thyroid, some hormonal disorder, or some other medical reason that popping a pill could fix and miraculously help you to shed off the pounds. Although it is true that with certain medical disorders or when you are on some medications, it becomes difficult to lose weight, in all probability, it is because you are not consistently burning more calories than you are eating. And even when you have some medical issue, the reason for not losing weight can still be simply a lack of caloric deficit. The solution in such cases is about resolving the underlying medical issue preventing your body from burning more calories.
Conclusion: The right way is to keep track and measure the calories in: calories out equation honestly. Do not underestimate the calories you intake or overestimate the calories you burn daily. Create caloric deficit consistently through less calorie intake and increased physical activities. Weight loss looks simple, but it does not happen easily. The best mantra is – Be consistent. Many people like you have succeeded in losing weight to become slim and trim. And slowly but surely, you will too!!!!
Can you relate to any of the above reasons? What do you think are the main reasons that people struggle to lose weight?
About Author: Renu Bakshi, AKA Fitness Buffhq, is ISSA Certified Elite Trainer. He
passed Personal Fitness Trainer Course, Nutrition Health Coach course & Specialist Exercise Therapy course from ISSA, USA obtaining + 97% marks. He shares his experience and knowledge about nutrition and effective workouts to get you in the best shape of your life, no matter how old you may be. The author says, ” Age is just a number!”
