Ladies and Gents, have you tried everything to lose weight and feel like you have exhausted all options? It can be frustrating to see little results after putting in effort to transform your body.
Don't worry, you are not alone.
Many people struggle with losing fat, and there are some common reasons
why.
1 - You’re eating too much
Sounds
simple right? If you are eating in a surplus of calories (you are eating more
food than you are expending) creating a positive energy balance this will
result in weight gain. I have seen this with clients in the past, they start
replacing sugary snacks with healthier options like nuts, fruit, trail mix,
granola, muesli, and dried fruit. However, as these foods are calorie dense it
ended up putting her in surplus of calories = weight gain.
2 - You’re not eating enough
More
often than not this is the most common reason I see for people not losing
weight. I know it is counter intuitive and goes against everything you thought
you knew about losing weight. But let me ask you, how long have you been eating
your yoghurt for breakfast, chicken and salad for lunch, and meat and veg for
dinner and not losing weight? The definition of insanity ‘doing the same thing
over and over and expecting a different result’.
Yes, we need to be in a calorie deficit (eating less food than we are
expending) to lose weight.
Therefore creating a negative energy balance. However, if you have been
eating in a calorie deficit for too long the body starts down regulate your
metabolism (which will put a massive halt on fat loss as what was previously
your ‘deficit’ is now your bodies new maintenance) this can then down regulates
several hormones needed for fat loss; thyroid hormones, estrogen, progesterone,
testosterone and leptin, and begins to upregulate hormones that can inhibit fat
loss; cortisol.
3 - Your stressed out
When
we are stressed, we release a hormone called cortisol. Acute increases in
cortisol are good, they help as cope with stress and can help us build muscle
and burn body fat.
High cortisol will also cause the body to breakdown muscle tissue and preserve
fat. In fact, prolonged cortisol elevation encourages fat storage around the
mid-section. High cortisol levels can also increase cravings for sugary and
salty foods (comfort foods) in conjunction with this cortisol can also increase
appetite. Stress can do weird things to people’s bodies. You can be doing
everything right nutrition and training wise but if you are stressed you will
not see the results you want.
4 - You don’t get enough sleep
There
is a correlation between less sleep time and higher levels of body fat.
That is not to say that if you don’t get enough sleep, you will gain fat.
However, it can be a major contributor to why you are not losing weight. Whilst
sleeping we produce growth hormone; this hormone plays a big role in building
muscle and losing body fat. A lack of sleep means you aren’t getting optimal
production of this hormone which may contribute to inhibiting your fat loss
goals. Lack of sleep also increases cortisol which as we learnt previously, can
put a major halt on fat loss.
5 - You binge on the weekend
You
cannot be healthy 5 days a week and then go ‘it will be fine’ on food on the
weekend and expect to get the body of your dreams. Not only does this create an
unhealthy and dangerous relationship with food but it will completely sabotage
your results.
If you’re eating in a calorie deficit 5 days a week, then blow out on the
weekend eating in a large excess of calories your total weekly calories will
probably be in excess (calorie surplus = weight gain).
6 - You’re not eating enough Protein
A
lot of females avoid protein through fear of it making them gain weight or make
them bulky.
Protein isn’t just important for weight and fat loss but it is vital for
every cell in our body to function properly. It plays a role in maintaining our
immune system, hormone production, gut health, and improving our detoxification
pathways.
Protein should be part of every meal you eat throughout the day,
specifically breakfast. This will keep you fuller for longer and keep you from
snacking throughout the day.
7 - You’re avoiding carbs
Carbohydrates
are our brains preferred fuel source for energy. Most people believe
carbohydrates are the enemy when it comes to fat loss and as a result either
cut them out all together or reduce them to dangerously low levels.
When we eat too low carbohydrates for too long it has a similar effect to
eating too little calories for too long. It places our body under a lot of
stress and as a result we see big increases in cortisol.
8 - You’re only doing cardio
I
don’t really prescribe cardio for any of my clients. I am not saying there
isn’t a time and place for it, there definitely is. But, most women that come
to me wanting to lose fat and ‘tone’ their body are doing 45 minutes on the
cardio machines 3-5 days per week.
Long duration cardio (especially when eating in a calorie deficit) is
going to ramp up stress and cause inflammation in the body. Causing you to
store body fat and burn muscle.
When someone tells me they have lost weight doing only cardio, they have
generally lost muscle mass. The more muscle mass we have the better our
metabolism will fire, so the goal is never to lose muscle mass.
Women that already have cortisol issues due to a stressful job, poor
diet, busy lifestyle, and emotional stress definitely do not want to be doing
long duration cardio all the time as this is only going to make matters worse. High
intensity interval training (HIIT) has been shown to be a much more effective
conditioning method to burn fat whilst preserving muscle and can be done in
less than half the time of typical aerobic training.
9 - You’re not being consistent enough
Constant
commitment and consistency are the keys to long term lasting results. This is
probably the biggest limiting factor in you achieving your fat loss goals. Most
women will try a diet or training plan for a certain period then fall of the
wagon for a few weeks, then get back on, then something happens, and they get
off again, and this cycle continues.
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