Food journal? Check. Regular workouts? Yes, indeed. Enough fiber to keep an entire army regular? You got it.
No matter how hard you exercise and diet the weight is still sticking around like a stage 5 Clinger?
Below are 5 of the top reasons you might not be losing those unwanted pounds:
1. You don’t drink enough water.
We’ve all heard how important H2O is when it comes to shedding pounds. It helps to suppress appetite, so you’re less likely to overeat. But that’s not all. When you’re dehydrated your kidneys can’t function properly, so the body turns to the liver for additional support. Because the liver is working so hard, more of the fat you consume is stored, rather than burned off.
2. You skimp on protein.
Several studies show that high-protein diets result in more pounds shed, at least initially. That’s because protein enhances the feeling of satiety and prevents your losing muscle as you lose fat. You also have dietary thermogenesis, which is the energy you burn to process and use the food you eat, on your side.
3. You sit at a desk all day.
We’re not talking just about work here, but outside of that, we bet your time is mostly spent sitting in front of your phone tv in addition to the 8 hours at the office. Could this be one of the reasons why you aren’t losing weight?
Fucking rights it is. Research finds that dedicated workouts simply can’t compensate for being sedentary the rest of the time. According to the research sitting for just a few hours causes your body to stop making a fat-inhibiting enzyme called lipase. Getting up and walking for just two minutes during each of those hours burns an additional 59 calories a day aka 1/2 that banana you ate reading this blog.
4. You work out way too much.
What the fuck aren’t you guys personal trainers? How can an exercise routine make you gain? From our experience, people tend to eat more when they work out, either because they feel they’ve “earned it,” or because they’re overestimating how much they’ve burned—or both.
Working out is also a stress on the body, stress makes you hold on to fat plain and simple which leads to number 5
5. You’re a stress case.
You turn to comfort food and pack on pounds when you’re under duress. The stress hormone cortisol triggers the fight-or-flight response, which is an appetite stimulant.
Even when you dont give in to cravings, stress can stall your weight loss. Too much cortisol slows metabolism. Even worse, excessive stress causes fat to be stored in the abdominal area, where weight is harder to lose. Take some CBD and just chill the fuck out every once and a while and you may just see that number start to drop.
What the scale isn’t telling you.
When the scale bums you out, here are three other ways to gauge your progress.
- How do your clothes fit? Try on the same pair of jeans and shirt every six to eight weeks.
- How do you feel? You should have more energy, sleep better, and feel less stressed.
- How much can you do? Keep a workout log and track how much weight you can lift and how many miles you can walk or run.
