Weight Loss Goals
Eating right? Exercising? But your weight has plateaued? This is not uncommon however there may be some things that are actually stopping your body from getting your weight loss goals.
Here are 5 things that you may not have thought of that actually may be the reason that you are not losing weight.
1.Your not drinking water
Ok so we know that drinking water is important but did you know that not drinking enough water may actually be impeding your weight loss? If you are dehydrated your kidneys are not functioning properly and the liver then has to work overtime. This leads to more fat being stored rather than burned.
Drinking water also acts as a great appetite suppressor. Drink a big glass of water before each meal and notice how much less you eat before you become full. It’s a great way to trick yourself into eating less at a meal.
So how much water should we be drinking during the day? Well this actually depends on a lot of factors. Do you live in a hot climate or a cold climate? Are you working in an office or outside doing construction work? But a rule of thumb you can use as a minimum is to try and drink half your body weight (pounds) in ounces of water. So if you weigh 150 pounds for example, you should drink 75 ounces of water a day.
- You don’t actually work out as much as you think and you probably eat more than you think you do
This one stumps all of us at times and is why a food diary is so helpful when you are trying to lose weight. We tend to overestimate how much exercise we have actually done and underestimate how much we have actually eaten.
Have you ever not-counted a sports drink (really high in sugar) or a vitamin water as adding any calories to your day? Liquid calories can really add up and is another source of excess calories that are often underestimated.
Writing in a food diary, especially one with a section for not only food but exercise and water, can really help you accurately track what you are actually eating so that you can make adjustments if needed. You might be eating too many “health foods”. Nuts are great for you but a couple of pounds of nuts in one day is likely going to have an impact on your weight loss success.
- You’re too stressed out or you’re not getting enough sleep
Stress and Sleep have a major impact on your ability to lose weight.
Stress triggers the release of hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, which actually cause the body to hold on to its fat stores. And not getting enough sleep has also been linked to an inability to budge the pounds. This is one of the trickiest ones for most people as our lives become busier as we try and get more done in less time. So here are some tips you can try:
- Try some deep breathing when feeling stressed and each time before you eat. Taking some deep breaths initiates the relaxation response within your body and helps to switch off the stress response.
- Give meditation or yoga a go. They are awesome stress busters!
- Try a daily gratitude practice. Just writing 3 things down each day that you are grateful for has been shown by Harvard researchers to train your brain to scan for the positive throughout each day.
- Aim to turn off electronics at least an hour before you go to bed as the blue light inhibits your production of melatonin and may prevent you getting a good nights rest
- Make sure your room is dark! Even your skin can sense light so make sure you black out the windows and sleep in darkness.
- You drink diet soda
Have you, like many switched to diet soda in an effort to lose weight? Well unfortunately there is more research conducted all the time that that actually shows that diet sodas also massively impact not only your ability to lose weight, but might actually cause weight gain! Stay away from the diet sodas if you want to lose weight and up the water.
- You’re not eating enough
This one may seem counter-intuitive but not eating enough may actually be the thing that is making your weight plateau. You see your metabolism isn’t set. It changes depending on the information your body gets from the food you eat. So if you have reduced calories in an effort to lose weight this may work at first. But depending on your body it may then recalibrate and actually reduce the amount of energy you burn while resting and lower your metabolism. Kick-start your metabolism again by making sure you are eating enough real foods, especially vegetables and healthy fats!
Do you think one of these may be the reason you are not getting weight loss goals? Let me know in the comments below!
Here at Selfweightloss, we show you how to lose weight and maintain a healthier lifestyle with tips and articles on Weight Loss, Fitness, Diet, Nutrition and Food, updated daily by our community of authors and editors.
