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10 Reasons You Might Not Be Losing Weight
1 - You're not exercising enough
One thing many people don't understand about exercise and weight loss is
this: you have to work hard if you want to change the shape of your
body. That means a balance of medium-high intensity cardio exercise
along with challenging strength training workouts.
Cardio - For weight loss, you'll need to get about 5 cardio workouts
each week at a medium-high intensity (stay in your zone 75-85%!) for at
least 30 minutes. If you're a beginner, it's best to start slow and work
your way up but, if you're in good condition and have no restrictions,
challenging yourself with harder/longer (45-60 minute) workouts is the
best way to burn more calories.
Strength Training - In addition to your cardio workouts, you'll need to
lift weights at least 2 non-consecutive days a week. Most people don't
lift enough weight to really challenge their muscles.
2 - You're not getting enough sleep
Lack of sleep can contribute to weight gain, though experts aren't
exactly sure why. In her article, Sleep More to Lose Weight, Mary Shomon
discusses a recent study that found that women who slept 5 hours a night
were more likely to gain weight than women who slept 7 hours a night.
The reasons? Some studies have shown that losing sleep could affect
metabolism by making you feel hungry, even if you're not. Sleep
deprivation may affect the secretion of cortisol, one of the hormones
that regulates appetite. There's also a theory that we move around less
when we don't get enough sleep, which means we burn fewer calories.
Getting enough sleep is crucial if you're trying to lose weight, not
just because of how it affects you physically, but mentally as well.
Sleep deprivation makes you cranky, confused and can even make you feel
depressed or angry.
Make sleep a priority by trying to get to bed at the same time each
night, shooting for about 8 hours, if you can manage it.
3 - You're too stressed out
Stress and weight gain (or lack of weight loss) go hand in hand. Though
you may not be aware of it, being under constant stress can increase
production of the hormone cortisol, which can cause an increase in
appetite as well as extra fat storage around the abdominal region--a big
no-no since abdominal fat is linked to diabetes, high cholesterol and
other health problems. Dealing with stress can be as simple as taking a
few minutes a day to relax, scheduling a massage as often as you can,
taking time to read or some other hobby that you enjoy each day.
4 - You're eating too much
This may seem obvious, but unless you're tracking your calories each
day, www.nutrimirror.com is a great FREE website to use, you may be
eating more than you think. Portion control is one culprit, especially
with restaurants providing enough food in one meal to feed several
people. If you're really serious about losing weight, you need to
get serious about what you eat! Start by logging everything you eat for
1 week (www.nutrimirror.com). You'll be surprised how those calories can
sneak in when you're not keeping track.
5 - You're not consistent with your exercise
If you find your workouts are hit-or-miss and that you give in to
temptation a bit too easily, your weight loss may hit the skids. For
exercise to work, you have to do it on a regular DAILY basis. If you
skip too many workouts, it's almost like starting all over every time.
6 - You blow it on the weekends
Having some treats now and then (once or twice a month) is fine, but if
you find you do very well during the week only to eat yourself silly on
the weekends, you may be killing your weight loss goals.
To lose one pound of fat in one week, you would need to cut 500 calories
through diet and exercise for 7 days. If you only follow that for 5
days, then eat way over your limit for 2 days, you're taking two steps
forward and one step back. The trick is to plan your indulgences so that
you can have some fun while staying on track with your weight loss
goals. Try these tips for a healthy weekend:
* Avoid a free-for-all weekend. Instead, choose one or two treats
to enjoy and continue eating healthy the rest of the time.
* Avoid rewarding yourself with food. If you've been eating healthy
all week, it's natural to want to reward yourself with a yummy treat.
That kind of thinking can set you back (much like a smoker who rewards
himself for staying smoke- free with a cigarette). Instead of food,
reward yourself with a calorie-free treat like a trip to the movies
(without the popcorn or soda!), a massage or a new pair of shoes.
* Keep moving. If you like to rest on the weekends, why not make
your rests more active? Spend time taking a long walk with your family
or tossing a football in the backyard.
7 - You haven't given yourself enough time
to see results
While experts generally recommend losing 1-2 pounds a week, most people
don't get that close. Remember: to lose one pound, you have to create a
500-calorie deficit every day for a week. It's fairly easy to cut
calories from food since you can keep track by reading labels and
measuring. The problem comes in when trying to determine how many
calories you're burning with exercise. You can use a calorie counter,
but that's often overestimated. How many calories you burn with exercise
often comes down to things you can't measure such as how intense your
workouts are…During cardio workouts, stay in your zone 75-85%. During
strength training workouts, increase your weight while keeping good
form…no cheating!!
Add to that the fact that there are many factors that affect weight loss
which, again, can't always be measured or accounted for with the tools
we have to track progress. In that sense, your body may be making
changes that can't yet be measured with a scale. Give your body
time to respond to what you're doing. It may be weeks or months before
you see significant changes so don't freak out if you're not seeing
results after only a few weeks. Being patient and taking it one day at a
time will allow you to enjoy the journey instead of focusing on the
destination.
8 - You have a medical condition
Some medical conditions and medications can contribute to weight gain.
While not everyone will find this to be true, it's important to explore
every avenue if you're genuinely following an exercise program and a
clean diet and still not losing weight. One condition known to affect
weight is thyroid disease. A thyroid deficiency can cause a decrease in
metabolism and may lead to weight gain.
Prescription Medications
There are a number of drugs that may have weight gain as a side effect
for some people. Some common ones include hormonal medications for birth
control or menopause, oral steroids, some anti-depressants, diabetes
medications and anti-psychotic medications.
You should get a diagnosis from your doctor in order to determine
whether your weight problems are medically-related.
9 - You've hit a plateau
Almost everyone reaches a weight loss plateau at some point. As your
body adapts to your workouts, it becomes more efficient at it and,
therefore, doesn't expend as many calories doing it. You may find that
after your initial weight loss, your progress will slow down and
eventually stop.
Some common reasons for plateaus include:
* Not Increasing the Intensity of Your Workout. Your body needs to be
challenged to progress. As you become conditioned, you start to feel
comfortable at a certain level. In order to avoid hitting a plateau, you
need to keep pushing yourself during your workouts. Go Faster, Add More
Tension, Do Pushups on Your Toes Instead of your Knees, Increase the
amount of Weight You Use When Lifting, etc.
* Not eating the right type of calories. If your body doesn't have
the right fuel to sustain your level of activity, you can actually stop
losing weight. Focus on eating healthy calories (unsaturated fats, whole
grains, & lean protein). The type of food you eat is more important than
how much of it you eat! A 100 calorie banana packs way more nutrients
than a 100 empty calorie pack of cookies or crackers!
* Overtraining. If you exercise too much, the body sometimes
responds by decreasing the amount of calories you burn during the rest
of your day.
10 - You don't need to lose weight
Despite what you hear on the news or read in popular magazines, not all
of us need to lose weight. In fact, many of us have unrealistic ideas of
what a healthy weight and body shape is. We all have different shapes
and though we can make changes to our bodies, we can only improve on the
bodies we have--not turn them into someone else's body. I have a
challenge for you: Take away all the reasons you want to lose weight
that have anything to do with how you look. Now, look at what's
left...are there any other reasons that you need to lose weight? Are you
at risk for medical conditions such as diabetes or heart disease? Is
your BMI in an unhealthy range? If you're at risk, losing weight may be
important for staying healthy. But, if you're very close to your goal
and can't seem to get rid of those last few pounds, ask yourself if you
really need to lose them. Would it be possible to be happy at your
current weight?
This
information was brought to you by Focused Fitness
www.FocusedFitnessLifestyle.com
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