8 Common Reasons Why You’re Not Losing Weight
If you’re eating healthfully and working out but not losing weight, there may be a reason. Stop complaining and let’s dig into this article.
This article lists 8 common reasons why you’re not losing weight. It also contains actionable tips on how to break through the plateau and get things moving again.
1) No Calorie Deficit
A calorie deficit is mandatory for weight loss. Counting calories per day is important to ensure a calorie deficit occurs and you are not complacent with what you eat. Maybe you feel like you’re on a diet that day but make sure there’s no calorie deficit. So to make sure the calorie deficit is really happening, you can use a daily calorie calculation app like MyfitnessPal or MyNutriDiari2.
2) Irregular Meal Times
Studies have found that irregular meal times will cause unstable sugar levels, less energy burning process and lower metabolism. Not having breakfast or not having dinner may put you in a ‘starving’ mood which causes the body to reduce calorie burning. You are advised to eat regularly as shown in the diagram below. Studies have also found that eating late at night can increase the risk of obesity and diabetes.
3) Not Drinking Enough Water
Who does not like to drink water? Drinking water is very important during the weight loss process. Water will increase the fat burning process and can increase the body’s metabolism. Drinking water also can make us feel fuller and reduce the portion of food intake.
4) Not Getting Enough Sleep
Not getting enough sleep or sleeping late at night has been found to increase the risk of obesity. Inadequate sleep creates a hormonal imbalance in the body that promotes overeating and weight gain. Leptin and ghrelin are hormones that control appetite, and when you don’t get enough sleep, the production of these hormones is altered in a way that changes the levels of our hunger and appetite hormones.
5) Sugar Cravings
Consuming too much sugary food or drink can slow down the weight loss process. High blood sugar levels will increase your levels of insulin, which is a fat storage hormone, when blood sugar levels are high, insulin directs fat stores to store fat and prevent it from being broken down. Therefore, the weight will remain or increase. High insulin levels also tend to increase sugar cravings.
6) Stress
According to studies, the higher the stress you have, the harder it is to lose weight. When a person has high stress, the body will release the hormone cortisol. High levels of the cortisol hormone can increase your appetite and cause cravings for sweet, fatty and salty foods.
7) Sedentary Lifestyle
Lack of physical activity or sedentary lifestyle is also one of the factors that make it difficult to lose weight. Lack of physical activity can lower the body’s metabolism and reduce the body’s muscle mass. Body muscle mass is very helpful in burning calories. In addition, physical activity is also an important component in maintaining weight after weight loss.
8) Bad Eating Habits
Bad eating habits are also the cause of weight gain. Break these common bad eating habits for quick weight loss results.
- Too much gravy. Did you know, 1 tablespoon of fatty sauces or coconut milk such as curry and rendang contains 50kcl ?
- Eat more rice than vegetables in one meal
- Eat a large amount of side dishes such as chicken and eggs or meat and chicken
