Difficult to Lose Weight? X Most Common Reason Why

Unfortunately, not every person who tries to lose weight succeeds and a lot of overweight or obese people end up being disappointed and stop their weight loss efforts and additionally worsen their overall health. Namely, being overweight or obese has been associated with a long list of less and more serious health-related complications, including heart illness, diabetes, and some types of cancer. With this in mind, numerous individuals would like to know what is the major reason for their poor weight loss results and whether this is something that could be improved.

To illustrate, a lot of people, regardless of how many calories they have restricted or how much exercising they have introduced to their daily lives, cannot seem to shed surplus pounds because of some other issues such as poor metabolism or lack of physical activity. Taking into consideration that a successful weight loss is something that depends on numerous different factors, this article will be focused on familiarizing readers with the 10 most common reasons why their weight loss results are not as expected.

Have you been trying to lose weight?
Are you unsatisfied with your weight loss results?
Do you want to know what could be holding you back from shedding extra pounds?

If the answer to any of the aforementioned questions is a yes, you should definitely continue reading this article and learn more about the most common mistakes that people do when trying to become slimmer!

Difficult to Lose Weight? Most Common Reasons Why

1. Inadequate diet

Following an inadequate diet may impede the efforts to have slimmer body. Hence, you need to exclude processed and junk foods and introduce healthier foods and to follow this pattern permanently. In order to lose or to maintain weight, one needs to be fully dedicated to choosing healthier foods on the daily and to remember that healthy eating never ceases, unless you do not want to shed weight long-term. You may feel as if you are depriving yourself of “the good stuff”, i.e. foods like pizza and hamburgers; however, this does not mean that you should completely exclude them, but reduce their intake. A healthy and balanced diet is based on planning your menu, cooking your own meals and preparing your own drinks, and knowing which foods to consume more and which ones less. You are probably wondering where to start, right? Do not worry, here are some beneficial ideas to start your journey of eating healthier and consequently, to lose weight:

When grocery shopping, make sure you read the food labels
Dedicate more time to preparing your own meals
Learn more about adequate portion sizes
Keep a food journal (writing down what you consume helps you acquire a critical approach to your food habits and adopt healthier ones)
Be less mindless and more mindful of your food choices

2. Unhealthy lifestyle

When you try to lose weight and maintain it, it is not just of pivotal importance to change your diet and eat healthier, but you should also lead a healthier lifestyle. What does it mean to “live healthier”, a lot of you would probably want to know, right? This means that you have the will to better your lifestyle, not by changing everything overnight, but by learning to be more open to how you do things. Sometimes, regardless of how much workout you implement or no matter how many diet changes you make, having other bad lifestyle habits could be impeding your path to a lean and slim body. To learn more about how to make your lifestyle better, check out the list below!

How you spend your free time

Often times, this includes setting up some new rules, for example, reducing how much TV you watch or how long you sit in front of your computer.

Your daily routines

Instead of lying in bed or watching TV shows as you usually do, you may need to get up earlier in order to do your workout or prepare lunch or go for a walk or a run before you head out to work. Since working out on a regular basis is of utmost importance and because this will require certain changes in your schedule, make sure you adjust them according to your other daily activities like work or school. Remember, a busy schedule is never an excuse for living healthier. Finding it difficult to stick to your new schedule might prevent you from losing the wanted amount of weight.

What you keep in your pantry

Did you know that no matter how committed to your weight loss you are, having unhealthy foods and drinks near you can disrupt your newly-adopted routines? This being said, make sure you also prepare your surroundings so that they help you reach your goals instead of sabotaging them.

3. The goals you have set

With certainty, setting unreachable weight loss goals will lead to poor success and weight loss can become difficult if you feel like you are constantly failing. Feeling like this all the time will decrease your motivation (and you may end up quitting), which is crucial for your weight loss efforts. But, what do we mean when we say “reasonable goals”? This means different things for different people and it is a combination of one’s genetics, level of exercise, metabolism, and diet, among other things. After you set a more realistic and approachable goal, drive your attention towards smaller, weakly goals that will lead to your major one. For example, your weekly goal may be 3 cardio workouts or 140 pushups. Remember, choose things that you know you can reach so that you avoid being disappointed!

4. Problems with your mental health

Very often, overweight or obese individuals might find it burdensome to shed pounds because of some past issues that they have had to deal with like depression, anxiety or some other mental health problem. For a lot of people going through difficult times, food plays the role of a comforter, which they rely on in order to go through their emotional struggles easier. If this is an issue for you too, it is crucial to find the main triggers so that you are aware of what you are doing and why you are doing it. It is never a bad idea to discuss your emotional eating or any other mental health problem you might be having that is standing in the way of your slimmer body with a counselor.

5. The environment you are in

Unfortunately, we cannot control everything that happens around us, especially at work or when we go out with friends and this could be a major issue that may impede our weight loss journey. You may be tempted by coworkers bringing unhealthy food, having vending machines in your workplace, being exposed to too much alcohol when you go out, being offered unhealthy snacks, etc. But, you can control what happens in your home, right? To make things easier, why not set your own area of your home for workout or find time to watch exercise videos on your TV every other night or this may be any other thing that may increase your motivation to shed pounds effectively. The goal is to have an environment that will encourage and remind you of healthy choices, like a bowl of fruits on the table instead of a bag of chips.

6. Lack of flexibility

Often times, regardless of how well you have planned things, there is something that may throw you off track, for example, you miss your fitness class because of traffic or some other obstacle. So, what should you do when something similar happens? It is easy, learn how to be flexible and be prepared. Make sure you have a pair of sneakers in your car and replace your fitness class with a brisk walk in the park. Amazing, right? This allows you to stick to your workout schedule and stay in shape, regardless of what the day may bring. What if you had a late night with friends and you did not manage to get up earlier and cook a healthy lunch? If you want to avoid skipping your healthy lunch, make sure you always keep some leftovers from previous lunches that you can reach for.

7. Lack of exercise

One thing is for sure; lack of regular workout increases the risk of poor weight loss results. Though it is possible to shed few extra pounds through changes in your diet, it is inevitable that you will hit a plateau at a specific point. Nevertheless, this does not mean that you need to spend all of your free time on exercise; the goal is to set up a normal workout routine that it is doable and to find something you enjoy doing and stick to it in the long run. Wondering about some useful workouts for a successful loss of surplus weight? Check out the following list:

Weight training
Interval training
Running
Boxing
Tabata
Crossfit
Swimming
Yoga
Rope jumping

8. Slow metabolism

You have probably been hearing a lot that a fast or a slow metabolism is the main reason why some people, regardless of how much they eat, are slimmer and why others easily gain weight when they do not watch out their calorie intake. With this in mind, it is pivotal to mention that it is half myth and half truth that our metabolism is crucial for our weight. Hence, consuming more calories than your body spends will end up in weight gain. Opposite to this, eating and drinking a smaller amount of calories than the calories you burn through daily activities like sleep, exercise, etc., will trigger weight loss. This process may also be affected by your metabolic rate, i.e. the rate at which your body burns calories for energy. Since it is partly a genetic thing, you may inherit a faster metabolism that allows you to eat more without gaining pounds whereas others are not so fortunate. Be that as it may, if you find slow metabolism to be your weight loss obstacle, apply some of these beneficial tips to boost it:

Include protein in every meal
Up your consumption of cold water
Go with high-intensity workout
Stand up more often
Consume green or oolong tea
Enrich your diet with spicy foods
Drink sugarless black coffee
Get enough sleep
Cook with coconut oil

9. Your sleeping hours

Getting sufficient amount of rest and sleep is one of the contributing factors to an optimal physical and mental health and consequently, your weight. According to studies, poor sleep is a risk factor for obesity and in adults; the risk of becoming obese from poor sleep is 89 percent and 55 percent in children. Therefore, make sure you establish your sleeping routine and stick to it. Want to learn more about how to sleep better? Check out the following set of tips:

Set a specific bedtime and hold on to it
Opt for a warm bath before bed
Get dressed in your sleepwear
Play some calming music
Do not use any electronic devices an hour before bed
Dim any other lights
Do not consume caffeine at least 6 hours prior to your bedtime
In the morning, turn on the lights (a healthy way to reset your clock)

10. You eat too many carbs

If you are an individual who needs to lose a lot of weight and if you suffer from metabolic issues like pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes, a low-carb diet may be of great aid because studies indicate that this type of nutrition provides two to three times more shedding of weight than low-fat diets. What’s more, reducing the amount of carbohydrates has a lot of health benefits like balanced triglyceride, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels. Want to know which foods are abundant in carbs? Here are the most common ones:

Grains and bread
Some fruits like bananas, mangoes, pears, raisins, and dates
Pasta
Starchy veggies
Beer
Cereal
Sweetened yogurt
Store-bought juices
Salad dressings
Legumes
Beans
Sugar
Honey
Chips and crackers
Milk

To conclude, if you want to lose weight permanently and not come across major struggles along the way, it is important to apply the right methods and stick to the routines you create like proper sleeping patterns, regular workout, and balanced diet. And, last but not least, remember that your primary goal should not be solely to lose weight, but to become a healthier, happier, and fitter person long-term.

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