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8 reasons why you may not be losing any more weight
1. Drinking too much alcohol or pop (soda).
Although there is no fat in most alcoholic drinks they contribute to fat
gain because of the calorie content of
alcohol. The energy in alcohol must be burned immediately, while your
body is busy burning the extra calories from the drink your body will have
no choice but to store most other the calories ingested from healthy meals.
Alco-pops are even worse they supply calories through the
alcohol AND tons of extra energy through the added
sugars. Even normal pop or soda should be cut out or at least severely
restricted because of the effects on blood sugar levels. You should be
drinking more bottled water instead of soda if you want to keep losing fat
weight.
2. Too little exercise or less effective routines.
We all know we need to exercise in order to stay trim but many people still
don’t do enough activity to burn off the energy from food or overcome a
slow metabolism. You should strive to be active
for the most part of your waking hours, or exercising for 20-30 minutes at
least 3 times a week. If you’re very overweight and struggle to exercise
then you need to be doing more low level recreational activities.
Many people get fed up with going to the gym and doing the same old routine.
When a routine becomes boring you should change it as constantly repeating
the same routine can ruin its fat loss
potential. Our body adapts very well to exercise and repeating something
your body can complete easily won’t cause any physical changes. Yes, you
will still burn calories but if your body
has adapted to your present, daily calorie intake then you’ll not lose any
more weight. A great way to boost results is to re-challenge the body by
trying different kinds of activities; swimming, ice skating, dancing salsa
or even rock climbing. If an activity becomes fun you’ll do it for longer
and end up burning much more energy to lose weight.
3. A reduced metabolism
Low calorie diets tend to work
well during the first few weeks then they become ineffective for losing
further weight. The reason is they cause the metabolism to slow down, thus
your body adapts to the limited calorie intake. If you respond by lowering
your calorie intake further you’ll probably end up losing even more muscle
and hitting a weight loss plateau
again. This cycle may continue until your resolve finally breaks and you go
back to your previous eating habits. The secret is to lower intake slightly
while providing good nutrition with plenty of protein to limit muscle loss.
Doing some weight training will help boost the metabolism and speed fat
loss. Remember Tom Venuto’s motto “Burn
the Fat, but Feed the Muscle!”
4. Skipping meal too often
It sounds simple, if we eat less we should lose weight. For this reason many
people skip meals but the body responds by going into starvation mode, the
muscles break down in order to maintain the amino acid pool, the result is a
lowered metabolism. Also if you let your blood
sugar drop too low you’ll end up with strong hunger
pains and probably end up eating far too much at the next meal. Try to eat
healthy, small meals or snacks 5 – 6 times a day, starting with a good
breakfast that contains good
quality protein. Learn to stabilize blood sugar levels through the
G.I. way of eating.
5. Eating too much sugar and salt
Excess sugar and salt are often combined together in many processed foods.
Eating too much sugar in one meal causes increased blood sugar levels; the
body must respond and lower it back to normal. The result is most of the
excess sugar is eventually stored as body fat.
This is where some people get confused because they eat sugary foods or
drink lots of soda which contain little fat
content, and don’t realize how it can cause
fat storage. Try to
reduce sugar intake.
Salt can be confusing too because it contains no energy but can result in
weight gains, albeit water gain! Salt causes the body to hold water so too
much salt makes some people believe they’re getting fatter. It’s possible to
be carrying an extra 5 pounds of weight just through consuming
too much salt in the diet. Remember
to cut down on processed, convenient foods; try to follow a
diet plan full
of natural, unprocessed foods.
6. Not drinking enough water
During an average day many ordinary people become slightly dehydrated
because they lose more fluid than they drink; they often don’t realize it
because the thirst centre is not very accurate. Sometimes dehydration can
cause hunger pains as many of us obtain a large proportion of the daily
water supply from foods. If you don’t drink much water and seem to be
frequently hungry your body may be craving the water rather than food. Water
also helps boost energy levels so you can workout
more effectively to burn extra calories and lose weight. You
should be
drinking 8 large glasses of water every day.
7. Incorrect portion sizes
When dieting to lose weight the old philosophy still rings true “eat less to
lose weight”. Although you shouldn’t skip meals, as discussed in point 4,
the answer may be to eat little and often. Eating more meals or snacks must
means small sized portions!
8. Unrealistic Goals
Setting goals that are too difficult to achieve or goals that are totally
unrealistic is a common reason for failure to
lose weight. It’s silly trying to get
the figure of a super model if you have an
endomorph body type. Achieving your
goals is important for continued success. If you don’t reach your goal you
may end up feeling like a failure and this can cause some people to comfort
eat.
Aim for small, easily obtainable goals to help build some momentum for
success. Losing the recommended 2 pounds each week may sound too slow but at
least you should be able to achieve this target without difficulty, then
you’ll feel like a winner, and you’ll be one step closer to your main goal
too!
Changes in Energy Intake When Trying to Lose
Weight
* Always seek approval from a qualified
dietician before introducing new foods or starting any new diet.
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