Reasons you may not be losing weight

Even though you think you’re doing everything you’re supposed to, sometimes weight loss can be a struggle, so here’s some questions to ask yourself that can help you get on track!

Questions to ask yourself:

Do I always have water nearby?

Hydration is key to your success for overall health and especially in any desire to lose fat. Your body is made up an average number of 55-60% water. Contrary to the idea of “burning” fat. While temperature and temperate regulation does play a part, your body hardly gets to a degree level that its able to burn anything. Wouldn’t that be great if you could take a hot bath or sit in a sauna to lose fat. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.

Primary ways that your body expels fat is through your breath, your sweat, and your urine all of which have key parts of water!

Am I active throughout the day?

In some respects, this question could be deemed irrelevant because you don’t HAVE to do exercise in order to see results in weight loss. In fact, there’s whole weight loss plans based around this idea, which is horrible. Moving on! However, exercise does play a role in the ability for your body to expel fat in the ways we spoke before!

Your body has a lymphatic system which is the primary mover of water in your body, anything your body expels goes through your lymphatic system. Now unlike your circulatory system which has a heart for a pump, your lymphatic system does not. It requires muscle contraction to move lymph through your body.

Do I know my fat percentage?

Most importantly if you’re trying to set goals you need to know where you’re starting out. BMI is a no go in my book, some body builders according to BMI are overweight and even obese and you and I both know that’s not the case. Since muscle weighs more than fat and also allows the body to burn more we must look at the ratio of fat and muscle. This brings us into our next question…

Do I know my caloric output?

I am not telling you to go start counting calories! In fact, there’s a good percentage of clients that I can’t or won’t let them log their food or count their calories as it would be detrimental to their mental health. Eating disorders are far more common than you think. Simple calories in calories out is a marker but not the entire marker. Eating too much will not let you lose weight and eating too little will put your body into starvation mode for which it will hold onto the few nutrients its given and again you will struggle to lose weight.

When does reverse dieting come into play?

Reverse dieting is what a person does to increase their maintenance calories and find where their body actually wants to be in relation to the scale. We watch our intake during a phase or season of weight loss, but we shouldn’t stay there. If we are exercising regularly and eating healthy, you should be able to eat a lot more than society thinks. Reverse dieting should be strategic and, in a cycle, determined by your body and for your goals.

Have I been doing the same thing for a long time?

Definition of insanity, to do the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. This is true of exercise, true of eating and honestly true in life. Every 3 months or so take inventory of where you are and where you want to be to help determine what your next steps are and what changes need to be made.

Do I have enough nutrition?

This is a big one! The standard American diet, sucks. Are you getting servings of fruits and vegetables everyday or are you living off counterfeits. “Health foods” are no longer health foods if they’re not real food that your body recognizes. A good rule of thumb if to shop the perimeter, then shop with limited number of ingredients. This should easily make up 80% of your diet and if it doesn’t, then the problem is not your body at all, its that you’re fueling with a counterfeit. Vitamins and “greens” are meant to help supplement, but should never be the sole source.