Scale Stuck but doing everything Right? Here's why you're not getting results...
The most frustrating thing is putting in all that work but not getting anywhere. You feel like you’re spinning your wheels, pushing hard, but getting nowhere. And it’s wearing you out...
Before you give up and let all that work you’ve put in get kicked to the curb read on. You never know, you could just need a simple switch to kick your body into seeing that change!
So here’s why you may not be seeing changes even though you believe you’re doing everything right:
1. You’re consuming more calories than you think you are. Calories sneak up. A taste and bite here and there. Extra ingredients added that aren’t accounted for.
2. You’re burning less calories than you really think are. Sure you may have sweat your ass off, felt like you were dying, but the actual number of calories burned may not be as much as you believe. Weight training may or may not torch calories during your session. But the more you train, and increase muscle mass, over time, you’ll burn more...during and after, even at rest. It’s a long term win!
3. Your HEC is out of whack. Aka your hunger, energy and cravings which tell you how your hormones are doing. Fat burning and muscle building ones. Like insulin, cortisol, thyroid, adrenals. If any of these starts to fall off balance your metabolism will too. A healthy, balanced lifestyle will balance your HEC and thereby hormones and metabolism.
4. You’re stressed. Cortisol, the stress hormone, goes haywire when we’re stressed and under pressure, not getting enough sleep, tension, or running non stop... even if we enjoy what we’re doing most of the time. Cortisol has the ability to slow metabolism, throw off our HEC (and hormones), and promote fat storage while stopping fat burning.
5. You’re doing too much cardio. The days have come and gone where cardio was touted the gold standard for burning calories and losing weight. If you enjoy it or are an athlete and must then do your cardio for performance and cardiovascular purposes, but expect it to be your main mover of weight loss.
6. Your not Strength Training. Weight, resistance and strength is one of the best things you can do for your body for metabolism, longevity, and performance. Do enough of it consistently and you’ll transform your body, boost metabolism, look leaner and tighter. I’m not talking about light weights and high reps. I’m talking challenging weight, and the right intensity and dose.
7. You’re slacking on sleep and recovery. When you train, and learn, we utilize our energy and tear down muscle. The actual magic happens when we sleep and recover. The body can reset its internal systems, muscle is built and repaired, hormones reset, and our mindset gets a refresh.
8. You’re choosing the wrong foods. Sure you need a calorie deficit however it is you get it, in order to lose weight. But, you may be making it a lot harder if you’re eating the wrong foods, and wrong macros. Eat food that is satiating - balances HEC, and is satisfying - taste appealing. The Most satiating foods are those that are high in protein, fiber and water. Eating more of these will help you say no to other foods and therefore keep you from overeating.
9. Your gut needs work. The guy is your second brain. When digestion is impaired you can use, absorb an remove food optimally. The gut sends out signals throughout the body so problems become widespread. Quality food is important. How you eat (from the time you sit down to eat affects your digestion too). Probiotics, probiotics (fiber), hydration, enzymes, and other beneficial nutrients such as glutamine and magnesium support gut health and digestion as well.
10. Your mindset needs an upgrade. Plain and simply ... if your head’s not in the game your body won’t follow.
11. It really is hormones related to age. Ok, so there ARE changes our body goes through throughout life, some we can minimize, some avoid completely, others will happen and our best way to get through is to learn how to navigate and ride the shift. There are certain protocols that you can implement given your age and signs and symptoms.
12. Your body’s adapted to your routine and therefore plateaued. The laws of metabolism state that the body will adapt when it gets used to the demands imposed on it. Sure, consistency is important, but you’ll eventually have to change something up.
13. You’re metabolism has adapted after dieting/cutting for so long. When you’ve dieting and cut back for so long, the metabolism down regulates. This means the body needs LESS calories just to maintain its weight now and if this is the case you may feel like you’re eating nothing, but either gaining or not losing. Or if you return to the calories you used to eat to maintain, now you’ll find you’re gaining.
So what if you say ‘yes that’s me’ to any of the above? Well, there’s ALWAYS something you can do to shift things. It may be simple. But, also takes time and patience to get your body balanced grooving and seeing that change.
With all that said it becomes easier when you have someone there to help you. Someone who knows what to have you do, and how to navigate, and will keep you accountable and on top of things.
Don’t try to do it all yourself, enlist in the help of others and those who are qualified and committed to helping you.