If you’ve taken on a new weight loss regimen recently but still have yet to see results on the scale, there may be something you’re doing wrong. Read our seven possible reasons as to why your efforts have yielded little-to-no results. If you recognize yourself in one of the below situations, you’ll know which habit to change.
You don’t read the nutritional information on the labels often enough.
Keep an eye on the foods you consume and make sure they’re healthy and low in calories. If, for example, you eat a muffin every morning thinking it’s a healthy breakfast choice, you likely underestimate the caloric content of foods in general. (A large, store-bought muffin contains about 400 calories and 16g of fat, which is the equivalent of two honey-glazed doughnuts.) Be sure to also check the food label not only for its caloric content, but for its fat, sugar and sodium levels.
You consume more calories than you burn.
A great way to count calories is to keep track of what you eat and drink on a daily basis. That way, you’ll be able to see whether you consume more calories than you burn through exercise. If you consume just as many calories as you burn, you’ll maintain your weight. Therefore, you need to burn more calories to start losing pounds. Find out your daily caloric needs as well as how many calories your favourite activities burn to help you keep track!
You rush through your workout.
Exercise is paramount to a healthy weight loss. If you often take a rain check on your workout sessions or you hit the gym only for a few minutes, there’s your reason for not achieving great results. Make sure to do at least 30 minutes of exercise each day, combining both cardio and muscle training. If you lack the time and motivation, try practicing some activities that burn plenty of calories in little time.
You drastically deprive yourself of certain foods.
Many people try diets because they feel they are a good (albeit temporary) solution in order to achieve their target weight. However, eating healthy without depriving yourself of too many foods is a better option if you want long-term results. Some diets are so strict that people become depressed, which increases the risk of them cheating on the diet, or giving up altogether. It’s been proven if you deprive yourself of a certain food, your desire to have it will eventually double. Make sure to eat whenever you’re hungry, even if you’re hoping to lose some weight; otherwise, you’ll be tempted by unhealthy foods and snacks more easily and more often.
You cheat too often.
So you’re depriving yourself of the foods you love, but figure you’ll suck it up for the week and cheat on the weekend? By doing so, you’ll likely regain all the weight you lost in five days in just two. Proper weight loss is based on a healthy and stable lifestyle—not one that jumps from starvation to binging and back.
You believe in miracle diets.
If you take on a diet that promises fast and effective results, then you’ll likely find the results don’t last. You’ll probably lose quite a few pounds in the first few weeks, but are also likely to regain them (as well as extra pounds) as soon as the diet is over and you go back to your old eating habits. This is what is called the yo-yo effect.
You don’t need to lose weight.
Before starting up a weight loss plan, make sure you truly need to shed a few pounds. If you have a healthy body weight and have maintained it for a number of years, this would explain why you can’t manage to shed pounds. To check if you have a healthy body weight, consult your doctor and our Ideal Weight Calculator.
