Have you been on a weight loss journey for some time, but hit a plateau recently? Do not worry, there are things you can do and boost your progress. Remember, weight loss is a process and it often takes time- it cannot happen overnight, especially a healthy and steady weight loss.
Plus, there may be something you are not doing quite right and it is impeding the loss of surplus pounds. Continue reading the article to learn about the ten main factors that influence weight loss and how to make changes that will bring the wanted results.
5 Factors that Are Sabotaging Your Weight Loss
- You are not sleeping enough
Did you know that sleep deficiency has been linked with weight gain? Namely, when we do not get the needed sleep, we feel more hungry and our body releases more cortisol, an appetite-regulating hormone. Plus, when one is tired, the chance for skipping workout and physical activity is much higher and thus, you end up burning a smaller amount of calories than needed. Therefore, if your goal is a slimmer figure, try to regulate your sleep and improve its quality. Remember to go to bed and get up at the approximately same time every day. Stay away from stimulants before bed. Do relaxing activities before bed and avoid hitting the snooze in the morning!
- Your metabolic rate is slowed down
The metabolism can slow down for different reasons, including age, especially when we do not preserve the muscle mass. According to some estimates, muscle mass decreases around 4 percent per decade from the age of 25 to 50. But, we need lean muscles to burn more calories than fat. Therefore, if you are consuming the same amount of calories as the metabolism reduces, the weight may surprise you. So, introduce more exercise and lift weights to optimize your metabolism.
- You eat too much
A crucial weight loss determinant is the amount of calories you eat vs. the calories your body is burning. In order to know this, it is important to track the calories per day to prevent eating more than you need to. Use a calorie calculator to find out how many calories you need to reduce. Read about the calories of the foods you are eating or consult a dietitian if needed. Measuring your portions and keeping a food diary are also beneficial weight loss tools.
- A health problem
Though there are a lot of weight loss factors that we can control, including our diet, exercise, and sleep, there are also those we cannot, for example, our sex, genes, age, and type of body. Hence, if you are managing all of the external factors, but you have not been able to achieve the wanted weight loss, it may be time to consult your doctor. This is important to rule out a possible medical problem. Some health problems and meds linked with weight gain are meds for diabetes, thyroid conditions, steroid meds, antidepressants, beta-blockers, and antipsychotic meds.
- You are not exercising
Though diet is the major contributing element to weight loss, workout is also a vital element. It could be that you are not doing the right workout to burn sufficient amount of calories to note progress. According to experts, to achieve weight loss, it is recommendable to include 60 to 90 minutes of daily workout. If you are doing HIIT, 30 minutes will suffice. But, up the duration of your workout gradually to avoid burnout, injuries, and overtraining. Take into account that you either need to up your exercise time and intensity to be in correlation with your weight loss goals or change the goals to match your current physical activity. Moreover, in addition to exercising, you need to try and be as active as possible, i.e. take walks, stretch, limit sitting time, walk your dog, take the stairs rather than elevator, etc.
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