It's spring now, and many women are worried about the question: "How to lose weight quickly?" Of course, because summer is just around the corner, and the extra pounds are still on your body. And even if a woman has been on a diet for several weeks, and the weight does not move or moves down, but at a very slow speed, she is consumed by the question: “I can’t lose weight, what’s the matter?” Let's see what nutritionists and psychologists answer these questions.
General concepts about losing weight
In modern realities, with our lifestyle and our eating style, it is problematic to simply maintain a normal weight, not to mention losing weight. There is a huge list of diet programs that predict us losing a large number of kilograms in a short period of time. They tempt us, they confuse us, we fail to see the logical inconsistencies, and all this ultimately leads us to failure. Perhaps you have already tried one of these diets and were unable to lose the desired amount of weight. You may even have decided that losing weight is very difficult, diets don’t work, none of this is for you. You're right about one thing: traditional diets don't work in the long term.
What does it mean? This means that if you have enough willpower and intention to follow a diet, you can stick to it and lose a couple of hated kilograms. But they will come back very quickly, literally within a few months. And they’ll also take a couple of “friends” with them. You may ask: "So what's the matter? I can't lose weight with or without dieting, what should I do?" The answer is quite simple. First you need to remember the golden combination: “70% nutrition and 30% sports” - this is the formula for losing extra pounds. Then you need to create a program that will be reasonable (unlike diets) and will help avoid breakdowns and mistakes.
Our bodies obey physical laws
Is it possible to lose weight without dieting? The answer depends on what you call a diet. After all, strictly speaking, this is a way of eating. This is not a restriction, this is not a hunger strike. But in order to lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories than you burn. If you consume more than you burn, you will inevitably gain weight.
So, to lose 500 grams of fat (not water, not mythical toxins, but fat), you need to burn 4,500 kcal. Thus, by reducing your daily diet by 500 kcal, you can avoid famine and burn half a kilogram in about 10 days. Naturally, all these calculations are approximate, and everything depends on the individual characteristics of the organism. In 10 days you can lose 2 kilograms. It could be excess water coming out, or it could just be a hormonal fluctuation in weight. Determining why they were lost is almost impossible at home. Many women, trying to lose weight as quickly as possible, reduce their daily diet by 1,000 calories or even more. This is fundamentally wrong.
The Holodomor has arrived
The body in an acute calorie deficit goes into extreme survival mode. Yes, you will lose weight. Because in order to ensure the normal functioning of organs in an acute calorie deficit, the body will take energy first from glycogen depots, and then from fat reserves. But as soon as you return to a normal lifestyle, and you will return sooner or later, since no one can sit on a debilitating diet all their life, your wise body will begin to store fat reserves at an accelerated and doubled rate, remembering the “Famine”.
Therefore, answering the question: “How to lose weight without proper nutrition?” - let's say: "No way." But proper nutrition is a life-long habit, and a short-term hunger strike is a lifelong harm. So, what to do to lose weight at home:
- It is necessary to change your entire lifestyle and diet, and not try to lose weight through short-term fasts. Is it possible to lose weight without it? No you can not. You must create a diet that you can stick to throughout your life. To do this, it is advisable to study the composition of the main products and remember simple rules: simple carbohydrates are consumed before 12 noon, complex carbohydrates can be consumed until 15 noon. After 3 pm, only lean protein: white poultry meat, eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, kefir. The diet should look something like this: 50% protein, 40% carbohydrates and 10% fat.
Remember! 1 gram of protein contains 4 calories, 1 gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories, 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories. So, if your daily value is 1,800 calories, you should consume: 225 grams of protein (900 kcal), 180 grams of carbohydrates (720 kcal), and 20 grams of fat (180 kcal). You can adjust the formula: slightly reduce carbohydrates and increase proteins, or vice versa. It all depends on your individual characteristics and the amount of training.
- Find professional support from a psychologist or nutritionist. If you don’t have the money or time for this, then find serious support among friends and family. You can even argue with someone.
- It is advisable not to lose more than 1 kilogram per week. Ideally - 0.5 kilograms. Yes, this may not seem like much, because you want more. But as was said at the beginning, you can lose 2-3 kg in a week, but you will lose no more than 0.2-0.5 kg of fat. Therefore, you need to pursue quality, not quantity.
- Be sure to keep a food and exercise diary. Write down everything you eat and drink, the amount of sugar put in your coffee, the amount of milk poured into it, etc. Count not just calories, but also BJU (proteins - fats - carbohydrates). Count how many calories you burn during exercise. On a day when you are strength training, it is recommended to increase your protein intake. Keeping a food diary will help you, firstly, understand your diet; secondly, remember the amount of CBJU in the foods you eat. Ultimately, you will be able to determine KBJU by eye.
Is it possible to lose weight without training?
Of course it is possible. Of course it will take longer. In addition, a body without training is saggy and flabby, albeit thin. Remember the saying that a skinny cow is not a gazelle? This is exactly about such a case. How to lose weight fast at home? What does "fast" mean? Lose "__" kg in a month? (Insert the required number of kilograms yourself). 4 kg? 10 kg? You can lose weight by 3-4. 10 is also possible, but not necessary, since not all 10 kilograms will be fat. And this does not depend on whether you are losing weight at home or in a health center.
Attention! Set yourself achievable goals. Use real data, not wishlists. Then you won’t turn to specialists with questions: “I can’t lose weight, what should I do?”
The end of emotional eating
Many people ask: “Help me lose weight,” and everyone needs to explain the techniques of nutrition, fat burning, and also find out the psychological problems of each patient. The most common psychological problem with overeating for many women is emotional eating. Women eat during PMS. Hormones are raging, you want to eat for three elephants and it’s very difficult to restrain yourself. Literally everything is swept out of the refrigerator. There are no special preferences, I just want to “eat!” This problem is common to most women during PMS, but not to all. This usually lasts 1-3 days, and during this period it is better to stock the refrigerator with low-fat cottage cheese, kefir, healthy vegetables and cereals.
But we also eat when we are upset, when we are tired, when we are exhausted physically, emotionally, psychologically. At these moments we crave carbohydrates and fats. Some people are drawn to sweets, buns, candies, while others are drawn to fatty and juicy meat. These are all ways to provide the body with quick calories that will raise its tone. In addition, sweets increase the level of happiness hormones and therefore improve your mood. If your problem is “I can’t lose weight,” pay attention to whether you are eating your emotions.
Don't eat while running
Let eating become a ritual for you. When eating on the run or having lunch at the work computer, we risk overeating. The fact is that the signal of saturation arrives in the brain 20 minutes after the start of eating. Therefore, if you eat quickly and on the run, you risk swallowing more food without getting full than you need. And then you will feel overfullness and maybe even pain in your stomach due to the fact that you have filled it with a large amount of food, and it cannot cope with its digestion.
How to lose weight? Diet of a healthy person:
- Add more vegetables and fruits to your diet. They are filling, tasty and healthy.
- Learn to cook vegetables in a way that makes them tasty to you. Believe it or not, many people fell in love with them after trying them properly prepared.
- But when adding vegetables to your diet, remember to limit starchy types like potatoes. They are very high in calories and most of them are empty. These are what are called empty calories. They do not contain beneficial vitamins and nutrients.
How to lose weight at home? Eat a healthy diet and exercise. Nothing else will help you lose weight.
Why count calories?
It has already been said that to successfully lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume. Counting will give you a detailed picture of your nutrition and will help you adjust your weight loss plan in accordance with it. So, for example, did you allow yourself some unplanned candy today? It's okay, work 5-10 minutes longer during your evening workout or walk a couple of stops at a brisk pace after work. Knowing how much you have eaten will help you know what to do.
In addition, you will know that the question “how to lose 5 kg in a week?” insolvent. Such weight loss is harmful to the body now and in the long term. Why? Because constant hungry days slow down your metabolism. And then it will be very difficult with the help of sports to accelerate it to its previous, healthy state.
If your problem is: “I can’t lose weight, but I urgently need to,” contact a qualified psychologist. He will explain to you what your problem is and why it is suddenly “urgent.” And then contact a nutritionist, and he will give you the right diet that will help you lose weight. But not "urgently". “Urgently” you can only ruin your health.
Sports - 30% success
Often people who have the problem “I can’t lose weight” ignore training. We are accustomed to the fact that training is hell, it is pain, and therefore we try to avoid it in every possible way. Yes. This is hard. And besides, classes will require not only psychological and physical effort, but also iron discipline. Who wants to go to the gym in the rain? But if your discipline is at a high level, if you see your goal and it is real, then you will overcome this problem and go to the gym, no matter what.
How to lose weight at home with the help of sports? Exactly the same as in the hall. You may not have the same variety of equipment and exercise equipment at home as you do at the gym, but you don’t need it. Unless your goal is to become a bodybuilder, of course. If your goal is to lose weight, then intense bodyweight training will be very helpful for you. Your classes should be intense and your exercises should be highly effective. Try to use several different muscle groups in one exercise. Train 4-5 times a week for 40-60 minutes.
Remember! Fat burning begins 20 minutes after the start of classes. Therefore, even an intense, but short workout will not be as effective as a less intense, but longer one.
You must calculate your heart rate. The simplest formula for fitness: 220 minus your age. For example, if you are 30 years old, your heart rate will be 190. Monitor your heart rate during exercise. To do this, it is best to purchase an inexpensive heart rate monitor. Fat burning pulse is considered to be 60-80% of heart rate. So, from our example, you should keep your heart rate between 114-152 beats. If your heart rate is below 114, you are not exercising effectively. If it's above 152, you enter the endurance training zone. In this zone, fat will not be burned as efficiently. Keep your heart rate under control. If you suddenly go beyond 152 beats per minute, reduce the tempo and do some stretching. But don't stop completely. Keep moving anyway. If you are training at home, walk around the room at a calm pace and breathe deeply. If your heart rate is below 114, then, on the contrary, speed up. Jump rope and do an exercise called burpees. They will perfectly speed up your sluggish pulse.
Tandem: diet + sports
There are only a few people with a genetic disorder who cannot lose weight. You are unlikely to be one of them. So if you can't lose weight, you're doing something wrong. You train sluggishly, break your diet, greatly reduce the number of calories, often break down, do not maintain the balance of proteins - fats - carbohydrates, eat carbohydrates in the afternoon or do not take something else into account. That is why it is best not to try to cope with the problem of losing weight on your own, but to turn to specialists: nutritionists, trainers, psychologists. It's always better to see from the outside, isn't it?
Of course, you can try to lose weight without exercise, but remember that a skinny cow is not a gazelle. A skinny body does not equal a beautiful body. Beautiful is first and foremost healthy. And a healthy one is not a thin body with protruding ribs or a spine, and not a shapeless one, swollen with fat so that parts are hard to discern.
In addition, sport helps you adjust your diet; even if you eat a little too much, you can always get rid of it quickly. But you need to know when you have eaten too much and you need to know which exercises will be the most effective. That's why you need to keep a diary of nutrition and workouts.
Remember! You can do one extra workout per week to speed up your fat burning process or burn off excess food you eat. But you can't cut your diet by more than 500 calories. If your diet is not nutritious and varied, if you feel hungry, you will constantly break down. Your mental state will not be stable, and emotional food will be provided to you. In order not to traumatize the psyche, it is recommended to get used to the new diet gradually, to get used to the idea not that you are losing weight, but that you are completely changing your lifestyle in order to be healthy.
By the way, you need to eat small portions every 2.5-3 hours. Divide your daily calorie intake into 6-7 meals (the 7th meal means half a glass of kefir at night if you are hungry, and if you are not hungry, then you need to limit yourself to six meals). Plan your diet so that you consume the main carbohydrates before 15:00. If you really want a piece of chocolate, eat it in the morning with tea or coffee. But be sure to write down these 10 grams of chocolate in your KBJU diary. Usually women feel when the “zhor” will attack them. And you need to draw up a nutrition plan for this day or several days, taking into account night kefir or yogurt, for example. It should be included in the daily norm of KBJU. For many people, these calculations and nuances are too complex, so it is best to have a professional nutritionist monitor your nutrition.
If you relapse, psychologists recommend not to reproach yourself, but to analyze the cause of the relapse. Perhaps you have reduced your diet too much and need to increase its calorie content a little for now? Or perhaps you are stuck with emotional problems out of habit? Analyze. If you can’t do it yourself, consult a psychologist, there’s nothing wrong with that. Understanding the intricacies of consciousness on your own can be very difficult, and sometimes impossible.
Remember!
- Short-term diets work, but they do more harm than good.
- You cannot lose more than 1 kilogram per week.
- Follow the KBZHU and do not reduce your calorie intake by more than 500 kcal.
- While training, monitor your heart rate and keep your heart rate within the fat burning zone.
- Do not eat psychological fatigue and emotional problems.
- It will be best if you seek help from specialists.
It's depressing when you can't lose weight, even if you put every effort into it. What to do if training, diet, lifestyle changes do not bring the desired results and the excess weight does not go away? It is at such moments that 99% of women give up. It’s easier to do nothing and not deny yourself anything than to continue to work on yourself. But this is a trap. Let's find out the main reasons why weight does not come off and look at options for solving this problem.
There are scientifically proven reasons why you can’t lose weight with proper nutrition. Let's look at them.
1. You don't understand the difference between fat and mass.
Did you know that losing weight is often confused with losing body fat and building muscle mass? When you say you want to weigh less, rephrase that sentence and say you want to lose flab. When you first start your weight loss program, you will lose water. This is what the scales will show. But after a few days, the body will begin to build muscle. The more protein you eat and exercise, the more muscle mass you will gain and the more toned your body will look. Your weight readings will increase and you may think you are gaining weight rather than losing weight. Simply put, always look at your body fat ratio to see if you are losing it or not. You can calculate your body fat percentage at any gym.
2. Your weight loss goals are unattainable.
Having high expectations from a weight loss program can also leave you disappointed. I have personally heard many women ask: “why am I not losing weight?”, but at the same time they were at a normal weight. If you need to lose weight, do it, but assess the situation adequately.
Losing five kilograms in a week is impossible, and I'm talking about fat mass, not body weight in the form of excess water. Fad diets may promise the impossible, but they don't guarantee lasting results. Excess fat should go away gradually. Write your short-term goals in a journal. For example, give up sugar in drinks or lose one kilogram in a week. This will make your goals more realistic and achievable. Once you achieve one small goal, you will notice changes in your appearance, thoughts, muscle activity and morale.
3. You think you're eating healthy.
Isn't this a real problem when you eat healthy and still haven't lost an ounce? Anyone will be amazed and disappointed. Take a closer look at your diet, especially when it comes to snacks and drinks. Ideally, one meal should contain protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats. Protein should take up 10 - 35% of calories, carbohydrates 45 - 65% of calories, 20 - 35% of calories should come from fats. Protein sources include chicken breast, lean turkey, lean pork, mushrooms and legumes, tofu and soy. You need to eat vegetables and fruits to get enough fiber and complex carbohydrates. Include nuts, seeds, avocado, refined oil, olive oil, flaxseed oil and similar foods in your diet to provide your body with healthy fats.
In addition, you need to watch what you eat between meals. This is where many of us make a mistake. Energy drinks, packaged fruit and vegetable juices, soda, coffee with cream and sugar, potato waffles, sauces, mayonnaise, fried chicken, and even excess vegetables and fruits as a snack can be the reason why you fail to lose weight. To make sure you're actually eating healthy, remember to journal everything you eat during the day. This will give you an idea of why the weight isn't coming off and where you need to make dietary changes.
4. You have a problem with hormones
Hormones play a very important role in a woman’s life. Hormones such as cortisol (the stress hormone), ghrelin (the hunger hormone), thyroid hormone (hypothyroidism can cause weight gain), insulin (too much in the blood can lead to resistance, leading to weight gain and diabetes), and leptin (excess which causes increased appetite) can be harmful to your health.
This condition is dangerous because you will not immediately notice that the hormonal system has failed. And that these hormones are the reason that you want to eat more, and your metabolism has become slower. Consult a doctor or nutritionist and get the necessary tests. Follow the instructions to balance your hormonal levels.
5. No mixed workouts
So, you are already working out and have lost a few kilograms, but your body remains flabby. The important question is whether you do any other workouts besides cardio. If not, then this will be the answer to the question - “why am I on a diet, but the weight doesn’t come off?” Cardio training is great, but you also need to add strength training. Strength training will keep your muscles toned, speed up your metabolism and help you form a beautiful figure.
6. Health problems
Thyroid diseases, insulin resistance, polycystic ovary syndrome, sleep apnea, Cushing's syndrome and others may be the reason why weight does not come off. If you are following the regimen, but have not yet undergone a medical examination, be sure to do so. There is no reason to worry too much about this, since most of these diagnoses can be circumvented. A doctor, nutritionist and experienced trainer will help you create the right weight loss program.
7. Know your genetics so you don't try to get over your head.
Genetics plays the most important role for every creature on earth. It determines appearance, physiological functions and even behavior. If you've ever seen people who eat a lot and don't gain weight, you know what we're talking about. Metabolism may be naturally slow and losing weight may be difficult. You need to consult a doctor and fitness trainer to take into account the influence of genes when drawing up a weight loss program. A healthy lifestyle, proper nutrition and regular exercise are of great importance. But your body won't respond to lifestyle changes as quickly as someone else's. You must adhere to an individual program.
8. You don't drink enough water
Our body consists of more than 75% water. Water helps maintain homeostasis and elasticity of the cell membrane, supports many functions and biological reactions: digestion and absorption of nutrients, their transport and removal of waste products. With a small volume of water entering the body, these processes fail. Metabolism slows down, toxins are not eliminated, digestion is slow. If you want to lose weight, all these biological processes must work at a high level. And without a sufficient volume of water this is impossible. Drink 3 – 4 liters of water per day. If you exercise, drink even more.
9. You're not getting enough protein.
Protein is an integral component of our body. It is found everywhere - from hair to enzymes in the body. Getting enough lean protein will help you build muscle and get a great body. Proteins take a long time to digest and take a lot of energy, which can also contribute to weight loss. You should try to eat at least one protein dish with every meal. Include chicken breasts, turkey, mushrooms, legumes, soy and soy milk, and tofu in your diet. You should consume 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of your weight.
10. Improper preparation of food
“I buy healthy foods, eat them in the right quantities and do exercises, but I just can’t lose weight,” this is often heard from people who do not understand the role played by the method of preparing a particular product. Deep-frying, cooking for too long, or overcooking can strip foods of some nutritional properties or make them unhealthy. Try to eat vegetables raw, boiled, stewed or blanched. Cook meat on the grill or in the oven, cook soups. For frying, use oil in a spray bottle or cold-pressed natural olive oil. Avoid overcooked or burnt foods.
11. Sedentary work
If you have a desk job, you probably spend up to 8 hours a day at your desk. This slows down the weight loss process. Sitting still slows down your metabolism and causes every bite you eat to be stored in reserve. People with sedentary jobs tend to have a higher percentage of belly fat than other parts of the body. Start taking breaks every hour and perform movements to get your blood circulating more actively and transport nutrients and oxygen throughout the body. This will boost your metabolism.
12. Elimination of fats
Many people are surprised: “I completely gave up fatty foods, but I’m not losing weight.” If you want to get rid of excess fat, you need to start eating healthy fats. Healthy fats contain Omega-3 acids and reduce inflammation, which can contribute to obesity. Fats are essential for maintaining healthy cell function. Include almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, pistachios, olive oil, rice bran oil, flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sunflower and peanut butter in your diet. But do not consume these foods without moderation; excess healthy fats will also lead to weight gain.
13. You still haven't cut down on sugars and carbs.
Sometimes we don't suspect that a product contains a large amount of sugar or carbohydrates. Read the ingredients label. Sauces and ketchups contain high amounts of sugar and starch, so avoid them. Buy plain breakfast cereals, avoid salted or sugar-coated nuts, and avoid multigrain cookies.
14. You skip meals to cut calories.
Many people are interested: why do I practically not eat and lose weight? The thing is, this trick doesn't work. When you skip meals, your brain function slows down, as does your metabolism and digestion. Plus, you'll eat more next time because you'll feel hungry. And allow yourself to eat more food. However, the body will store this excess energy as fat. Eat every 3 to 4 hours, watch your portion size and don't skip breakfast.
15. Eat too often
Some people eat too often, which causes them to become overweight. Even if you eat healthy foods and work out regularly at the gym, eating too often creates a calorie surplus. As mentioned above, you need to eat every 3 to 4 hours, not every hour. Drink more water. Quite often we confuse thirst with hunger.
16. Overindulging in healthy eating
Have you given up the habit of buying unhealthy products? Great! Are you sure that you are not consuming too many “healthy” foods? Vegetables, fruits and grains also contain a lot of sugar and carbohydrates. And when you eat a lot of these foods but don't exercise, the extra calories accumulate and are stored as fat. Control the amount of food you eat to lose weight.
17. The heaviest burden is on your shoulders.
Stress, anxiety and depression can harm your mental and physical health. These negative emotions stimulate the production of cortisol, which accumulates fat receptors in the abdominal area. This leads to internal obesity. Stress also produces large amounts of toxins, which can affect the proper functioning of cells. You should try to relax regularly. Although this is easier said than done. Talk to your friends or a personal therapist, travel, relax, read interesting books, take up new hobbies. Don't be hard on yourself. You can keep a special journal and mark tasks there that need to be solved during the day. Celebrate what you have accomplished. This way, you will worry less and stop procrastinating.
18. You don't get enough sleep
Sleeping less than seven hours a night can lead to weight gain. The brain works constantly and needs rest to control body functions. If you play sports, your muscles also need recovery. They are restored during sleep. Lack of sleep can lead to slow reflexes, hormonal imbalance and weight gain. Have dinner no later than 7 – 7:30 and go to bed at 10 – 10:30. This regime will eliminate the habit of staying awake for a long time and eating at night. Plus, you'll wake up earlier and have time to get your workout done and have a good breakfast.
19. You diet too strictly
“Why am I on a diet, but the weight doesn’t come off?” Your weight will stagnate if you are too strict with your diet. You need to give yourself one day of diet relaxation once a week so that your weight loss doesn’t stop. Eat 500 calories more on this day than on other days of the diet. Be careful not to exceed this amount. This way, the body will not get used to a consistently low calorie intake and metabolism will remain high.
20. You overexert yourself during training.
Increasing your training load will not help you lose weight faster. This will cause injury. Many people start lifting heavy dumbbells on the first day of their workout, hoping it will help them burn calories faster. But this won't happen. You need to select your load in accordance with your level of training. As you build muscle and train your body, you can increase the intensity of your exercises. Overload can lead to a situation where muscle tissue loses weight, and you will look like a “fat skinny woman”.
21. You are taking medications that prevent you from losing weight
Many medications such as antidepressants, antipsychotics, cortisone, contraceptives, medications for allergies and blood pressure disorders can be the answer to the question “why can’t I lose weight.” Talk to your doctor, he may suggest a replacement for one of the drugs. Also let your trainer and nutritionist know that you are taking certain medications. This will help them develop a specific training and nutrition plan.
22. You get distracted while eating
Often, many of us combine eating with watching TV, working on the computer or chatting with friends. It's not very good. You should be focused on your food during meals. This way you will notice how much you eat, and your brain will receive the corresponding signal that you are full. When people don't watch what they eat, within an hour they want to snack on yet another piece of junk food.
23. Lack of moral support
This is one of the most important factors influencing successful weight loss. If you have support from loved ones who understand your desire to become slimmer and support you in this, the result will come faster. Lack of public support will be expressed in the fact that in a restaurant you will be ordered food that you cannot afford while on a diet. Drinking alcohol, lack of motivation to exercise and following any other points listed above will be the reasons why you cannot lose weight with proper nutrition. Talk to your friends and family and ask them to support you. Communicate more with people who are also concerned about the problem of excess weight.
Video - 6 main mistakes why excess weight does not go away
So, we have analyzed 23 points that will help answer the question “why can’t I lose weight, although I do everything for it.” Losing excess weight is not easy, especially if you have relatively little to lose. You should take care of and love your body more than anything else. Start now if you have figured out what exactly is stopping you from becoming slimmer. Post a reminder on your refrigerator door so you don't fall back into this bad habit. Good luck!
At such moments, you want to send everything to hell and eat your “grief” with chocolate. Or better yet, two at once. Don't rush, let's try to figure it out and find the reason why you're not losing weight. Most likely, it will be on this list.
Are you (or have been) on a diet?
You will be surprised, but dieting is the No. 1 reason for excess weight. It’s about the structure of our brain. He perceives a sharp restriction of calories as an alarm signal: starvation lies ahead, he urgently needs to stock up! After this, the body begins, like Plyushkin, to shake over each fat cell and take care of it as best it can. So the statistics don’t lie: two-thirds of those who previously went on diets return to their previous weight after a couple of years, or even gain more. If the weight loss was very rapid, then only 5% of the lucky ones manage to maintain the result. Even worse, extreme weight fluctuations pose health risks, including increasing your risk of heart disease.
Solution: Resist the temptation to get quick results - you will pay dearly for them. Weight loss of no more than 1-2 kg per month is considered safe. And the most reliable way is not diets, but a gradual transition to healthy foods rich in vegetables and fruits, and, of course, physical activity.
You don't move much
Here you can be indignant. How little is this, what nonsense?! After all, on weekends you go jogging or spend several hours in the fitness center. True, on weekdays you sit at work all day, then on the subway, and then collapse exhausted in a chair in front of the TV... But this is compensated for, isn’t it? Not really. As a study conducted at the University of Missouri (USA) showed, if you sit without a break for several hours in a row, the level of lipase in the body drops - an enzyme that helps break down fats. So it turns out that long hours of sitting motionless nullify all your weekend efforts.
Solution: Instead of pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion once a week, it's better to move a little, but constantly. Take advantage of every opportunity: be it a half-hour walk before work, walking up the stairs or escalator, 10 minutes of flexibility exercises during your lunch break, or 20 minutes of fitness in the evening before dinner. And during working hours, don’t forget to get up from your chair once an hour to stretch your legs. In addition, there are sets of exercises that can be performed right at your workplace, unnoticed by your colleagues. Research shows that even such simple exercise greatly speeds up metabolism and promotes weight loss.
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You don't notice the "hidden calories"
Do you feel like you're not eating too much? It is not a fact that this is so. Surveys show that people tend to underestimate the energy value of what they eat by 1.5–2 times. The most dangerous sources of hidden calories are fast food and processed meats. 100 g of boiled sausage or sausages can contain up to 300 kcal, smoked - 400-450 kcal. The smallest hamburger will provide you with 200 kcal or more, and a bag of chips - 360 kcal! There are also a lot of calories hidden in fruit juices, ready-made salad dressings and sauces. This also includes all kinds of buns, cookies, bars and even many “healthy” yoghurts and cereals with flavoring additives, which actually contain a huge amount of sugar.
Solution: the simpler the food and the fewer stages of processing it has gone through before it gets into your kitchen, the better. For example, a hand-chopped salad made from fresh vegetables is healthier (and has fewer calories) than a ready-made salad with mayonnaise from the supermarket. Sausage can be replaced with oven-baked chicken breast or turkey, fruit juices and sweet snacks with fresh fruits, cereals and dairy products with sugar and flavorings with natural yogurt and whole grain cereals, to which you can add berries, nuts or dried fruits. .
You've reached a weight plateau
Is your weight, which previously dropped well, suddenly “stuck” at one level and remains there for weeks, or even months? Perhaps this is a period of the so-called plateau. Don't be upset, this is a normal phenomenon, it can be overcome. Most likely, you are now getting more energy from food than you expend. As you lose weight, you need to re-evaluate your energy needs from time to time, because it also decreases.
Solution: You can use a calculator to calculate the required amount of calories depending on your age, height, weight and physical activity. Then reduce this amount by no more than 100-200 kcal per day so that the weight begins to decrease. Important: be sure to find out your minimum energy requirement for basic metabolism (breathing, blood circulation, sleep). Usually this threshold starts from 1200 kcal per day, but if you are heavy, it can reach 1500 kcal. Never go below this threshold, otherwise you may seriously harm yourself.
You sleep too little
As the old French proverb says, “He who sleeps eats.” True, we usually do not replace food with sleep, but vice versa. If you go to bed late and don’t give your body proper rest, the next day your body will try to fuel itself with high-calorie foods. Hence the frantic desire for buns and sweet coffee when you haven’t gotten enough sleep. Participants in one experiment who slept only 4-5 hours at night ate an average of 300 kcal and 21 g more fat the next day than on normal days.
Solution: To get enough sleep, we need 7.5 to 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep per day. To avoid suffering from insomnia, experts advise turning off or putting aside all electronic devices (phone, tablet, computer) an hour before bedtime. And instead of surfing the Internet or watching TV, it is better to read a regular book before going to bed.
Are you stressed?
Money difficulties, problems at work and in the family, worries about the future - all this, paradoxically, can lead to the accumulation of fat. Firstly, we often “seize” the problem. When you want to calm down, your hand reaches out for a chocolate bar. Secondly, stress increases the level of the hormone cortisol in the blood, and it promotes the growth of fat cells. To make matters worse, this causes so-called visceral fat to accumulate around the internal organs. It increases the risk of various diseases and in addition produces substances that worsen mood and increase anxiety. It turns out to be a vicious circle: the more you worry, the more you eat - and the worse you feel.
Solution: if you are currently experiencing a period of severe stress, try changing your diet: instead of sweets and fatty foods, increase the number of foods with B vitamins (they have a good effect on the nervous system). These are, for example, whole grain bread, buckwheat porridge, bananas, avocados, chicken meat and liver, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, fresh herbs, nuts. To help yourself relax and cheer up, use any healthy ways: walks in nature, workouts, yoga, meditation, massage, dancing to music. The movement will not solve your problems, but it will give you the strength to cope with them.
You have health problems
It’s sad to say, but excess weight can be a symptom or accompaniment of many diseases - from diseases of the stomach, intestines, heart and kidneys to diabetes, other endocrine disorders and even tumors. If your weight does not go off despite a healthy diet and physical activity and at the same time you feel unwell (for example, nausea, stomach pain, shortness of breath, constant fatigue, extreme thirst, frequent headaches, frequent infections, etc.), be sure to consult a doctor!
Solution: It will be even better if you are examined by a therapist at least once a year, and, if necessary, by other doctors. Any disease is easier to prevent than to treat, so do not neglect preventive examinations.
Svetlana Markova
Beauty is like a precious stone: the simpler it is, the more precious it is!
Content
Most girls and women who strive for a slim figure are interested in knowing why they cannot lose weight if the exercise and diet are followed in full. The reasons that hinder the process of losing weight are many factors - from improper motivation to age-related changes. It is worth understanding them in more detail in order to lose weight and again enjoy the harmony of the body.
Reasons why you can't lose weight
The main factors that prevent you from losing weight are health problems and the wrong weight loss process. Metabolic disorders, lack of nutrients, and insulin resistance are just a few reasons why women fail to lose weight. Each of them has a solution that will ultimately affect fat burning processes.
Basic metabolic disorders
The number of calories you burn may be the reason why you fail to lose weight. Check the thyroid gland and hormones that affect the biochemical processes of cells in the body. Decreased thyroid function slows down metabolism, so you won’t be able to lose weight. Hormonal levels also affect the process - a reduced amount of estrogen slows down metabolism, so you should pay attention to soft diets - too strict ones threaten irreversible consequences.
The lack of nutrients entering the body affects the metabolism, which causes extra pounds to be gained. The rule of competent weight loss is stimulation of metabolism. With the right actions on metabolism, diets will be effective and you will be able to lose weight. To do this, you need to understand what the body needs, provide it with what it needs - oxygen, nutrients, water.
Stress
If a person fails to lose weight, stressful situations are almost always cited as the main culprit. This condition is not normal for the body, so it gains weight to protect itself. In psychological or physical stress, a person suffers from a lack of endorphins, which affect the process of pleasure. Their only source becomes food, addiction appears, and you cannot lose weight. To get rid of the state of “hibernation”, you need to fall in love with simple things - play sports, find a hobby, relax. Then even without dieting you will be able to lose weight.
Lack of sleep
Nutritionists say that lack of sleep leads to obesity, which makes it impossible to lose weight. Lack of proper rest at night leads to stress, which increases your appetite and the amount of food you eat. If a person sleeps less than 7-8 hours a day, a craving for sweets and fatty foods appears, vigilance and willpower are weakened, and it is impossible to lose weight.
Poor nutrition
In an effort to lose weight, diet is very important. The efforts and results of diet and training depend on it. To get your diet in order, follow these recommendations:
- have a hearty breakfast, lunch and light dinner 3-4 hours before bedtime;
- chew slowly so that the signal of saturation reaches the brain, and it gives the command to stop;
- give up quick snacks on the run;
- a ban on starving yourself - in the absence of BJU, the process of lipolysis is disrupted, the weight remains at one point, and it is impossible to lose weight;
- eat healthy foods in your daily menu;
- reduce your consumption of potatoes, sweets, flour, fatty foods, fast food.
Violation of water balance in the body
An important factor is advice from nutritionists: when losing weight, you need to drink a lot of water. This amount is 1.5-2 liters of clean water per day, excluding tea, coffee, soups and other liquids. When the body is dehydrated, wastes and toxins are removed from the body more slowly, and their presence affects weight gain and the formation of fat deposits. Drink cool water every hour, drink a glass before meals to help you lose weight.
Slagging in the body
Cleansing the body of toxins for weight loss is considered an important process. The presence of toxins in the body leads to increased formation of fat deposits. The more a person loses weight, the more toxins accumulate in the body - they are formed during the breakdown of fat cells. They cannot get out on their own - you need to help the cells get rid of them. To do this, drink more water, take detox products for 15 days - vegetables, fruits, herbal infusions, fruit juices. This will help kick start your metabolism for several months and you will be able to lose weight quickly.
Lack of motivation to lose weight
When determining the results you want to achieve with a diet or exercise, motivation is necessary when losing weight. It should be visual, inspiring, ideal and achievable. Lack of motivation is not the only reason why you can’t lose weight – there is also anti-motivation. This is a fear of losing weight due to psychological factors. To do this, you first need to visit a specialist, understand the cause and how to eliminate it.
Why doesn't weight come off when exercising?
Those who are losing weight may experience a problem when the weight does not come off when playing sports. At first he is actively lost, but then he can get up. A plateau effect is created and you cannot lose weight. There are several reasons for this:
- the body does not receive enough load;
- the person does not give his full effort in class;
- too exhausting and painful methods lead to stress;
- incorrect exercise technique;
- unbalanced nutrition before and after training.
Why those who exercise intensively fail to lose weight: if we are talking about losing kilograms, then muscles weigh more than fat, so as they grow, the weight increases. If an increase in volume is observed, this may be due to improper nutrition or execution techniques, when instead of being toned, the muscles “swing”. To lose weight, follow the rules:
- After training, do not behave passively - go up the stairs, take a walk;
- measure your BMI, percentage of fat and muscle tissue before going to the gym;
- set a goal and develop a workout plan with a trainer to help you lose weight;
- do the work with perseverance, do each approach with quality.
Why can't I lose weight on a diet?
If a person follows a very strict diet, then he may not be able to lose weight. The reason is a lack of nutrients entering the cells, a slowdown in metabolism and the process of lipolysis (the breakdown of fats). You cannot cut calories too much - this can lead to muscle wasting, anorexia, and problems with the gastrointestinal tract, hair and skin.
Why you can’t lose weight on a diet: the reasons may be poor nutrition, lack of balance between dietary supplements, and lack of water. To solve this, you need to reconsider your diet - eat small meals, snack on proteins, slow carbohydrates. Do not exclude fats and vegetable fiber from the menu, but replace unhealthy foods with healthy ones. Then you will be able to lose weight faster.
Why don't you lose weight after 40 years?
Age-related changes after 40 years can cause a slowdown in the weight loss process. During this period, metabolism decreases, the rate of fat metabolism slows down due to hormonal imbalance, the development of chronic diseases, and women can gain excess weight. Even if you follow a diet and exercise, you will not be able to lose weight as much as was possible in your youth - one size in a week.
The solution to the problem is to reduce the total daily caloric intake to 1500-1800 kcal and adhere to simple but effective physical activity. Fast walking, fitness, yoga will do. A diet after 40 years is ineffective - try switching to fractional healthy meals, arranging fasting days every week. Before losing weight, it is advisable to be examined by a doctor to determine your hormonal levels.
What to do if you can't lose weight
The reasons why you can’t lose excess weight are discussed. It remains to figure out what to do if you are not losing weight. For this there are general rules and recommendations from fitness trainers and professional nutritionists:
- eat in small frequent portions, chew food slowly;
- calorie expenditure should be greater than their intake;
- track your nutrition - keep a diary, write down everything you eat;
- maintain water balance - 2 liters per day is enough to lose weight;
- eat before training to prevent active muscles from burning;
- exercise intensively, alternating strength and cardio training;
- arrange fasting days every week;
- set aside a cheat meal - a day for eating a forbidden tasty dish - sweets, cakes, pizza, but only in small quantities;
- to get rid of stress, do yoga, meditation, consult a psychologist, find joyful moments in life to gain energy and endorphins;
- get rid of the obsession with losing weight;
- maintain a sleep schedule;
- take detoxification courses every six months, stop smoking and drinking alcohol;
- check your hormonal levels, follow a diet in accordance with your doctor’s instructions;
- calculate the correct amount of calorie intake, body mass index, percentage of fat and muscle tissue;
- find the right motivation, set a program for your brain to carry it out.
One diet is replaced by another, the weight decreases for a while, but then, for unknown reasons, it increases again. And it’s not just increasing, but growing at a catastrophic pace.
And from year to year the same picture: I couldn’t lose weight for the summer, I couldn’t fit into my ski suit, the dress I bought for the New Year could barely button up... Is this a familiar picture?!
Excess weight also has side effects associated with health: from deterioration in general well-being to diseases of the digestive system, cardiovascular system and musculoskeletal system.
Why you can’t lose weight and what to do if you can’t lose weight will be discussed in this article.
Root causes of weight gain
To understand the question of why you can’t lose weight, you need to understand your lifestyle, your diet, and your state of health. Remember or look at your childhood photographs - what were you like as a child? A thin girl, “glowing” in the sun, or a stocky, strong girl, kicking a ball in the yard with the boys? Or perhaps, already as a child you were a very plump, charming little lady?
If your body has been overweight since childhood, and currently you continue to gain weight, then there may be a metabolic disorder, and the best thing to do in such a situation is to immediately consult a doctor. To an endocrinologist. A nutritionist will most likely not be able to help. A comprehensive examination of the body and, possibly, drug treatment is necessary.
If you have been a skinny girl since childhood, analyze at what age you began to gain weight. Maybe you simply mistake a change in your body after childbirth for being fat? And to bring your weight back to normal, you need to recalculate this norm? Or join a gym; two classes a week will be enough for you.
If obesity is not associated with physiological changes in the body, think about what could affect the change in weight. Perhaps this is stress, with an attempt to level it out by absorbing a huge amount of sweets, or maybe it is simple boredom, when sitting in front of the TV or reading a book (while surfing the Internet) you eat all the purchased buns.
Perhaps, due to some external circumstances, you cannot eat normally, fully and, most importantly, on time, snacking on the go, eating various fast foods in dubious-looking cafes and canteens.
In any case, in order to lose weight, you need to understand the root causes of weight gain.
If your figure has always had a certain stockiness, with wide bones and a highly developed muscle structure, then no diet will help you become a skinny, leggy model. But it will really help spoil your stomach!
Why do you want to lose weight so much, but you can’t?
First. We understand the reasons for weight gain and try to eliminate these reasons.
Second. We look at our reflection in the mirror with a critical eye - is it necessary to lose weight in principle? Maybe a figure with a somewhat curvy shape that attracts the male eye looks much more appetizing than a skinny set of bones, even if it has a model appearance? In the end, I don’t remember who said it, but “men are not dogs, they don’t throw themselves at bones!”
And yes, if your belly hangs over your underwear, there is nothing beautiful about it, and complex physical exercises coupled with limited nutrition will be beneficial.
Third. If you can’t lose weight while on a particular diet, be critical of this diet.
The worst for the body, in my opinion, are mono diets. That is, when you consume one product (or a couple or three of the same type of products) for an extended period of time.
Well, for example, the once fashionable meat diet. Mainly meat and protein foods are consumed. With a minimum amount of vegetables, no dairy products, etc. Excess meat for the body is like a clogged meat grinder, in which all the holes in the grate are “clogged” due to the meat veins. And it turns out that the minced meat no longer comes out, and the meat accumulates in the meat grinder. It's the same with the body!!! Yes, and constipation with such a diet is very common.
Or, a fruit diet. Great! I love fruit, but in moderation! Excess fructose and glucose in the body may well lead to diathesis. Redness on the cheeks and a rash on the hands, or, even better, on the fifth point, are guaranteed.
Sour-milk diet. Same fun thing. When you're sitting at home. The first couple of days are still normal, but then the body gives back what it received as food, that is, liquid in and liquid out.
No living creature can withstand such abuse of the body. After such diets, any person simply wants to eat, and not just eat, but eat normal food. With a kefir or vegetable diet, you will want meat or fish; with a meat diet, you will want vegetables and fruits.
So it turns out that the body, which during the diet had a deficiency of one or another product - a nutritional component, upon receiving this missing product, begins to put it aside for future use, which is reflected in the re-gain of weight. I’ll say it in other words: if you had a protein diet, which artificially created a carbohydrate deficit, when you receive carbohydrates after finishing the diet, the body begins to accumulate them. And believe me, your body knows best what it needs!
So, what to do if you can’t lose weight?
First. Forget about diets. It is possible to carry out fasting days, but not more than once a week; one day is enough. And it is for fasting days to use individual elements of mono diets. For example, organize cucumber days in the summer, apple or pear days in the fall, meat or fish days in the winter, and kefir or cottage cheese days in the spring.
Second. Complete and timely nutrition. Eating every two hours, or as it is now fashionable to advise - five times a day, does not always work. But you need to have breakfast, lunch and dinner. Remember the phrase - the saying “Eat breakfast yourself, share lunch with a friend, give dinner to your enemy.”
This is the basis of proper nutrition: you need to have breakfast, milk porridge is best for breakfast, but even if you ate a sandwich with a cup of coffee, this will be enough for the body.
For lunch, you must have a bowl of soup. Soup is not only a necessary liquid for the body, but also a well-digested hot food that passes through the walls of the stomach. At lunch, you can refuse the “second”, be sure to eat soup.
For dinner, a light salad or low-calorie food is enough, for example, mashed potatoes with lean fish.
Third. Once and for all, forget about snacking on buns, cookies, and sweets. It is these snacks that lead to weight gain. Would you like a bun or cookies? Eat it for breakfast. During the day, the body will cope perfectly with excess calories: you will feel good and nothing will be bad for your figure.
Fourth. Learn to count calories consumed and burned. By creating a small calorie deficit for your body, you will begin to lose weight. If you want to eat a lot, then try to move more. Before each loaf of bread you eat, count how many kilometers you need to walk so that your body uses up these calories!
Yes, an active lifestyle will help you!
Fifth. If, having started to limit the amount of food you eat in the evening, you feel hungry, you can drink a large mug of very hot tea. Sweet tea. Without cookies, rolls, sweets and other high-calorie foods. It will help replace the usual bun for the first time, and will deceive the body a little, creating a false impression of a full stomach. After two to three weeks, you will get used to the new type of nutrition, and your weight will steadily decrease.
Sixth. Don’t try to lose thirty kilograms in a month! This is probably possible, but what will you do with sharply sagging skin, deterioration of stomach function and constant rumbling somewhere in the depths of a hungry belly? And still at work...
Set yourself a goal - to lose one kilogram per month. In a year you will lose twelve kilograms of weight. And if you get used to a new way of eating (with normal calorie counting and increased physical activity), your weight will begin to fall much faster.
Seventh. When limiting your diet and trying to lose weight, under no circumstances step on the scale every day. Set one day a week for yourself. Let's say on Monday mornings you control your weight. Why shouldn't you step on the scale every day? Yes, because you eat a variety of foods, some foods are absorbed (digested) by the body faster, others, for example, meat, take much longer. Accordingly, the body spends the calories received faster in some cases, and slower in others. This also changes your daily weight.
Eighth. Set yourself a weight loss goal. The goal should be material and stimulating only for you! For example, for me, the goal of losing weight was the prospect of a trip to a foreign resort, where I really wanted to shine in a revealing swimsuit.
You can come up with anything as a goal: even a dress you bought five years ago, which you definitely need to fit into. And a ski suit that doesn’t fit on your stomach, but you really want to go skiing this winter. And cute trousers that it’s time to give to my younger sister, but I still want to wear them...
The main thing that you shouldn’t do if you can’t lose weight is that you shouldn’t despair and give up on yourself! Start losing weight right now, and I'm sure you will succeed.
