WHEN weight loss is one of your health goals, you might think you know exactly what you need to do to shed unwanted pounds.
But despite your best efforts in changing your diet and upping your exercise, sometimes you can feel like you are doing all the right things, only to discover the results are not there when you stand on the scales.
GettyTrying to lose weight but not sure why the scales won’t go down? It could be lack of sleep or even because you’re not actually eating enough[/caption]
So what’s going on?
We asked weight loss specialist, nutritionist and diet coach Sarah Bockhart to reveal where you could be going wrong – and how to make sure your weight loss efforts don’t go to waste…
1. You are not eating enough protein
Sarah says: “When people start a new diet, they think about eating less.
“This can be a good place to start if you are reducing portion sizes, but a common mistake people make is to cut out certain food groups.
“Lots of people also begin new exercise routines when they are trying to lose weight but fail to change their nutrition to support their increase in activity.
“Protein is key in supporting our muscles when we exercise and it is also filling, meaning it supports our energy levels for a long time, preventing us from wanting to consume more.
“Unprocessed, high protein foods include things like chicken breast, turkey, steak, eggs, nuts, cheese, cottage cheese and tofu.
“Instead of cutting down on these, up the amount of protein you are eating and this should stop you feeling hungry while also supporting your body to lose weight and gain muscle.”
2. You are falling into diet “traps”
Atkins, low-fat, vegan, 5:2 or just “I’m on a diet” – regardless of the diet plan there is a high chance you are focused on cutting things out of your daily meals rather than what you are adding in.
Sarah says: “Achieving a calorie deficit (consuming fewer calories than you use in a day) is key to weight loss, but how we achieve it can impact if we are able to sustain it.
“Eating nutritious food, and lots of it, is key to filling us up as it leaves our bodies content.
“If you are counting calories but struggling to lose weight it is likely that you are choosing to get your calories from low quality food with little to no nutrition in it.
“Takeaways and processed foods (crisps, cereal bars/diet bars, processed meats) might fit into your calorie count, but they are not going to make your body happy.
“When we consume a balance of carbs, protein and healthy fats along with a large variety of these foods, we improve our gut bacteria and overall health and mental wellbeing.
“Research has proven that achieving a calorie deficit eating high nutrition foods vs achieving a calorie deficit eating ultra processed foods, not only helps us achieve weight loss more effectively but also helps us to keep the weight off long term.
“Unsure where to start? Follow a meal plan or try cooking from scratch more often.”
3. Your exercise is “all or nothing”
Sarah says: “Increasing your weekly exercise is a great way to help you lose weight and improve your health.
“Exercise not only improves your chances of achieving a calorie deficit – as you burn more calories over 24 hours – but you also boost your feel good hormones, reduce your stress levels and are more likely to be motivated to make healthier food choices.
“That said, a big mistake you could be making is that you are in an “all or nothing” pattern with your exercise.
“If your new exercise regime sees you working out for an hour or more, and going as hard and fast as you can for that 60 minutes, only for you to then do nothing for the following couple of days, then it’s likely your long workouts are doing you more harm than good.
“Long and difficult workouts can leave us extremely hungry and more likely to eat more food later that day.
“They also leave our bodies extremely tired and in need of a rest, meaning we move a lot less for the few days after.
“While you might burn a large number of calories in a long, intense session, if you are following this up with two days of no exercise after, then you are way less likely to experience the positive, weight loss encouraging benefits of more regular movement.
“Opt for shorter workouts – more often, and try to fit more general movement into your day, like walking, or simply not sitting for long periods of time.”
4. You are not sleeping enough
Sarah says: “That’s right, not getting enough rest could be holding back your weight loss.
“If we don’t get enough sleep it wreaks havoc with our health and can make it much harder for us to lose weight.
“Tiredness has a hugely negative impact on the decisions we make, doing things like: Increasing our impulse to snack; increasing our cravings for high calorie foods, reducing our motivation to workout/exercise, increasing our stress levels (which can reduce our ability to burn fat), impact our mood (making us less likely to make healthy choices).
“Want to lose weight? Prioritise your sleep. Try and get at least seven hours a night, but aim for eight if you can.”
5. You are losing muscle
Sarah says: “This is probably one you’ve not considered, but losing muscle mass can prevent us from being able to lose weight.
“When we have healthy muscles, our body uses up more energy throughout the day to keep those muscles well fed and looked after – which uses more calories.
“If we don’t work to preserve our muscle mass we can lose between three and eight per cent of our muscle per decade that we age.
“It might not sound like a lot, but losing strength and mass in our muscles can hold us back from achieving our calorie deficit goals.
“Prevent this muscle mass decline by working strength training into your exercise regime.
“Regular strength training (using weights while you exercise) helps to keep muscles strong and researchers found that those who do regular resistance lose more body fat than those who don’t.”
6. You don’t actually know why you are doing it
Sarah says: “You are trying to lose weight… why?
“If you can’t answer that question straight away then this is probably why you are failing to do it.
“We are often bombarded with messages convincing us we need to lose weight, ‘New Year Weight Loss’, ‘Summer Body Weight Loss’, ‘Drop a Dress Size.’
“We see these messages so often that we convince ourselves we need to lose weight – even though we might not know why.
“Take a second and ask yourself why and write it down.
“Is it to improve your health? Improve your confidence? Make it easier for you to play with your children?
“Whatever it is, remind yourself of it and use this to motivate you.
“If you don’t have a reason, then maybe you should rethink if you really need to embark on this weight loss journey at all.”