Help! I Can't Lose This Weight. 5 Factors That May Be The Cause.
You go to the gym. You drink your green smoothie. You even eat Kale after watching the latest episode of Dr Oz. So why aren't you losing those stubborn pounds? The age old advise of eat less and exercise more doesn't seem to be getting you any closer to your weight loss goals. And frankly,some days the struggle is just too much and you find yourself at the bottom of a bag of peanut butter M n M's. Not that I would know anything about that.
But, There may be some things you are not considering in your battle to lose weight. Keep going to the gym and drinking your smoothies. And if you can stand it, keep eating Kale. But lets take a look at some other factors and see if any of them may be the reason you may not be losing weight.
You are eating the wrong foods. A good rule of thumb is, if you can pick it or peel it you should eat it. And contrary to that, if it comes in a box or a bag, avoid it. There are so many "diets" restricting this food or that food, but if you stick to whole foods you can't go wrong. And don't forget to eat your healthy fats. Avocados, olive oil, and coconut oil are all whole foods that need to be a part of your nutrition plan. Be sure to stay away from processed foods. What seems to be a harmless handful of Goldfish or Doritos, could be the culprit to your weight loss woes.
Hidden Sugars. It's pretty obvious that if you have a diet of candy bars and bread you will probably not lose weight. Sugar really is the culprit to obesity. But, what you may not know is how much sugar is hiding in seemingly healthy foods. Reading labels is a must! If the words fructose corn syrup are listed in the ingredients, run away! Try to pick foods that have less than 5-10 grams of sugar. Watch out for these hidden sugars in your favorite foods:
Ketchup/BBQ sauce
Salad dressings
Pasta sauce
Fruit yogurt
granola bars
Stress. You can thank our ancestors for this one. Your body is wired to release certain hormones in times of physical stress, like when the woolly mammoth is chasing you. Adrenaline and cortisol are the hormones that are released to give you the energy and recovery you needed to literally run away or fight the danger. While this system works fine when our stress comes in the form of physical danger when we really need to "fight or flee", and then replenish; it doesn't serve the same purpose for today's stressors, like sitting in traffic or a screaming toddler. As a result, our continuously high levels of cortisol cause us to over eat and store fat, usually in our abdomen. So, do your best to decrease your stress. Yoga, meditation, or an evening walk can all help to lower your cortisol levels.
Lack of Restorative Sleep. Getting less than 7 hours of sleep a night has been shown to contribute to weight gain. Not getting enough restorative sleep has a negative impact on two important hormones, ghrelin and leptin. Both influence hunger. Grelin tells you when to eat and leptin tells you when to stop. When you are sleep deprived, your have more ghrelin and less leptin. More ghrelin plus less leptin equals weight gain; as it leads to over eating, especially carbohydrates. So turn off your computer, have some chamomile tea, read a good book and turn out the lights!
No weight training.After the age of 35, we lose as much as 5% of our muscle mass each decade if we are not doing resistance training. Muscle is metabolically more active than fat. Research shows that 1 pound of muscle burns seven to 10 calories per day, while 1 pound of fat burns only 2 to 3 calories, according to the American Council on Exercise. It makes sense then if we are building muscle, we are burning more calories, even at rest. So,Ditch the long cardio sessions and spend your efforts on short bursts of high intensity cardio along with regular weight training.
You can see those pounds disappear! It takes consistency in our food choices, balanced hormones,a good nights sleep, and effective weight training. UNIFY can help you with any one of of these areas. Don't go it alone! Call today to schedule a consultation!
