How many times have we been here? You have been making progress with a weight loss goal and it just stops. You don’t know what you did but you aren’t having the same success you were before. We continue to ask ourselves, “Why am I not losing weight?”
Let me help you do a “weight loss audit.”
Why am I not losing weight in a calorie deficit?
If you are in an actual calorie deficit, you will lose weight. There are so many times when we think we are in one but there is a human error element.
If someone is strictly counting calories, and eating processed foods, they must understand that the labels are not entirely accurate. In the US, labels round to the nearest ten when putting calorie counts on the label.
The hardest to navigate is when labels modify the calorie count based on fiber and totally eliminate carbs because the fiber “cancels out” the carbs. While the fiber helps with the digestion, you are still eating those carbs.
Here’s an example, the Xtreme Wellness High Fiber Low Carb Tortilla is listed as 50 calories, however, it has 1.5 grams fat (13 calories), 15 grams of carbs (60 calories), and 5 grams of protein (20 calories). This adds up to 93 calories instead of the 50 it says. The company added in 11 grams of fiber and eliminated those calories from the overall count which will throw off totals. While this is a great tortilla to eat, it still has almost twice the calories as advertised.
To combat this consider counting macros instead. This means you will pay attention to the number of carbs (4 calories per gram), fats (9 calories per gram) and protein (4 calories per gram) to get a more accurate calorie count. Learn more about calculating here.
Liquid Calories Count
Do you enjoy drinks other than water? I don’t mean diet drinks, but juices, coffee with cream, alcohol, and sodas? These calories add up and can make it difficult to feel full. Try to limit the amount of liquid calories you drink and focus more on water and eating your calories.
Why am I not losing weight when I’m working out?
It seems that people are misunderstanding the point of working out and always have. The point of a workout is to celebrate what your body can do, not punish yourself for bad food choices.
Exercise can be helpful in weight loss in that you will retain muscle mass and it’s a great way to burn off some extra energy. But, you shouldn’t do any workout that you don’t enjoy.
As far as weight loss, you are better off focusing on nutrition and calorie deficit before you try to workout to lose weight. Weight loss is 80 percent nutrition, 20 percent everything else.
Overdoing it on the weekends
Last weekend, I went to a brunch buffet. I was famished by the time we arrived and I overate a little, or at least I thought it was a little.
I didn’t eat much more the rest of the day and I was up two pounds the next day. That weight stayed with me for an entire week!
If you do this every weekend, you could be sabotaging yourself. This will make your weight loss much more challenging because you will be “catching up” from your bad choices and starting all over again.
Indulgence is fine, but make sure you do it in a way that won’t set you back for a whole week.
Not accounting for a smaller body
Weight loss is going well and you’ve lost about 10 pounds. Clearly, you’re doing something right! However, you keep eating the same amount and nothing is changing.
Your body is now smaller, so it will be harder to lose weight. Try dropping your calorie intake by 50 calories a day and if that doesn’t work, 100 calories a day.
You got loose with tracking
It is so easy to get back into old habits if you aren’t vigilant. Let’s say you are doing great for the first couple of weeks staying in your calorie allotment and having great progress. Then, you start to eat an extra cracker here, or finish your kid’s plate of food and don’t log it.
These add up and before you know it, you’ve eaten an extra 200-300 calories and your deficit is gone.
This is the first place I check when I am trying to do a cut and I find that if I can discipline myself again, I will have the success I want.
Why am I not losing weight on Keto?
Calorie deficit is the main reason for weight loss, not what you are eating. A keto diet will have someone lose weight initially because they cut out carbs and you will lose the water weight from those missing carbs.
If you are eating keto and you are not in a calorie deficit, you WILL NOT lose weight. Make sure if you follow this diet, you know how much you are eating and only eat what you need to be in a deficit.
Late night snacking
Sometimes, when we are up at night, our hands want to do something and that somethings is put food in our mouths. Most people are not hungry at this point and are thirsty! Make sure you have some water to drink, a diet soda to satisfy the craving or some caffeinated hot tea.
There is nothing wrong with eating at night and you can always save some calories for a late night snack.
Why am I not losing weight on Weight Watchers?
I have never been on Weight Watchers but I do know a couple of the things they do may not help as much as you might think.
The zero point foods still have calories, so if you are snacking on zero point foods all the time, you will be ingesting calories that you are not accounting for.
For example, fruit is a great food for you and I’m sure that’s why they are a zero point food. However, one banana has about 100 calories. Imagine eating about 3 a day that you aren’t counting. That’s 300 extra calories and can ruin your deficit.
Don’t forget, to lose weight you have to be in a calorie deficit!
Why am I losing weight but not belly fat?
It would be so nice if we could decide where the body fat will leave our bodies, but sadly, we have no control over this. Spot reducing is a myth, but you can always try to lose enough fat that problem areas will eventually shrink.
If you want to see your abs, you’ll have to get your body fat low enough to see that muscle definition and that will be different on everyone. You may have to decide if it is worth it or not.
Other Helpful Links
How to lose weight the “easy” way
Healthy Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowl
How to eat healthy when you’re busy
Very informative blog. Simple, effective, and useful too. Continue to enlighten us with your knowledge. Thanks for sharing…
Thank you for reading! I’m glad you found my tips helpful.