It’s the New Year, it’s almost your birthday, it’s your mother-in-law’s 4th anniversary of her hip replacement – no matter the reason, you usually have an excuse to want to lose weight. The key word there is want. Many of us commit to getting into shape, but find ourselves not losing weight or in some cases, even putting on more weight! Here are the 5 greatest reasons you’re not losing weight even though you’re working out.
You’re Not Sleeping Enough
Nowadays we’re spoiled for entertainment choices. We’ve got Facebook and Instagram to scroll through aimlessly and endlessly. We’ve got Netflix and other TV show streamers that automatically play one show after the other. So there’s no surprise people spend hours at night just staring at a screen instead of catching some very important sleep. Studies have shown that we burn an important number of calories while we’re in Dreamland. In contrast, if we don’t sleep, we tend to eat more. The same research pointed out that adults not getting enough sleep are 89% more susceptible to obesity.
You’re Distracted When You Eat
This one goes hand-in-hand with the previous one. If you’re distracted while you eat then you might not notice just how much you eat. In addition to this, if you don’t focus on actually eating and instead focus on the fourteenth episode of a show you actually couldn’t care less about, you won’t get that necessary feeling of being full… when you usually are.
You’re Overeating Healthy Food
“Oh, come on! You mean to tell me that eating 50 health bars and 20 dates isn’t going to help me lose weight?!” That’s right. Many people are under the impression that if they eat healthy food, even in copious amounts, they’ll lose weight. The truth is (as unfortunate as it may be) that eating too much of anything is not good for you. Burgers or bananas, your body is bound to pay for it.
You Overcompensate For Your Workouts
We all tend to feel like some version of Superman when we finish an intense workout. And after a tiring workout comes our well-deserved treat, right? Wrong! The reward for working out is getting healthy, not stuffing your face with a family-sized pizza. Many people overestimate the amount of calories they burn during a workout, and then underestimate how many calories are in their post-workout meal. The simple rule is – if you want to lose weight you have to burn more calories than you eat.
You Don’t Want It Badly Enough
I know you really want to lose weight, but do you want it as much as you want that last pop tart? See, we all swear that we’re just dying to shed some pounds, but when temptation arises we find every excuse to let ourselves go. If you truly want to get into shape, no chocolate, cookie, candy or sugar-charged drink is going to persuade you otherwise. If you have your why, you’ll get your win!