Having trouble losing weight? See below for some of the most common reasons why you may be experiencing this plateau:
- You’re underestimating the number of calories you are consuming. Weigh your meals out for a day or two on a food scale, this will let you accurately measure your intake.
- You’re not pushing yourself hard enough during your workouts. When you do a workout make sure you’re pushing yourself. You should feel breathless and challenged by your workouts, if not kick it up a notch!
- You’re not exercising enough. If weight loss is your goal, you need a minimum of 3-4 days of weight training at a high intensity.
- You’re not drinking enough water. You need at least half your body weight in ounces every single day!
- You’re not sleeping enough. You should shoot for 7-8 hours per night.
- You are too stressed. Increased cortisol makes it difficult to lose weight, it actually makes you retain body fat.
- You’re taking a medication that encourages weight gain. Look into your medications and see if any of them list weight gain as a side effect. If so, chat with your doctor about an alternative or lower dose.
- You’re not patient enough. Losing weight will take time, don’t expect instant gratification.
- You’re eating out too frequently. It’s hard to tell exactly how many calories you’re consuming when someone else is making the meal.
- You’re drinking liquid calories. Do you add sugar to your coffee or other beverages? Do you like Venti lattes from Starbucks? Do you drink soda, juices, etc? All those things are quickly absorbed in the body and easily stored as fat.
A lot of these are innocent mistakes, if you’re guilty let’s start making changes today!
