Why am I failing to lose weight? 10 reasons why losing weight doesn't work
- Night's rest
These days, people sleep a lot less than they used to. Besides making you tired, that doesn't help you lose weight either. Researchers tracked the weight of 275 men and women (ages 21 to 65) for 6 years. Each person got slightly heavier over those 6 years. Those who slept for 5 to 6 hours gained about 3 kilos more than those who slept for 7 to 8 hours. You make 5 per cent less leptin for every hour you sleep less. Leptin is an appetite-suppressing hormone. And 5 per cent more ghrelin, also known as the hunger hormone. Sleep apnoea also has a lot of impact on the quality of sleep and so can also be a cause of why you are not losing weight. So sleep is very important with losing weight.
- Stress
During periods of stress, people develop all kinds of bad habits like drinking alcohol and eating unhealthy food. This is how you naturally gain a few pounds. Blood sugar levels are driven up by the stress hormone cortisol, which confuses the body's response to insulin. As a result, you crave sweets more and binge eat. Belly fat is also stored faster due to cortisol. Stress can be fought by getting plenty of exercise and healthy eating. This is an excellent basis for the negative effects of cortisol. Besides eating well and exercising a lot, meditation is also a good way to reduce stress.
- Little motivation
Losing weight is not something you just do, it takes incredible effort and often takes a long time. A kilo a week is often quite an achievement. It is also very demotivating when it looks as if your weight has come to a standstill. After losing several kilos in the first few weeks, almost nothing happens now, even though you exercise just as much and still eat healthy. It is logical that it is then tempting to quit. However, this is exactly what you should not do, but keep it up and you will see that the kilos will come off again.
- Medication
Medications can be a cause of obesity. For example, they can slow down the metabolism or by increasing appetite. (runs a little weird the sentence) This makes losing weight very difficult for many people. Some examples for drugs that slow down the metabolism or enhance appetite are: antipsychotics, medicinal cannabis, beta-blockers, antidepressants, corticosteroids and epilepsy drugs. If no alternatives are available, it is very important to pay attention to how many calories you take in and to make healthy food choices.
- Too little exercise
Studies by scientists show that people who lost weight and managed to maintain the desired weight for more than a year not only started eating healthier but also actually moved much more. In obesity and overweight, it has also been established that little to no exercise is a factor in its onset. So a healthy weight is easy to achieve and maintain if you exercise enough. Almost all movements help lose weight but what is most effective is cardio (running, cycling) and strength training (including weightlifting). Both of these improve insulin metabolism and make your cells more sensitive to the effect of insulin. Insulin, in turn, helps against extreme binge eating and that you crave sweets.
- Drinkable calories
Many drinks contain high levels of sugar, such as soft drinks and alcoholic drinks. These kinds of drinks do not give you a feeling of satiety, so you will still eat a lot despite having taken in a lot of calories. This can cause you to gain a lot of weight. It is therefore advised to drink as few soft drinks and alcoholic drinks as possible. A good alternative is water and tea, which do not contain sugar. Fruit juices are also often a trap, as they contain a lot of calories and sugars. It is therefore recommended to eat plain fruit instead of juice.
- Crash diet
Often with most diets, you are promised that you will achieve your goals quickly if you stick to hugely strict rules. Think of never again fat, sugar or wheat. This seems very easy at first but turns out to be very difficult in reality. The best diet is a healthy diet, with lots of fruit, vegetables, healthy fats and whole-grain cereals. That way, there is also room to indulge now and then, which in turn helps in maintaining such a diet.
- Quitting smoking
About 80% of people who quit smoking gain weight. Now it almost seems like continuing to smoke is healthier than quitting only to gain a few kilos. In contrast, research shows that this is not so. On average, a person who stops smoking gains 2 to 6 kilos. Of course, this is not nice, but it is still healthier than continuing to smoke. You gain weight after quitting because the nicotine in tobacco makes you burn more calories, so when you stop, so does the extra burning. If you keep eating exactly the same and moving as much after quitting, you will gain about 1.5 kilos. Also, withdrawal symptoms are similar to feelings of hunger, for example. This makes you feel like you are hungry but you are not really.
- Age
Hormonal change can also affect your weight. For example, men gradually produce less testosterone and women produce less oestrogen after menopause. This causes you to gain weight and makes losing weight very difficult. So this can also be a cause of difficulty losing weight. But this is no reason to resign yourself to it. Lots of exercise and healthy eating is very effective even in older people.
- The winter dip
In winter, people gain 2 kilos on average, with some people gaining much more. Serotonin (happiness hormone) is produced much less in winter than in summer, and serotonin deficiency makes you crave carbohydrates and sweets. This makes losing weight during this period very difficult, both mentally and physically. The solution is to go for the healthy meals despite the lesser serotonin and keep exercising a lot.
All these reasons can be a cause of why losing weight does not work or hardly works. As you can see, they are a lot of what can make it very difficult to lose weight. What can give you a boost are supplements. We recommend these supplements to support your diet.