Reasons Why You Can't Lose Weight

How many times have you tried to lose weight, only finding yourself discouraged and overwhelmed by the situation, ending by giving up after a couple of weeks? The weight loss plan might be a rocky road, yet it needs commitment and ambition. Besides, one must pay attention to all those saboteurs that can make your struggle fruitless. Find out some of the reasons why you can't lose weight and get ready to achieve your goal!

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A healthy lifestyle might be seen as an easy task, yet with the hectic, eat-and-run world we live in, maintaining a balanced diet looks more like a faraway dream. Overeating, sleep deprivation, hidden health conditions, wrong food choices, and different other things become main obstacles and reasons why you can't lose weight.

Start this journey with a positive thinking and try not to follow traditional diets that are a total failure in the long term. Try instead to make small changes in your everyday routine and in time you'll see the difference. Also, set the table, sit down, thoroughly chew your food, and enjoy your meal.

Inability to control portions

Some people can be extremely open-handed when it comes to their portions. However, remember that portion control represents one of the key elements for staying in shape and losing weight as well. Pay attention the the serving sizes of certain foods in order to avoid overeating. For instance, a single serving of fruits and veggies should be about the size of your fist, meat, chicken, fish and soy products should be about the size of your palm, while pastas should be about one scoop of ice cream. Therefore, even though you make the right choices, overeating can sabotage your dieting efforts.

Wrong food combination

Have you ever felt tired after a savory meal? One reason for this is the wrong food combinations we make. When combining the wrong foods, our body spends all its energy on digesting these foods and eliminating toxins. Well, in this context it might take some time to complete the entire digestion process, while if we eat the right combination, the metabolism will digest fat easily. So, which is the proper way to combine? We should eat fruits alone, never have protein and starches together, fats and proteins should be eaten separately between meals, while veggies can be combined with either protein or starch.

Hidden health conditions

Weight gain or the inability to lose weight might also be the result of certain hidden health issues such as an underactive thyroid, also known as hypothyroidism, or diabetes. Therefore, it is important to see a doctor and have a proper evaluation of your health condition and make sure you're not predisposed to diabetes type 2.

Stress and sleep deprivation

Stress eating seems to be a normal part of our lives. We turn to food not just when we are hungry, but also when feeling depressed, stressed, or lonely. Stress can be a real weight loss obstacle as it might have as result emotional overeating. Yes, stress can make you fat! When facing a stressful period, instead of attacking the fridge, discover other things that can relax you. Also, be aware of sleep deprivation. There are two reasons that relate the lack of sleep to weight gain. Studies show that skimping on sleep leads to a rise in ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite, and a reduction in leptin, which signals satiety. Thus, lacking sleep increases appetite and consequently contributing to weight gain.

Too much snacking

Losing weight is not an overnight process. It takes time, patience, ambition, confidence, commitment, and a lifestyle change. Snacks are a great way to avoid overeating, but when we make unhealthy, wrong choices, and cannot control portions, snacking sabotages the weight loss plan. Also, watch out for leftovers!

Lack of exercise

To lose weight, you have to be careful what you eat and how much you eat. Fair enough! Still, one thing that people forget is that exercising is as important as the calories you count. Regular exercise encourages weight loss and helps you control weight as it uses the excess calories that otherwise would be stored as fat. For a successful weight loss, forget about your car dependence and try to walk. It will help you not just on your weight loss plan, but it will also improve you general health.

Not eating enough

Starvation is not the smartest method to lose weight. In fact, starvation has a dangerous boomerang effect, so once you start eating normally you put on more weight than you lost. Why? Because your metabolism is disoriented and keeps all fats you eat. Instead of not eating, try to create a balance and eat with moderation. Enjoy food and find a lifestyle that works on the long run.

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Tags: weight loss, weigh tloss plateau, lose weight, cant lose weight, why cant i lose weight, healthy diets, diet mistakes, not losing weight, weight loss mistakes, mistakes in diet

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May 17, 2012 Please login in order to comment

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August 04, 2011 chey_hammy

i am same with portion control! i dont know what to do about it! its soo frustrating! especially when its super good food u just want more
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August 04, 2011 chamberlain

These are so true. I think my biggest challenge is portion control. I love to eat, and I rarely honor my fullness (stop when I feel full) because the food just tastes so good.

I am in the middle of my own weight loss journey (15 down, 30 to go). I just finished a great book called Change Anything about changing bad habits/behavior (helpful with my eating habits) in a sustainable and permanent way. I've been using the website, www.changeanything.com, to help me put the ideas into practice (if you want a free membership use the coupon code RUN10).

One of the biggest things I've learned from the book and website it the influence that my envrionment has on my behavior. I have become more aware of that and made changes that are allowing me to succeed in my weight loss.
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