5 Reasons You’re Struggling with Weight Loss

When you’re actively trying to lose weight, there’s nothing more disheartening than not seeing results. If the scales seem stuck at the same point or you actually gain a pound or two, it may feel like all your hard work has been for nothing. However, there’s no need to despair.

There may be scientific reasons why your weight loss is stalling, in which case tweaking your lifestyle can drastically transform your weight loss journey. To learn more, take a look at these five reasons why you might be struggling with weight loss:

1. You haven’t changed your mindset

Losing weight involves eating healthily and staying active but there’s more to it than simply your physical habits. If you’ve been overweight for some time, changing your mindset is just as important as altering your lifestyle or diet. When your mind isn’t engaged in the weight loss process, it’s easy to miss workouts, overeat, or underestimate the calories you’re consuming. By thinking about your motivations and reasons for wanting to lose weight, you can make the mental changes you need to in order to successfully shed the pounds.

2. Your Metabolism is Slow

Your metabolism is responsible for converting nutrients into energy, so having a slow metabolism means you’re likely to gain weight more quickly. You can overcome this by lowering your daily calorie intake, burning more calories daily, and/or speeding up your metabolism.

If you want to give your metabolism a helping hand, there are various ways to do so. Increasing muscle mass, fasting, or visiting an NAD Treatment Center can help you to speed up your metabolic rate. This will help you to burn calories more quickly, which should help you to achieve your weight loss goals.

3. Not Tracking Calorie Intake

If you aren’t tracking everything you eat and drink, there’s a good chance you’re consuming far more calories than you realize. Similarly, it’s likely that your macronutrient intake is unbalanced, which means you’ll be consuming more carbs and fats than you need to and missing out on a healthy amount of protein.

Tracking food and drink intake can seem like a hassle at first but apps make it easier than ever. Once you get used to making a note of your daily calorie intake, it will be something you do without even realizing it. Even if you might not like the results, regular tracking is essential if you want to achieve your weight loss goals.

4. Eating Too Much Processed Food

Switching from fast food to pre-packaged health foods can have some health benefits but not as many as you think. Often, processed health foods contain high levels of sugar, carbs, and chemicals. If you’re not reading the labels and simply trusting that the item is as healthy as it claims to be, you might be surprised at what you’re actually consuming.

As part of your weight loss journey, take the time to learn how to prepare nutritious, whole foods at home. Meal prepping once a week can be a great way to reduce the amount of time you spend in the kitchen, while still enabling you to enjoy great-tasting, healthy food every day.

5. You’re Feeling Stressed

When we’re stressed, our body’s level of cortisol tends to be higher. Cortisol has an impact on how our cells respond to insulin, which is why your weight can increase when you feel stressed. Similarly, you might be more likely to gain weight around the abdomen due to this type of weight gain. Additionally, it can be hard to motivate yourself to exercise or eat well when you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed, which is another way stress can impact your weight loss plans.

By accessing the help you need and practicing stress reduction techniques, you can kick-start your weight loss journey. Remember – physical exercise can be a great way to reduce stress levels, so you can lose weight and feel happier by increasing the amount of exercise you do.

Creating Realistic Goals

Some people feel that they’re not losing weight when, in reality, they’re not losing weight as fast as they want to. However, losing a relatively small amount of weight consistently is the best way to achieve a long-term reduction in your weight.

By setting yourself realistic and achievable weight loss goals, you’re far more likely to stick to your plan. With healthy eating, a good exercise regime, and support from those around you, you can identify the factors that are holding you back and successfully lose weight.