Why Are You Not Losing Weight With Diet And Exercise? | Reasons Explained

Hitting the gym regularly, surviving on limited food yet you are still unable to lose weight? There can be many reasons why you are not losing weight with diet and exercise and we shall uncover the reasons for the same so continue reading. 

Some of the reasons why you are not losing weight with diet and exercise include following a fad diet, being unable to control your calorie intake, facing a weight plateau, eating too much healthy food, being addicted to certain food items, workout is not intense, eating very less, over-exercising, and your goals may not be within reach. 

Weight loss does not always mean that you have to eat less and exercise more. As per experts, for weight loss, around 70% of diet and 30% of exercise are responsible. That is why most of us struggle so much when it comes to weight loss. 

Today, we will try to learn all the possible reasons that may hinder your weight loss journey even though you have a great diet and exercise regularly. So stick with me till the end and make your weight loss journey smoother and achievable. 

29 Reasons Why You Are Not Losing Weight

A good diet and intense workout are great to lose some weight. However, many of us find no results even after following a great diet and heavy workout. There can be some hidden reasons for the same. Let us see some of the possible reasons: 

1. Not Following The Right Diet 

If you think that fad diets are great for losing weight then you are mistaken. A fad diet may give you short-term results but you will struggle in the long run. Please make sure that you follow a proper diet that suits your body type and weight loss goals. 

For this, you should know about different kinds of diets for weight loss and then select the one which is best for you. Following a proper diet is crucial as weight loss is majorly dependent on the same. So make sure that the diet you are following is appropriate and reasonable. 

2. Not Controlling Your Calorie Intake

If you are not able to control your calorie intake then it can hinder your weight loss journey. You must always calculate the calories and make sure that you are within the boundaries. 

Make sure that your calorie intake is according to your body requirements and does not exceed. Count the calories on a daily or weekly basis and this way you can make sure that you are in control. Being mindful of what and how much you are eating is a crucial step for controlling your calorie intake. 

3. Losing Weight Without Realizing It

You might be facing a weight plateau. Usually when someone is trying to lose weight, the results are not very quick. Many times when you weigh your body, the weight remains the same. Don’t snap and get frustrated. 

Weight loss takes time and even after having a proper diet and exercise, you may need to be very patient for the results. The weight would not drop in a day. It will take some days for the changes. Instead of weighing your body, you can check the circumference of your body and then you can see that you are losing weight. 

4. No Food And Activity Balancing

As we all know, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. The same is the case with weight loss. You need to find the balance. If your food consumption and activities are not aligned then you may not be able to lose weight. 

Most of us hit the gym but never follow the right diet and it can be the other way around as well. You need to know that if food and activity are not balanced then you won’t be able to see the desired results. 

5. Limiting Macronutrients Too Much

When it comes to weight loss, we all start limiting macronutrients as it has more calories and carbs along with fat and protein. We switch to low-carb food with very less calories. However, if you are limiting the macronutrient too much then it can again create a problem in your weight loss journey. 

Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for your body and if you eliminate it you will end up eating more as your body will crave badly. So, it is always better to add good carbs, lean protein, and healthy fats to your diet. 

6. Are You Overestimating Your Muscle Weight?

Many times while we try to lose weight, we also gain muscle due to heavy workouts. If you don’t tweak your diet according to muscle gain, your body weight might not budge at all. Strength training and gaining muscles will add to your body weight. 

Make sure that you do not consume all the calories required and then you can manage the weight loss without any hurdles. If required you can create some calorie deficit and try moving the scale. 

7. Eating Less But Not Nutritious

Weight loss does not always mean eating less. You can cut down your calories but if you are not feeding your body enough nutrition then it can be a problem. Focusing on cutting down calories may not alone help you in losing weight. 

You should always look for food with good nutritional value. If your body is not fully nourished, you may find it difficult to lose weight and even if you do, you won’t be healthy and have nutrition deficiency. 

8. Not Keeping Track Of What You’re Eating?

It is very important to track your food intake specifically if you are trying to lose weight. Tracking your food intake will help you understand what type of nutrition you are taking as well as help you in counting the calories. If you don’t know what and how much you are eating you won’t be able to lose weight properly. 

In the journey of weight loss, food should be measured to avoid any extra calories, and keeping a tracking through a journal or any other way will help you in the same. 

9. Too Many “Healthy” Foods

It is a well-known fact that too much of anything can be dangerous. Now, you may read or hear that to lose weight you need to eat healthy foods. Don’t go overboard with this strategy. Eating healthy is for sure important but eating too many healthy foods can create a little problem. 

If you think that eating Greek yogurt instead of something sweet for dessert is great but end up having too much Greek yogurt is wrong. The fact that during weight loss you have to eat less remains true even when it comes to healthy food. 

10. Got Any Food Addiction?

Food addictions can be pretty dangerous in more than one obvious way. You may not even realize that you have a food addiction unless you think about it in hindsight. The sad part is that most addictive food options are highly fattening and loaded with sugar in one way or another. 

It would be highly unlikely that you would be addicted to healthy food, as they are not made that way. But, have you had times when you see yourself eating a snack that is a bit too addictive, and you just can’t seem to stop munching on the same? That is the sign of being addicted to sugar and fat, and you may inadvertently be consuming more calories than you realize because of this. 

11. Intermittent fasting, but not eating right

Intermittent fasting has turned out to be one of the most effective ways to lose weight and maintain it too. But, there are instances where people have not lost any weight, despite being consistent with their fasting timings. 

The reason behind this is the fact that it is not all about following the schedule. While following the fasting timings is always important, it is also critical to be in a calorie deficit while intermittent fasting, to lose weight more effectively and consistently.

12. You Blow It On The Weekends

For any of us who are not regulars at eating healthy, it can truly be a task to follow the diet throughout the week. Most of us who eat healthy just to lose weight tend to reward ourselves on weekends once we have followed our diet properly throughout the week. 

While it is okay to reward yourself once in a while, it is also important to be moderate with the rewards. If you want to lose weight, keep track of the calories you consume on weekends as well, along with weekdays. This will make sure your weight loss remains consistent throughout. 

13. Are your Goals Within Reach

While on a weight loss journey, many of us tend to very highly overestimate ourselves with the amount of weight we would want to lose in a particular amount of time. If your goal is to lose 20 pounds or close to 10 kilograms in a month, it may be a bit too much for your body to get through. 

So, it is highly important to set weight loss goals that are realistic and can be followed even once you lose weight for good. While it is possible to lose a high amount of weight in a short amount of time, it is not recommended to do so either. So, make sure your goals are healthy and sustainable. 

14. Not Taking Enough Protein

Protein is essential in having a nutritious diet. Proteins are the building blocks for muscle mass and hence are always recommended by most nutrition experts to be added to just about any sort of diet. 

While protein is important to maintain and keep your muscles strong, protein also takes a lot longer to digest. So, protein-rich foods are one of the best things to eat while on a healthy diet, to make sure you do not get hungry too often. One of the reasons you probably are not losing weight is because of the lack of protein in your diet, which can make you hungry often. 

15. Drinking Sugar

We all are aware of the fact that whenever we are trying to lose weight, the first thing to cut out from our diets is sugar. While most of us are aware of what contains the most sugar, which is sweet treats and desserts, we tend to overlook liquid calories quite a lot. 

Most fizzy beverages, coffees, frappes, and more are loaded with high amounts of sugar. Similarly, certain alcoholic beverages also contain a lot of sugar and hence, result in weight gain or no weight loss despite all efforts. So, when you are on a weight-loss journey, try to consume beverages that have a lower sugar content. 

16. Improper Sleep

The quality and quantity of sleep that you get every day can be highly underrated as far as weight loss is concerned. Most people wouldn’t think sleep deprivation has much to do with weight, but indeed, it does. 

Sleep deprivation can cause issues such as bloating, water retention, and a lot more. Moreover, it also increases stress for everyone, which is another reason why losing weight may turn out to be a lot tougher than you may have imagined. So, try to get at least 6 hours of sleep every night. 

17. Genetics Aren’t Working in Your Favor

One factor that could play a big role in your metabolism, overall fat distribution in the body, and a lot more, is genetics. While you could be someone who gains weight quickly due to a slower metabolism, it could have a lot to do with genetics overall. 

Does everyone in your family have a slow metabolism and have issues with losing weight? Then yes, sadly genetics are not working in your favor. In this case, it is best to consult a professional who can help you understand the situation better. 

18. Too Much Alcohol Consumption

Just like we previously saw everything about drinking sugar, alcohol too comes under the same category. Quite a lot of people tend to overlook the amount of alcohol they consume, thinking the calories won’t add up. 

But sadly, that is not the case at all. Calories and sugar from alcohol add up much faster than you could ever imagine! After all, having a beer belly is surely not a myth. So, if you are thorough with what you eat but are still not losing weight the way you would wish to, it could be because of overconsumption of alcohol.

19. Medical Condition

There are certainly plenty of medical conditions that could stop you from losing weight effectively. Issues like hypothyroidism, PCOS, and even being pre-diabetic in some cases hinder weight loss quite a lot. 

If you are following through with your diet perfectly but are still not able to see results, you may be having an underlying medical condition. So, it is best to go check with your doctor about the same as soon as you possibly can. 

20. You’re Not Snacking Smart

Of course, all of us want a snack at some point during the day, especially in between meals. While it is not wrong to snack, it is important to be aware of the calories of the food items that you are snacking on. 

Some food items are labeled as low-fat, fat-free, or even healthy. However, they tend to have some components that cause an immense amount of weight gain and are loaded with calories. Before you snack on just about anything, keep an eye out for the nutritional values of the same. 

21. Your Exercise Routine Needs A Change

If you do the same workouts every single day, your body could get used to the same. The matter of fact here is that our bodies tend to develop a threshold for just about any exercise very quickly. 

So, it is always best to mix up your exercise routine more often. If you have been doing a lot of cardio and it is not working for you anymore, maybe you should try out options like strength training, yoga, or pilates to not develop a threshold against any sort of exercise routine. 

22. You Tend To Overeat Processed Food

The sad reality of today’s world comes in the form of ultra-processed food items. From fast food restaurants to the frozen food aisle in your local supermarket, we are constantly surrounded by processed foods. 

Moreover, these foods are made in a way that they make us overeat and get hungry more often than normal. Sure, eating smaller quantities of processed food once in a while is not that bad. But, if that is all that your diet consists of, you surely need a change to lose weight. 

23. You’re Not Eating Enough

Sure, overeating is one of the main causes of weight gain. But, did you know that just as much as overeating, undereating too can cause weight gain? Yes, this is indeed true, especially for individuals who are used to eating a lot, and then suddenly stop eating. 

Going on a diet to lose weight does not mean you need to cut out your food items completely or eat minuscule amounts of food. It is more about eating right, and in the right quantities too. If you don’t eat enough, your body’s natural response will be to start storing fat, which causes a lot of weight gain. 

24. You’re Exercising A Lot, But Ignoring Your Diet

It’s a fact that a balance of exercise and diet helps any individual lose weight in the right way, and in a healthy manner. However, many people exercise quite a lot and then gorge on highly processed or high-calorie food items. 

While physical activity of any sort, especially intensive exercise plays a part in losing weight and body toning, it plays only 30% of a role in the same. 70% of whether or not you will lose weight depends on what you eat, and how much you eat. 

25. You’re Sitting At A Desk All Day

While diet is an important part of losing weight, exercise is something that most working individuals who sit at their desk all day overlook quite often. Sure, taking care of your diet will help you lose a lot of weight, but sadly, that will just be till a point. 

There will be a point when your body will reach a threshold with the diet as well. So, if you do not have too much time to do strength training and more, it is best to take small walks in between work and get out of your desk to keep your body more active, which will result in healthy weight loss.  

26. You Wait Too Long To Eat

Have you ever waited much longer than you possibly should have to eat? Well, it may seem like a good idea then, to wait a while until you eat, but it won’t necessarily work in your favor. The thing is, the longer you wait to eat, the hungrier you will get. 

The hungrier you get, the chances of overeating multiply. Just like skipping meals now and then, waiting too long to eat, and eventually, overeating can have a massive effect on your metabolism, which in turn, leads to unnecessary weight gain or a plateau in your weight loss. 

27. You Reward Workouts With Food

Of course, whenever you do something good, or simply follow through with your daily schedule, rewards seem like a must. While it is great to reward yourself if you’ve done well on your diet and exercise, how often you do it and what kind of reward you give yourself is very critical to losing weight in the long run. 

It may seem irresistible to have one of those pieces of chocolate cake or a massive slice of pizza if you are proud of the hard work you have put into your workout. However, if you inadvertently reward yourself with high-calorie food items now and then after every workout, chances are it is coming in the way of you trying to lose weight. 

28. You Are In Menopause

Hormonal changes can be one of the prime reasons for not being able to lose weight, or experiencing a weight plateau. Hormonal changes like menopause can cause a high amount of water retention in the body, especially around the belly area. 

This, in turn, can cause weight gain. If you are following through with your diet and exercise properly but are still having trouble losing weight, chances are you are about to experience menopause, of course, if you are in that age group. In that case, it is best to consult your doctor as soon as possible. 

29. You’re Spending Time With People Who Don’t Have Healthy Habits

You may have often come across the phrase that mentions a rotten apple can spoil the whole bunch. This is true for us as well, as far as it comes to building habits. It may not seem like a big thing to hang out with people who don’t have healthy habits. 

But, bad or unhealthy habits rub off much faster than you would have ever expected! So, while you are sticking to a healthy diet and a weight-loss journey, it is imperative to be around people with healthier habits, who constantly motivate you to do better, rather than putting you down. 

Conclusion

As we have reached the end of this wonderfully informative article, I hope it has helped you understand all the reasons why it may be difficult for you to lose weight. Losing weight is a tough task, that is for sure. However, if you are not losing weight despite putting in all the effort, it can be a big bummer. 

So, in situations like these, it could have a lot to do with either having a medical condition or not being vigilant enough with your habits. Once you keep everything under check, especially the above-mentioned points, you will lose weight effectively, and in the long run. 

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