10 Reasons Why You Might Not Be Losing Weight
even when you eat healthy.
I eat healthy why am I not losing weight???
I know this question and know it well. I’ve been eating healthy foods for about 8 years but it wasn’t until last year that I lost a significant amount of weight. Here is my two cents from my own experience as to why you may not be losing even though you’re eating healthy. (A healthy diet could mean different things to different people. For the sake of this post I’m referring to generic whole foods diet, i.e., fresh non-processed foods.)
10 Reasons Why You Might Not Be Losing Weight
1. You’re “forgetting” the other foods you’re eating. I hate to say this but, in many instances, people aren’t being entirely honest with themselves. I know I wasn’t. While I was eating “healthy” for a number of years, I was still 20 pounds overweight until I got honest with myself. Yes, I ate a lot of lean protein, veggies, fruits, and healthy fats. I was also eating a lot of sugar, chips, crackers, and fast food on the side that I would “forget”. Since I was eating “healthy” I didn’t count those processed “side orders”. Once I started being honest about EVERYTHING and quit mindlessly eating the hips started to shrink.
2. Super sized portions. I measure my portions by the size of my palm or fist because it’s easy. If my jeans start getting too tight and I really am eating healthy I pull out the measuring cups and scales for a few days to get back on track.
3. Too much or not enough of a good thing. Nuts. Nut butters. Avocados. Healthy oil based dressings. All these things are good for you and should be included in your diet but they all have a lot of calories. A serving of cashews is great as long as it’s not a 5 pound serving. The same with dried fruit. Dried fruit is high in sugar, even unsweetened dry fruit. Eating an entire bag of raisins a few times a week and you’re most likely going to gain weight. On the other hand, your body needs fat to burn fat especially if you are eating a large amount of protein. So if you are eating Costco sized bags of almonds you need to cut back. But if you are terrified to look at the walnuts because you’ll get fat you probably aren’t getting enough fat so grab a handful and enjoy.
4. Not eating enough. I look at my metabolism as a fire. If you keep adding wood to the fire it will keep burning. Don’t add wood and it will go out. Add too much and it will smother. I eat every 2-3 hours to keep my metabolism going.
5. Speed eating. This goes hand in hand with portion control. I know when I slow down I eat less and feel fuller. Slow down. If I’m speed eating I’ll eat a lot because I think I’m still hungry when I really haven’t given my body the chance to tell me I’m satisfied. Which bring me to number 6.
6. Eating to feel full instead of satisfied. I admit I enjoy that full feeling but I’ve been learning to stop when I’m satisfied instead of full. Once or twice a week I’ll eat until I’m full but the rest of the time I’m satisfied with the correct portions. If I’m still hungry after eating my portions in salad ratios, I’ll have another 1/2 portion of protein and eat more veggies. (I never limit veggie portions.)
7. Drinking too many calories. Juice may be “healthy” but it still has a lot of sugars and calories. Daily I drink water, tea, and coffee (black). Occasionally, I’ll have soda, juice, or alcohol.
8. You need more muscle. The more muscle you have the more calories you will burn. Pick up some heavy azz weights and lift until you can lift no more. Don’t worry you won’t get bulky.
9. You are doing too much cardio or the same cardio day after day. If you are doing too much cardio your body adapts to the demands you put on it. So it now burns less calories during that 4 miles today than it did 2 months ago. Endless hours of cardio can also burn away your lean muscle mass, increase stress the stress hormone cortisol, and it requires large amounts of carbohydrates. Try interval training a few days a week.
10. Although I consider myself well-read when it comes to nutrition I still hesitate to go here but possibly you are carb-sensitive. This is controversial. There are those who say it’s just a myth. And there are those who swear by it. I tend to be on the swear by it side. I’ve heard again and again that low carb is a myth and a calorie is a calorie but because of my experience, I don’t buy it. I know I’m carb-sensitive. I don’t think carb sensitive people can eat a big bowl pasta every evening, even whole wheat pasta, and expect to lose weight. Maybe it is because when I reduce my carbs since I’m carb-sensitive I reduce my cravings therefore I eat less. I don’t really care what it is because it works and I feel great with lots of energy. If you’ve tried everything else and are determined to lose weight try replacing some of your grains with veggies, especially in the evening. You may want to up your fat (which you likely aren’t getting enough of anyway) to make up for decrease in calories.
So this has been my experience. It really stinks that it takes so much discipline to lose weight. It really would have been nice to have been born with one of those turbo charged metabolisms who could eat Mount Everest mounds of nachos and not gain an ounce.
xoxo
j
This is my (almost) sane quest for insane health. Let's 
Great post! I can relate to all 10 reasons, and have fallen into each more than once! I think most of us “eat healthy” but tend to forget that small serving of chips or cookies or m&ms. Just wondering though in your experience, what finally clicked for you to actually ditch the 10? You are so well versed in exercise and nutrition, how did you learn all these things? Just wondering because if you ever give up your site i will be lost!!! Really, I look forward to reading your blog, you keep me inspired! Thanks for all your words of wisdom!
Thank you so much, Brandi. You’re too kind. Seriously.
I think what finally clicked was when I set a date for the competition. I was tired of telling myself I’d lose the flab and not following through. I’ve been interested in nutrition for about 8 years. I love to read about it because food fascinates me and I think it’s the foundation for optimum health. I’ll read anything about food and fitness and apply what resonates with me as solid useful practical advice.
xoxo
j
hi ..interesting post..especially on teh cardio part..suprisingly when i reduced my cardio, i started to see results (newer ones)..
what abt fruits..do u reduce that too???i notice when i increase my fruits intake fr 2 whole fruit (ie: one medium size apple and one med size orange) to anything more, my eating/sugar cravings go haywire..i know berries etc have lower sugar/GI etc but i do love my juicier fruits and bananas..what do you suggest? i tried the whole balancing it with protein n fats but it doesn’t work..
also do u eat fruit before or after or with a meal? thanks
Su- Glad to hear you started to see results when you reduced cardio!!! That’s AWESOME!!! Fruit is tricky for me. As long as I’m not eating any processed food I seem to do okay with fruit most of the time. I love my juicier fruits too….umm mangos anyone!!!! The way I feel about fruit is this – I’m a recovered sugar addict but I don’t want to give up the sweet taste all together. There is a lot of nutritional value in fruit so if I go crazy every once in a while and eat a 2 pounds of cherries then so be it. When that happens I try to adjust the rest of my carbs accordingly. For instance, if I l do eat 2 pounds of cherries one afternoon I’ll probably skip the brown rice at dinner and just have a salad with my protein. Something else I also do is count fruit in the same group as brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat bread, ect. I try to eat one or the other at my meals. I like to eat fruit after a meal because it feels like a dessert. I hope this is somewhat helpful!! Thanks for stopping by!!!!
Hello,
I found you on livestrong and hopped over to this blog. Very inspiring. I think you could put my head on your pre-bod. That is pretty much what I look like. I would die to have your “now body”. Fantastic results and I know you have worked for every bit of it. Good job!
If you dont mind, I would like to pick your brain……..I have been trying to get a better body for the better part of a year. The desire was there a yr ago but not the knowledge. I am now eating cleaner and working harder. However, I do not see a difference in my measurements or my weight. I dont know what I am doing wrong. Let me say that I do think that I am carb sensitive.
I eat (typically)…….breakfast – greek yogurt 1/2 c with flax seed, snack – zone bar, lunch – salad or green veggie with a protein (usually 3 oz) ….. like today I had a taco salad, lean beef (3 0z) , 3 cups of shreds, 1 oz cheese, 2 tbsp pace picante, snack – chicken (3 oz) green beans, dinner – lean beef (4 oz) and a green veg, snack – zone bar and 1% milk (1 c). This averages about 1300 calories – 1500 calories. I have been averaging about 1500 calories for about 6 months. I am wondering if I should cut it back to about 1200 a day. I am 5’6″ and about 145.
I lift weights 5 times a week for about 15-20 minutes a day. I dont do cardio. Not a fan. Maybe I should. I lift as much as I can until I exhaust my muscles.
I am drinking more water……just recently……..I was not drinking any until this last weekend. I hate water. I just upped to about 8 glasses a day. I have an addicition to soda and I have cut that down but not alot. Maybe that is my problem?
I just dont know. I think I am working really hard but I am not getting any results. Do you see anything obvious?
Anything is much appreciated. I dont want to quit and I am not even going there because I like to lift but I am frustrated. I know I must be doing something wrong.
Thanks, Alicia
I should probably mention that my addiction to Soda is Diet Soda.
Thanks, Alicia
Thank you so much for your kind words Alicia. I just emailed you.