I’ve heard pretty much everything. Most people who come to me who sincerely want to lose weight are in pain and truly believe they are doing “all of the right things.” There is so much research about the best way to achieve optimal wellness, yet for some reason, many in our generation continue to cling to the “calories in, calories out” mantra, which leads to deprivation, which is compounded by chronic cardio…and guess what? This approach has been proven ineffective. So instead let’s learn about the real obstacles to lasting weight loss and find an approach that works.
Here are the first six of 11 surprising reasons why you are not losing weight. I could go on, of course, but these are the top in terms of being highly researched and supported by academia and many in the wellness and fitness communities. Next week, I’ll share five more reasons, and they are even more surprising…
1. Lack of sleep
We burn fat, recover from all that we ask from our bodies, and store memories during our sleep. It is a primal and essential bodily function. Experts say we need seven to seven and a half hours of uninterrupted and adequate sleep every night. Without it, your body craves carbs and sugar, isn’t building muscle, and your metabolism slows.
2. Too much stress
Stress causes weight gain, obesity, lack of quality sleep, decreased cognitive function, and other serious medical conditions like diabetes and heart disease. Increased stress induces a physiological roller coaster ride, forcing your body’s systems into one job: reducing stress.
3. Too little time outside
Back to the stress…just getting a minute or two outside calms the brain and reduces stress. Reducing stress means your body can focus on burning fat. Being outside also means you are moving…also key to any weight loss and wellness program.
4. Too much FOMO
Finding purpose is a main point of my concierge wellness program. Linking your values with your actions is an essential ingredient to making progress on your wellness and weight loss. A healthy lifestyle will reward you abundantly with increased energy, less body fat, and feeling better. Worrying about what others are doing leads to, well, stress (see above)!
5. Keeping up with the Joneses
Thoughts about his/her weight, how his/her clothes fit, how easy his/her life take up valuable brain power that could be focused on higher contributions to your life like your wellness and your purpose. Every thought we have takes up valuable space in our brains. Our brains get stressed from constant worrying, wanton thoughts, and comparison syndrome. Reign it in, and feel better for it.
6. Making up for last night’s or yesterday’s mistakes
Your body doesn’t work that way. Eating or drinking foods that are not healthy without a plan leads to disastrous choices like over-exercising the next day, deprivation, and, worst of all, guilt. Guilt is awful and causes crazy stress on the brain. The body doesn’t burn the next day what you ate the day before.The body is an intricate, beautiful system of days/weeks/years of choices, not just last night’s. Let the mistakes go, and start fresh.
