Why you aren't losing weight

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of people asking about why they aren't losing weight. I thought it might be helpful to compile a list of different possibilities to answer this question.

I know that everyone is different and will probably experience different problems, but, I figured this could be somewhat helpful.

I'll start: You aren't losing weight because

• You're eating too little. You should NEVER go below 1200 calories (if you're a woman)! Your body will go into starvation mode. Increase your calorie intake.

• Your body has adapted to your calorie intake. Zig zag your calories, surprise your body. Don't let it settle with the same calories everyday. Everybody knows a 100 lb person who eats around 2000 calories everyday without gaining a lb. Why do you think that is? Because their body has adapted and can burn enough everyday to keep it at the same weight.
  

You are already at a healthy weight for your height.

You aren't burning as many calories as you think

You've stopped weighing out portions and are overestimating them.

It's TTOM and you're retaining water.  Weigh yourself again in a week.

You just started a new exercise regime and your muscles are retaining water.  Weigh yourself again in a week.

Not eating balanced/clean. Thinking it is all about calories. Also about the type of food you eat.

Eating too little or filling up on fruits and veggies and neglecting the fat and protein.

Thinking carbs are bad.

Not enough exercise and not adding strength/weight training to their routine.

Filling their bodies with artificial sweeteners, processed crap.

Not accurately measuring the amount of calories consumed.

Too much of the same type of workout. Not mixing it up and because of that they adapt and will n not make any progress forward.

Not only if you are eating under 1200 when an adult female, but under 1500 if an adult male or a female under 21, or under 1800 when a male under 21. And that's when sedentary.

You're eating too much salt, which often leads to water retention. Convenience and "diet" food is just that, convenient, but also often loaded with salt if you aren't careful.

You are cutting out vital food groups.

Your routine doesn't have enough variation. Exercise or diet. Don't eat/do the same things every single day.

You have a deficit of over 1000 off of your total burn for the day. Excercise counts, people!

You're drinking away more calories than you realise.

You forget or neglect to count condiments like mayo, ketchup, coffee creamer, butter, toppings, dressing, etc.

You aren't counting things you "pick at" like hershey kisses or spoonfuls while cooking, etc.

You actually *are* losing weight, but you're freaking out over natural weight fluctuations because you've never paid attention to them before.

You're exercising so hard that your deficit is too big for your body to sustain and it's gone into survival mode. Exercise less and/or eat more!

Or you're actually losing fat but gaining muscle through your exercise campaign... which is a good thing! It doesn't matter what the scale says if your clothes are fitting you better.

Underestimating portion sizes and therefore taking in more calories than you think

• You are not being honest with yourself in how much you cheat and how much effort you put in your workouts!

• You're doing lots and lots of steady state, long distance cardio.

• You aren't losing weight because..... Maybe your body has gotten use to the programs you started off. A little change is always good, and sometimes you have to change your calorie intake, by upping it a little.

overeating and not burning enough cals daily

I have gotten slightly lazy and have had no will power....halloween candy doesn't help either and the birth control I am on has made it  harder to lose.

• You have a medical condition you aren't aware of (like a thyroid issue; or perhaps a prescription medication is increasing your appetite, making you too tired to work out, messing with your metabolism, etc.)
• You're pregnant (whoops! always want to make sure that's not going on if you're gaining or not losing when you think you should be. Can be dangerous for you and the baby! And if you're a guy, you should be especially conerned if you think you're preggers)

Reflecting back on my life, I'd like to use a few quotes to that explain what use to prevent me from losing weight. I've been overweight for the past 12 years (I'm male, 5'6", 225 lbs on 9/7/08 and at 11/6/08 at 200 lbs). I'm confident I will hit my goal in Q1/Q2 2009. I constantly remind myself the following...

1. "Stop Making Excuses." Examples include "I've been good so I can have <insert bad food here>. I'm tired, so I'll just grab <insert fast food here>. I don't have time to exercise/Work is busy/I'm stressed out <insert excuse here>. Today is my friends birthday so it's okay to eat <insert bad food here>, etc."

2. "Talk is cheap" - I use to talk a lot about how I'm going to do this, do that, stop eating this, stop eating that, start exercising, etc. My buddy once told me, "talk is cheap, where are the results?" The thing is, even if I was doing the things I said I would do, either the intensity was not there, or the time/commitment to it was not there. Example: I went to the gym, but secretly I did not push myself. My friend was right though. There are no A's for effort here. This is your life. Talk is definitely cheap. Time to get the results.

3. "Just Do It" - Yes, it's from Nike and over used, but carefully think about it. The statement is actually pretty powerful & simple. You need to empower yourself, to JUST DO IT. You want to exercise? JUST DO IT. You thinking about going to go to the gym after work? JUST DO IT. You want to lose weight? JUST DO IT. I can't tell you how many times that I've failed to "JUST DO IT" because <insert excuse here>

4. "Suck It Up" - This is the same as "talk is cheap and just do it" but my other buddy once told me to "suck it up" one time. Although a bit harsh, my buddy had a valid point. Since then, I've lost 25 pounds, and I'm confident I will lose 15-25 more. The only difference between the last 12 years and now is, I tell myself everyday to suck it up. When I want to eat <insert fast food here>, suck it up and eat a salad. If I'm tired, suck it up and go to the gym. Healthy food costs too much? Suck it up because your medical bills later will be a lot more if you don't change now. I already ate my calories and I'm hungry at night? Suck it up and go to bed hungry. No one ever said you're entitled to go to bed feeling full. My buddy is having happy hour on Friday? Suck it up and don't go if you cannot afford the calories.

I realize some of these quotes are harsh. I challenge everyone struggling to lose weight to take a moment and reflect if you're like me. Luckily, I woke up one day and realized that I need to "JUST DO IT." I hope the same will come for you.

Hope this helps. Best of luck to everyone. Take care.

You arent losing weight because

 - not everyones the same, and even though the scales have what seems like a high number, your percentage of body fat is low (i.e lots of muscle)

 - you aren't overeating if you're having your maintenance calories, and because you aren't overeating you don't realise you don't have a deficit.

• beer

oh wait that's just me

Original Post by spirochete:

• beer

oh wait that's just me

you mean that's not all of us?