NutritionPlanz

You work out, eat a seemingly healthy diet, but no matter how hard you try, you just can’t shift any weight or your weight loss has totally plateaued? This article talks through 5 of the top reasons you may be struggling to loose weight!

 

Many clients come to me feeling like they’re at a dead end. They are exhausted from their efforts and don’t know what to try next. So why isn’t it working? First of all, you need to understand that your body is a holistic system. If one area of your health or lifestyle is out of balance, it can affect all the other systems. For example, hormonal imbalance can affect your metabolism and your ability to lose or maintain your “ideal” weight. These are five areas you need to assess in order to rebalance your body and start seeing results.

 

1. Diet and nutrition

I often tell my clients you can’t out run a bad diet. Nutrition is the number 1 factor we need to consider for weight loss. However, it can be a little more complicated than just energy in = energy out. We do also need to look at how our individual bodies respond to different foods. Some people can get away with eating anything and still not gain weight where as others only have to look at certain foods and gain weight. This is often related to one’s individual dietary needs.  Consuming food that you’re intolerant to puts huge pressure on your body and can negatively affect your results. In particular “Carb tolerance” or lack of is often a major factor linked to difficulty loosing weight. (LINK to more reading here). Regardless of any intolerance you should also aim to avoid refined sugars in order to maintain a balanced system.

To aid you digestive system be sure drink lots of filtered water try and incorporate fermented and alkaline foods and drinks which are your gut’s friend. Also take a high-quality probiotic daily and limit alcohol and caffeine intake. Finally, in order to increase your chances of success be sure to have a nutrition plan and stick to it!.

 

2.  Stress

You’ve probably heard plenty of times that stress can have a negative impact on your health. But did you know that stress could be one of the most important factors why you can’t lose weight?

When we’re stressed we release the hormone, cortisol, which is responsible for the “fight or flight response”. It’s highly unlikely you’re stressed because you are being chased by a lion. You are more likely running late to a meeting or stressing over your overwhelming to-do list. Your body, however, doesn’t know the difference between a lion and your overwhelming list so it prepares you for a life or death situation. Now think about all the little things you have stressed about in the last few hours:

 

“What am I planning for dinner?”

“Remember to pick up the dry-cleaning.”

“I need to get to the shop to get an present?”

“I have to ace this meeting.”

Cortisol is being released into your system every single time you stress. Your body is reserving as much energy as it possibly can for this “life threatening” event.

Now throw exercise into the mix. It’s no wonder you are exhausted and receiving no results for all your hard work. Take steps to reduce your daily and overall stress levels.

 

3. Exercise

Our bodes respond well to physical movement, find an activity, exercise or movement that works for your individual body and needs. Where possible try to enjoy a range of movement such as resistance based workouts, high intensity interval training (HIIT), cardio workouts, yoga and “soul movement”. Soul movement, as I like to call it, is whatever sets your soul on fire. This may be trail walking, cycling, paddle boarding, dancing and so on. The main thing is to keep it light and have fun.

A balance of different types of movement at different intensities is the key to effective results and a happy, healthy body. Listen to your body and provide it with what it needs at any given time. Some weeks when you’re feeling run down you may need to put the HIIT on pause and nourish your body with some yin yoga. The most important thing it to listen to your body and work with it, not against it.

 

4. Sleep

Without sufficient sleep the body can’t repair. And if the body can’t repair how can you expect it to be balanced? Lack of sleep affects everything from your hormonal system, stress response, digestion, metabolism, immunity to toxins and workout results. Some people may need 8 or more hours where as others will be okay on 6-8. So switch of all electronic devices at least an hour before going to bed and aim for high quality restrictive sleep.

 

5) Medical condition and or certain medications

There are some medical conditions that can drive weight gain and make it much harder to lose weight. These can include hypothyroidism, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and sleep apnea just to name a few. Certain medications can also make weight loss harder — or even cause weight gain.

If you think any of these may apply to you, it is worth speaking with your doctor about your options.

 

If you are wanting to loose weight but still unsure how to get started check out our nutrition consultations and custom meal plans options. 

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