Three Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight

Feel like you’re doing everything right and still not losing weight?

Well you’re not alone. But that probably doesn’t help, knowing you’re drowning in this sea of negativity simply because you do everything right and still can’t get your weight to budge. Today I want to uncover 3 reasons you’re not losing weight even though you’re doing everything right.

On today’s podcast I also give you five things you could change in order to see the scale start to move, but more importantly than just pounds being lost a whole new weight being released from your mental state. Listen to the full explanation of why you’re not losing weight and five realistic things to do about it below.

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the weight controversy

Before we can even get into why you may not be losing weight, lets just get the elephant out of the room {which can lift a whole new weight of its own}. What we’ve been lead to believe about weight and weight loss is generally pretty inaccurate. If all of the hype about how to lose weight were true, would we be here? Stuck, disappointed, let down and lost?

Unfortunately losing weight isn’t as easy as just eating less than you burn. Or skipping all the carbohydrates and nibbling on salads. It’s also not as easy as just waking up to burst through your 90 minute workout. All in hope that you can shed those last few pounds.

If anything, these philosophies and mentalities have only led us to a worse situation. A situation that brings us a false sense of hope, temporary relief, only to end up deeper in the pit of failure.

It’s time to let it all go. To get these ‘methods’ and ‘rules’ out of your head and look for something better. Something more realistic. Something that works.

how weight gain occurs

Before we can dive into the 3 reasons you’re not losing weight, lets look at how weight gain occurs. Contrary to popular belief that it is completely calorie based, or specifically just a macronutrient issues, we have to understand it is far more complex than that. But not in an overwhelming, can’t understand kind of way. Just a unique complexity.

A complexity that we don’t need to even understand fully as long as we are clear on one thing; there is not a one-sized fits all approach. Your body, my body, they’re all different. That’s what makes us unique. There is not one set of recommendations, rules or strategies that work for everyone.

If it were as easy as calories in equals calories out, we’d be a nation of thin, healthy, happy people. But we’re not.

So how does fat gain actually occur?

I’ll stick with the short answer and take a more in-depth dive later on. But for now this is what you need to know.

hormones plus calories

Fat production occurs through a hormonal flow triggered by the different types of calories. Making it both a hormonal issue as well as a caloric ‘choice’ issue.

Hormones are the drivers of how much we eat, what we desire to eat, and how that fuel {calories} is being stored {glycogen, muscle or fat}. Insulin is the main hormone that signals fat storage. But we can’t discount the other hormones that play a role in whether body fat development occurs or not. Here’s a quick run-down of our body’s-fat producing hormones:

1. Insulin: Insulin works to help glucose {from the food we eat} be taken into the cells for energy. In excess, insulin will signal to increase the major fat storing enzyme in the body called lipoprotein lipase {LPL}. Not to mention in insulin’s presence, it decreases our fat burning hormones HSL {hormone-sensitive lipase}.
2. Acylation Stimulating Protein {ASP}: ASP is a fat-storing feedback mechanism. It is stimulated by both high fat diets as well as an insulin response.
3. Glucose Dependent Insulinotrophic Peptide {GIP}: This peptide acts as a signaling molecule in the gut. It is induced by both carbs and fat as well as protein and fiber. When GIP is released it causes more insulin to be released leading to excess fat production.
4. Ghrelin: The hunger hormone. Grehlin is released when we forgo food or restrict our calories. {SUPER FASCINATING HORMONE}. Not only does it induce hunger but it also causes intense cravings for sugary-fatty and salty foods. Ghrelin directly acts on the hypothalamus aiding fat storage and increasing the action of LPL {our fat-storing enzyme}. It even results in more LPL being made so that when you do eat you get fatter quicker {Why when you return to ‘normal’ eating after a strict diet you can see quicker fat production. Not to mention strict diets make you crave all of the bad.}

While it’s partially true that calories matter. It’s also true that our hormonal signaling matters, which makes macronutrient  counts including how many carbs, protein and fats you eat matter.

But there is also one more component to throw into the mix. It’s one that also interferes with our hormonal flow. One that determines what we crave, how much we eat and how we store it. Our lifestyle.

stress + weight gain

Stress. The evil six letter words that can lead to weight gain without even putting a calorie in your mouth. If you’re one of those people who says you can look at food and gain weight, well this very well might be true.

Can we think ourselves fat or skinny? I’d say our mindset has more to do with our health than we give it credit for. Maybe it alone is the answer to our health and weight troubles. Again, a topic for later conversation but one to definitely not discount.

Here’s the deal; we act according to how we think. If weight loss is not about rules, deprivation or starvation but just a way of life, than we must also change our thoughts and the way we live. No matter how well you eat or how much you exercise stress could still be the culprit throwing it all off. That means that stress has to be factored into the equation as well.

the fat-loss equation

The fat-loss equation comes from the opposite of our fat building equation: high fat + high carbohydrate + stress = fat production.

It’s not just about calories, macronutrients or exercise. But it is about the flow, how they come together and most importantly your mindset around it all. It’s a uniqueness that means there is not one set of standards, rules or diets that will ever work perfectly for you.

It just means you have to take those things as a starting point and build on it to meet your unique life.

But don’t forget from last week that our life, hormonal flow and metabolism are not static. It is not a one stop shop. Our metabolism  is a constantly changeable and flexible, moldable thing. Don’t get stuck in a rut, doing the same thing day in and day out. You have to make this a way of life, something that fits into your life.

You have to create a new perspective.

You can learn more about creating a new perspective in the podcast. But for now let’s get to 3 reasons you’re not losing weight.

1. you believe diet and exercise are all that matters

If you can just work out more and eat less, then you’ll be able to lose weight. Or if you just jump on the next detox plan drinking only three smoothies a day for 21 days, then you’ll lose weight. Just stop! Stop the madness of trying to beat your body into submission. It doesn’t work that way, nor will it ever.

In fact, restricting, depriving, forcing, beating, they all take a toll on your body. In time it always catches up with you. Losing weight is so much more about how you live your life, your happiness levels, how you relax, how well you sleep and how much stress you have. These things always trump how much you eat, how many macronutrients you consume and how hard you’ve pushed yourself.

Sure those things matter. In the short-term they may even work. But if we focus on lasting health, on health over weight loss, they could actually be putting more stress and harm on the body than good.

Instead of investing so much focus, time and energy into diet and exercise alone, may you start to change your mindset and develop an understanding of your uniqueness. Think about how your body functions well {when you feel well} and what things make your mind stressed and your body stressed.

[Tweet “Listen to your body over listening to the thoughts of the diet industry.”]

2. believing there is a one sized fits all approach

I hate to say it but I’m going to say it. The diet industry knows how to market and they know how to make money. They patch up the pains of your life and tug at your heartstrings until you believe their coaxes.

It’s not to say that all diets, fads, plans are philosophies are bad. I mean who am I to say, I pump them out just as much as others. Some of them have great concepts, generalizations and starting points. The problem lies when you treat it like the answer to all of your problems. The big ah-ha, the solution to your pains, the only way.

Yes, I know your best friend may have found results and your co-worker looks great. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it is what your body needs in this particular stage of life. Going into a program, diet or detox with the thought that it is going to solve all of your problems is false hope.

Clinging to the quick approach without factoring how you will maintain it, how it fits into your life is setting yourself up for a lifetime of yo-yo dieting. You’ll never be satisfied or content, but instead always searching and seeking when the very thing you are looking for, the answers to your weight loss solutions is inside of you.

Believe in something better today. Know that there isn’t a one sized fits all approach.

[Tweet “You have to get really good at living life and making health a priority within that.”]

3. you have a bad mindset

Number one and two lead to number three. It is all in our perspective, what we believe and where we put our hope. For some of us we’re chasing joy and happiness in a number on the scale. We believe that our physical appearance will define our joy.

We also want to believe it is as easy as a simple equation, that we can beat our body into submission and that there is a one sized fits all approach. This is all just a false hope.

A false hope is desiring something you don’t fully believe to work. You just hope it does.

Let it go and cling to true hope. True hope comes from knowing your purpose, your reason for life and finding joy in the every day.

Until we change our lifestyle we will never experience true joy and from true joy comes a desire for health and happiness.

How we think is what we’ll become. We must change our minds to change our life and that is the only way to a successful story. We can’t use our past, our experiences, our health or our weight to stay in bondage. We have to stop letting these things control our minds and instead change our mind and make the choices to drive action that lasts.

[Tweet “Joy is not a goal, it’s not something we strive for. It is a lifestyle.”]

practical ways to lose weight

The mindset is our tool to our future. The thoughts we choose to think, create the actions we choose to do. Make a choice today to flood your mind with positivity, gratitude and a new way of looking at health.

If you are looking for some practical steps on how to do this, as well as those practical ways you can regulate your hormonal flow and choose the right foods, I’d encourage you to listen to this podcast: what to do when you’re doing everything right and still can’t lose weight.

In the show I give five practical ways to help you overcome the hurdle and start shedding some realistic pounds. Not to mention find joy in the everyday.

[Tweet “Health is a way of life, not just part of your life.”]

the 5-day hormonal reset

Tired, sluggish, groggy, moody, depressed, anxious, struggling with PMS, low libido or all of the above? Check out my 5-day hormonal reset which walks you through a quick and easy program that can help your hormones get back in check. It’s the quick solution to reset your hormones helping you to feel more alive in just five days.

This inexpensive plan can be just the change your body needs to get revving again and boost your metabolism into gear. To join me in this journey and learn how you can add hormonal beneficial practices to your own life, click here. It’s just five days with meal plans, recipes, support and accountability that you can easily complete. Join me today by clicking here.

resources i recommend

Here are some additional resources I recommend from the podcast. Things that have helped me on my own journey and I hope help on yours!

• Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyers
• The Power of a Morning Routine
• 7 Health Foods to Add to Your Diet + Recipes
• Why Your Diet is Ruining Your Life

rate and review

If you listened to this episode of Simple Roots Radio I would be honored to get your honest opinion of the show. To leave a quick note and rate the show click here. It literally takes one minute out of your day and is the fuel that keeps the show running. Thank you so much for being a part of the journey