Are you having trouble losing weight, even after a major overall of your nutrition and other lifestyle shifts? Some common roadblocks can occur that result in frustration and may leave you questioning, what is wrong with me? Rest assured, you are not alone. There are a number of factors that impact weight and it takes getting really honest with yourself on what could be the barriers is key to breaking through the plateau.
Below are 8 Reasons You May Not Be Losing Weight:
1. Consuming Too Few Calories
Counting calories is not my favorite strategy for weight loss. Ultimately, yes consuming fewer calories than you burn will help you lose weight, but it is not about slashing calories that will get you there faster. Restricting calories can drastically slow down your metabolism or Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which will make weight loss challenging long-term. It has been found that low calorie diets will also increase cortisol production and monitoring calories (or obsessing rather), typically increases perceived stress. Nutritional Dense foods are nourishing and your body tells you when it needs more nutrients with various cues or “symptoms”.
Where your calories come from matters just as much as how many calories you are eating in a day! If you are eating a low calorie diet, but focusing on low fiber, ultra-processed foods this will leave you feeling hungry and grabbing for more in a few hours! Check out my article on How to Reduce Ultra-Processed Foods Here. Nutrient dense whole foods are often lower in calories and more satiating! Not all calories are created equal.
Eating too few calories makes it harder to lose weight due to not taking in enough to meet your daily requirements, your metabolism may slow down as your body goes into “conservation mode.” This may lead to fatigue, which in turn results in less energy to carry out exercise and living life! Your body senses that food is scarce and lowers the rate at which it burns calories. Tuning into hunger cues and practicing mindful eating is a powerful approach to monitor food intake vs. obsessing over calories in my experience working with patients!
2. Not Looking Beyond the Scale
Weight is only a number on a scale. This number will not reflect any changes in body composition that are so important on your healing journey! Muscle mass, bone density and water retention all contribute to overall weight. Due to the rapid increase in weight loss drugs, like Ozempic, its important to monitor your fat loss vs muscle loss. It is not ideal to lose muscle mass and tracking your body composition is a great way to monitor this! Finding a gym that offers an Inbody Composition test or Dexa Scan can offer valuable insight into your body composition changes as you continue your healing journey!
3. Chronically Stressed
Stress is a part of life, but its how we manage stress that impacts our physiology. Chronic stress that is not addressed can be harmful to the body and result in not losing weight. Why? Well, chronic stress triggers the release of cortisol, which is a hormone secreted from your adrenal glands that promotes fat storage, specifically in the abdominal area.
Working on strategies to manage your stress can be a game changer. It is the day to day stressors that can really add up, so finding time to get outside and walk daily, along with an active or quiet meditation practice or deep breathing exercises can really go a long way. Various somatic practices are being found to help create a sense of safety in your body, such as orienting, that can help bring the nervous system back into balance as well. Building your capacity to handle stress is possible, but it takes time!
4. Lack of Quality Sleep
Getting quality sleep is often overlooked when it comes to weight loss. If you are not getting the proper amount of sleep duration or quality, then this can result in dysregulated hunger hormones (like ghrelin and leptin) the next day. It will also increase the likelihood of reaching for comfort foods and fast energy as well. Overtired people typically seek out cravings for a quick feel good dopamine effect!
Your body naturally detoxes while you sleep – specifically during the deep cycle phase Be sure to get at least 1 and a half hours of Deep cycle sleep a night to set yourself up for success. You can track with various activity trackers today – Apple Watch, Garmin or Oura Ring (which I have and love!)
A few tips to get a restful sleep includes:
- Having a bedtime routine to relax like read, meditate or warm bath (to support melatonin production!)
- Reduce blue light from technology (phones, lights, TV) – use blue light blocker glasses or a red light bulb in your bedroom.
- Keeping a steady cool temperature in the bedroom
- Stick to a schedule with same wakeup and bedtimes
- Get sunshine on your eyes within 10 minutes of waking up
- Avoid eating 2 hours before bed (your body should be working to detox when sleeping not digesting food!)
- Reduce caffeine and stop by at least 2 pm.
5. Over Restricting Entire Food Groups
Yes, I am looking at you, carbs! I know it is tempting to completely cut them out, but for long – term success, it is super important to address how over restricting yourself from entire food groups can potentially lead to various health complications (like high cortisol, poor gut microbiome balance, leaky gut and SIBO!)! The key is adding in whole high fiber foods and strategizing carb intake with protein and fat, but more on this below. Stay with me!
From a weight loss perspective, balancing all macronutrients aka carbohydrates, protein and fats – all play a crucial role in maintaining a healthy metabolism long-term, as well as a sustainable eating behavior without feeling so restrictive. You need them to maintain energy, preserve muscle and proper hunger hormone regulation.
Lets start with Protein…
Getting enough protein is extremely important to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Not only does it keep you feeling full longer, but also it can increase the rate your body burns calories (hello thermic effect of food (TEF)!) TEF is the increase in your metabolism that occurs after digesting food. The thermic effect from protein is higher than carbs or fat – it is found to temporarily increase your metabolism by 20-30% compared to 5-10% for carbs and 3% for fat.
Am I saying to eat only protein and cut out fat/carbs? Heck no! It is only 1 piece of the puzzle for long term, sustainable weight loss. Your body needs about 1.2 g per kg of protein to prevent your metabolism from slowing during and after weight loss. But this is personalized based on the individuals ideal body weight and lifestyle.
Your remaining calories should focus on nutritionally dense whole food carbohydrates and optimal fats. Optimal fats such as olive oil, avocado and nuts & seeds are great places to start. Diets that are high in refined carbohydrates lacking fiber or contain a lot of sugar can make it harder to lose weight. Why? Insulin is released when carbohydrates are consumed and when there is too many high glycemic carbs in the diet, insulin will get too high resulting in it being harder to burn fat. Additionally, it disrupts the levels of the popular hormone, GLP-1, which is naturally secreted in the body to help regulate appetite. Therefore, a high sugar diet will often make you feeling less satisfied or full after the meal, leading to needing more food shortly after.
Why eat whole food carbohydrates when striving to lose weight? Easy.
All fiber are whole food carbohydrates and offers a wide variety of vitamins and minerals that help your body function optimally for:
- A strong, healthy immune system (avoiding autoimmune conditions that are growing each year!)
- Stable emotional health (vegetables like leafy greens are high in magnesium, which supports calming the nervous system)
- Improved digestion (fiber feeds good gut bacteria!)
- Managing hunger hormones (back to GLP-1 – see what foods naturally increase this hormone!)
Time and time again, I consult with a patient who has been following a very low carbohydrate diet for awhile and have terrible gut issues – ranging from food sensitivities to acquiring opportunistic gut infections that typically result from not eating enough fiber causing leaky gut. Typically, these are individuals trying to manage their diabetes, so it is always a delicate dance to determine an individual’s carb tolerance, while optimizing their nutrition and maintaining optimal blood sugar! So many companies are now offering Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGM’s) that you can use to help you monitor your blood sugar without pricking your finger! Check out Levels and Lingo, if this peeks your interest!
So eat your fruits and veggies friends! Just do your best to pair your carbohydrate with protein and fat to reduce the blood sugar spikes and crashes and squeeze some movement after. So think enjoying an apple with peanut butter! It is all about balance for long-term success.
6. Nutritional Deficiencies
It is very common to experience nutritional deficiencies that hinder weight loss from impairing metabolic function and energy production. Often times this is a result of not absorbing the nutrients you are eating from poor gut health. It could be caused by an imbalance of gut bacteria or leaky gut that is contributing to the nutritional deficiency and/or inflammation, and insulin resistance. Getting proper testing to address specifically your concern is key to begin the healing, so make sure to work with a qualified Functional Medicine Dietitian who can help!
In the meantime, a healthy gut microbiome can be supported by:
- Eating a variety of fiber-rich prebiotics like fruits, vegetable and whole grains
- Incorporating probiotic rich foods daily, such as yogurt and fermented vegetables
7. Chronically Dehydrated
I find most of my patients are dehydrated. Too many stimulants and not enough water creates a perfect storm! While drinking coffee has been known to offer many health benefits, I find many are not replenishing with water afterwards. From a weight loss perspective, dehydration can be mistaken for hunger which can lead to unnecessary snacking. This is where a mindful eating approach can be useful to get curious on your hunger cues. I encourage most of my patients to aim for ½ of their body weight in oz, but this would need to be personalized based on gender, diet and lifestyle.
Additionally, drinking water supports temperature regulation and lubricated joints. When hydrated the water inside and outside the cells of muscles will provide nutrients and remove waster efficiently to perform better! This is again why eating fruits and vegetables are important – not only for extra hydration but also the extra boost of electrolytes to help get keep your cells hydrated! Your kidneys will also thank you, as they need water to filter waster from the blood and exrete in your urine!
8. Living A Sedentary Lifestyle
Due to our busy lifestyles, many people find it hard to squeeze in a workout during the day. We are glued to our computer, phones or running kids to soccer practice. Unfortunately, this can be a barrier to weight loss, as exercise offers many health benefits to support weight loss. Both cardio and strength training offer many positive impacts to overall longevity, sustainable weight loss and proper blood sugar regulation.
The key to finding a sustainable exercise routine is finding one that brings you joy.
Pickleball or rollerblading with friends anyone? These are my new favs to keep things interesting!
If you can not find at least 15 minutes in your day to move your body and strengthen your muscles, then perhaps a great option for you is to wear ankle or wrist weights to get the party started. You can wear on your commute to work or when running errands! Personally, I love to do a few squats with leg raises for 5 minutes during my work day. Also, check out Dr. Zach Bush’s 4 minute HIT workout – its a quick workout anyone can squeeze into their day! Who doesn’t have 5 minutes for self-care? Future you will thank you!
Key Takeaways
Weight loss is always a hot topic in many of my nutrition counseling sessions. While nutrition is my expertise, weight loss is very multifactorial! It requires a holistic approach to address various diet and lifestyle factors! Not everything on this list can be contributing to your weight loss barriers, but it gives you some ideas to think about.
Just remember it is possible to feel and look your best. Healing takes patience, and going back to your “why” when you feel a bit frustrated or defeated can make the world of a difference!
Also, be kind to yourself and give yourself grace. This is not easy and you are doing the best you can! If you choose to indulge in a treat. Go for it. Sometimes worrying and obsessing over eating a cookie is doing more damage that actually eating the darn cookie. Let go of the need to be perfect all the time, I promise you things will fall into place as they should. #progressoverperfection
Amy is a Functional Medicine Registered Dietitian (RDN), as well as a Nutrition & Wellness Communications Consultant with many years of marketing experience and her Master of Public Health degree (MPH). She is passionate about transforming our broken healthcare system and getting to the root cause of symptoms not putting bandaids on them.