|
|
Top 10 Reasons You're not Losing Weight
This article is keeping in mind constant questions raised by
women as to why they are not able to lose weight.
More and more women fail to understand that they have to work hard if they
want to change the shape
of their body. That means a balance of medium-high
intensity
cardio exercise
along with challenging
strength training
workouts.
 Exercise Input
In order to lose weight,
you need to get workout for at least 5-6 days a week at 60-70% of
heart
rate for 30-45 min. Start slow and work your way up but, if you're in good
condition and have no restrictions, challenging yourself with harder workouts is
the best way to burn more calories. Introduce interval training in order to burn
calories even after you've stopped exercising.
In addition to your cardio workouts, you'll need to lift weights for all your
muscle groups at least 2 non-consecutive days a week. And, by lifting weights,
that means using enough weight that you can only complete the desired number of
reps. For example, if you're doing 12 bicep curls, you need to use enough weight
that you can only do 12 bicep curls and not one more.
 Overeating
 This may seem obvious, but unless you're tracking your
calories each day, you may be
eating more than you think.
High-fat, high-sugar
foods light up the brain’s dopamine pathway just like cocaine does, making us
slaves to overwhelming cravings.
If you're really serious about losing weight, you need to get serious about
you're eating. Start by keeping a detailed food journal for one week, without
changing any of your eating
habits. Be as specific as possible, measuring when you can, looking up your
calorie and
nutrient content and adding up your calories for each day. You'll be
surprised how those calories can sneak in when you're not keeping track.
Another thing you need to keep in mind is your
metabolism can
drop as you get older if you don't preserve your
muscle mass. Muscle mass
declines about 4% each decade from age 25 to 50. If you're still eating the same
number of calories as your metabolism drops, your
weight may creep up over
time. Start exercising and lifting weights now to keep your metabolism in check.
 Sleep Deprivation
 Lack of sleep can
contribute to weight gain. Not sleeping enough seems to be associated with
metabolic changes that can lead to overeating and
obesity. Studies where sleep
restriction in the laboratory was done, subjects tended to have metabolic
changes and alterations of glucose metabolism that might lead to their
becoming obese in the future. Sleeping too little can also contribute to
weight gain by putting undue stress on the body. The body sees sleep
deprivation as a state of stress; cortisol is the stress hormone. Cortisol
causes, in turn, the release of insulin and insulin is a storage hormone that
promotes fat storage.
Getting enough sleep is crucial if you're trying to lose weight, not just
because of how it affects you physically, but mentally as well. Sleep
deprivation makes you cranky, confused and can even make you feel depressed or
angry.
 Stress
 Stress and weight gain (or lack of weight loss) go hand in hand. Though
you may not be aware of it, being under constant stress can increase
production of the hormone cortisol
which can cause an increase in appetite as well as extra fat storage
around the abdominal region--a big no-no since abdominal fat is linked
to diabetes, high cholesterol and other health problems.
Dealing with stress can be as simple as taking a few minutes a day to
relax,
scheduling a
massage as often as you can or cutting down on work hours and
increasing play time.
 Lack of Consistency
For
exercise to work, you have to do it on a regular basis. Once your body
adapts to your program, you then need to change it to keep your body
challenged. If you skip too many workouts, it's almost like starting all
over every time.
Find a program you enjoy and that fits in with your lifestyle, goals
and needs. That means being realistic about what you'll really
accomplish each week rather than going by what you think you should be
doing.
 Overindulgence
To lose one pound of fat in one week, you would need to cut 500
calories with diet and exercise for 7 days. If you follow that for 5
days, then eat way over your limit for two more days, you're taking two
steps forward and one step back. The trick is to plan your indulgences
so that you can have some fun while staying on track with your weight
loss goals.
 Rest
 We
are always being told to exercise more in order to lose weight, after
all the more regular we workout the more calories and fat we burn. So it
may seem weird to discuss the importance of gaining plenty of rest
between exercise sessions.
When we
exercise our muscles breakdown, tiny fragments of
protein within
the muscle cells shatter. The more we exercise during a workout the
greater the muscle catabolism (degradation); it’s one of the reasons why
we actually become weaker as we progress through a particular routine.
How quickly muscles degrade also depends on the strength of the
individual and the intensity of the exercise. Obviously the stronger and
fitter the person the slower the rate of breakdown, also the more effort
we put into an exercise the faster the rate of muscle catabolism, it’s
the reason why we can all walk a hell of a lot further than we can run!
After any workout
routine the muscles need to replace all elements lost, both proteins and energy
stores need replacing for muscles to make a full recovery. But if muscles are
not given enough time to recover fully before another workout is repeated then
the muscles progressively become smaller. What this could mean for weight loss
is a gradual decline in lean tissue, thus lowering the metabolism over the
course of a few weeks.
 You have a medical condition
 Some medical conditions and medications can contribute to weight gain.
While not everyone will find this to be true, it's important to explore
every avenue if you're genuinely following an exercise program and a
clean diet and still not losing weight.
One condition known to affect weight is
thyroid disease. A thyroid deficiency can cause a decrease in
metabolism and may lead to weight gain.
Besides, there are number of drugs that may have weight gain as a side effect for
some people. Some common ones include hormonal medications for birth control or
menopause, oral steroids, some anti-depressants, diabetes medications and
anti-psychotic medications. You should get a diagnosis from a professional in order to determine whether
your weight problems are medically-related.
 You've hit a plateau
Virtually everyone who works out with weights will, at one time or another,
reach a training plateau. When this happens, each trip to the gym, In fact
every workout feels like you're reliving Groundhog Day. One workout just melds
into the next and you begin to wonder if you'll ever again make any gains. If
your workout has hit a snag, don't despair. By implementing the strategies
indicated at
Blasting Through Training Plateaus , you can take your physique to new
heights.
 You don't need to lose weight
Despite what you hear on the news or read in popular magazines, not all
of us need to lose weight. In fact, many of us have unrealistic ideas of
what a healthy weight and body shape is. We all have different shapes
and, though we can make changes to our bodies, we can only improve on
the bodies we have--not turn them into someone else's body.
Is your BMI in an unhealthy range? Are you within your
ideal weight range? If you're at risk, losing weight may be
important for staying healthy. But, if you're very close to your goal
and can't seem to get rid of those last few pounds, ask yourself if you
really need to lose them. Would it be possible to be happy at your
current weight?
Related Links
|
|
|
|
|
