Many of our consumers are dissatisfied with their weight loss. They make every effort to avoid candies, sugary drinks, and soda, yet they still don’t receive the desired outcomes. It’s all too simple to become upset and want to give up.
While diet culture may have led you to believe that if you don’t stick to a specific diet or way of eating, losing weight is much more than just monitoring calories and exercising. This post will look at the most typical weight loss blunders that people make.
Starting to think of your weight loss as a journey and taking into account all aspects of your health – starting with eating healthy, nutrient-dense foods, getting regular exercise, getting at least 6-8 hours of quality sleep, supporting your mental health, and most importantly believing in yourself and your ability to lose weight and keep it off – requires a complete mental shift.
Top 5 Reasons Why You Can’t Lose Weight
1 Added Sugar
You may be trying to avoid sugary foods and are unaware that there is a lot of hidden sugar in many of the goods you see on shop shelves.
The American Heart Association recommends that males consume no more than 9 teaspoons (36 grammes or 150 calories) per day and women consume no more than 6 teaspoons (25 grammes or 100 calories).
Here are some examples of foods with added sugar that may jeopardise your weight loss efforts: Pasta sauce, salad dressings, condiments such as ketchup, yoghurt, cottage cheese, and a variety of snack snacks are also available.
For example, suppose you are late for work and don’t have time to prepare your breakfast. You go through a Starbucks drive-thru to get some coffee (Venti Caramel Macchiato with 42.1 grammes of sugar (approximately 11 teaspoons) or Venti Chai Tea Latte (52 grammes of sugar around 13 teaspoons) and then you get a cinnamon raisin bagel (11 grammes of sugar) or a blueberry muffin (20 grammes of sugar).
Let’s conduct a fast calculation:
- Starbucks Venti Caramel Macchiato has 42.1 g of sugar.
- Starbucks Blueberry Muffin has 20 g of sugar.
- Just for breakfast, you’ve had 42.1 + 20 = 62.1 grammes of sugar (14.8 teaspoons of sugar). You can see how it’s easy to consume too much sugar before lunch and ruin your weight loss efforts.
2 Eating a Large Meal Late at Night
We frequently see customers make this classic weight loss mistake of eating dinner late at night and making it the largest meal of the day. You should ideally eat a modest dinner about 5 or 6 p.m.
Anything that is not burned for fuel within three hours is stored as body fat. Furthermore, consuming highly processed, sugary meals will cause blood sugar difficulties, making it more difficult to shed and keep weight off.
We frequently adopt negative coping behaviours, such as eating a lot of salty and sugary snacks while watching TV. The simplest strategy to help address this poor behaviour is to stock your cabinet with nutritious snacks and eliminate sugary, salty, and highly processed snacks.
At night, it’s very easy to overeat and consume too many calories. If you’re still hungry after dinner, try a handful of berries or fresh veggies with a tablespoon or two of hummus to fulfil your evening desires.
If you’re having trouble sleeping because you’re stressed, try some mindfulness methods to help you manage your stress better. Find a mental health counsellor or a psychologist who can help you deal with unpleasant emotions if you discover that you are reacting with stress and anxiety by overeating. We all go through difficult periods in our life and may want additional assistance.
It’s also a good idea to go for a stroll after supper to get your body moving and burn some additional calories. You’ll also have more energy the next day and be able to sleep better.
Here are some terrific dinner options for the evening:
- Salad Soup accompanied by multigrain crackers or toast
- Smoothie
- Wrap made of whole grains and filled with chicken and vegetables
Read – Top 10 Best Juices for Weight Loss and Their Benefits
3 Mindsets for Weight Loss
Losing weight entails far more than simply watching calories and exercising. Your mindset is critical to reaching your health and fitness objectives.
A positive mental attitude is the foundation of optimal health. According to research, the thoughts and emotions we encounter on a regular basis impact our level of health and the quality of our lives to a considerable extent.
Life is filled of occurrences over which we have no control, but we do have complete control over how we respond to these experiences. Our attitude greatly influences how we see and respond to all of life’s problems. If we adopt a positive mental attitude rather than a negative one, we will all be lot happier, healthier, and more successful.
Another major weight loss blunder is our attitude. According to studies, those who have a negative attitude have poorer health, are more prone to anxiety and depression, require medical and mental health care more frequently, and have a slower loss in memory and brain function.
You will be able to attain your weight loss objectives more quickly if you develop an optimistic mindset. Here are some quotes to help you develop a positive attitude:
- “Today, I made the decision to be the most beautiful version of myself, both inside and out.” — Not known
- “I am tenacious and can overcome any obstacle.” — Not known
- “You will never improve your life unless you change something you do every day.” Your everyday regimen holds the key to your success.” — Sir John Maxwell
- “Be content with what you have while striving for what you desire.” Hellen Keller’s
- “Pay attention to the entire step in front of you, not the entire staircase.” — Not known
- “Failure does not exist. Either you win or you learn.” — Not known
- “Talk to yourself as if you were talking to someone you care about.” Brene Brown
- “We can choose between boldness and comfort, but we can’t have both.” “Not both at the same time.” Brene Brown
We always advise our clients to get out of the dieting mindset and quick fix diets and to adopt new healthier habits to assist them lose and keep the weight off. Here are some things to keep in mind while you strive to improve your mentality about weight loss:
- Strive for progress rather than perfection.
- Expect setbacks, but never give up.
- Maintain a gratitude notebook.
- Find a partner in accountability.
- Congratulations on your accomplishments.
4 Anxiety
Stress has an impact on all aspects of our health, including our weight loss. Chronic stress can cause blood sugar imbalances and elevated cortisol levels, which contribute to increased fat storage and damage your body’s resistance to weight reduction. This indirectly compensates for the following weight loss blunder that can occur.
We’ve all heard that it’s nearly difficult to escape stress in one’s life. Learning to quiet the mind and body is critical for stress reduction. Relaxation exercises are one of the simplest strategies for everyone to learn.
The primary purpose of relaxation techniques is to elicit a physiological response known as a relaxation response, which is the inverse of the stress response, which stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system.
During periods of rest, visualisation, relaxation, meditation, and sleep, the parasympathetic nervous system regulates body activities such as breathing, digestion, and heart rate.
Although the sympathetic nervous system is intended to protect us from danger, the parasympathetic nervous system is intended to repair, maintain, and heal our bodies.
When faced with stress, we frequently adopt undesirable coping strategies:
- Overeating
- Too much television and phone scrolling
- Overspending
- Excessive conduct
- Excessive emotional outbursts
- Sadness and a sense of helplessness
- Chemical dependency: drugs, alcohol, tobacco/nicotine
Adopting negative coping techniques, such as overeating, will frequently hinder our weight loss efforts.
Progressive relaxation is one of the most popular approaches for developing a relaxation response that I always teach my clients. Progressive relaxation teaches people how to relax by contrasting relaxation with muscle tension.
The basic strategy is to contract a muscle for a few seconds (one to two seconds) and then relax it. Continue the procedure by working through all of your body’s muscles, resulting in a deep state of relaxation.
You begin with your face and work your way down to your feet. The entire procedure is performed two or three times.
- Remember to set aside at least 10-30 minutes per day to practise mindfulness and de-stress.
- Daily walks, deep breathing, progressive relaxation, meditation, dancing, spending quality time with your family, reading a book, colouring, massage, deep breathing, yoga, and tai chi are all terrific methods to achieve it.
- Calm, Insight Timer, Headspace, and Inscape are some of my favourite meditation applications.
5 Causes of Inadequate Sleep for Weight Loss
Sleep is critical for our overall health and well-being. Sleep problems and sleep deprivation can have a negative impact on both mental and physical function.
Many health problems, particularly depression, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and chronic fatigue, are either fully or largely caused by a lack of sleep.
You should aim to sleep for at least 6-8 hours per night. According to the American Journal of Epidemiology, those who are sleep deprived are more prone to seek sugary foods and are at a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and cognitive loss.
A bad night’s sleep raises cortisol, one of your stress chemicals, and decreases the generation of your growth hormone. Your growth hormone has a significant impact on your metabolism.
Because insulin sensitivity occurs at night, a lack of sleep has an impact on it. During sleep, your body becomes more sensitive to insulin. For example, just one night of sleep deprivation reduces your ability to handle glucose by 40%, which can contribute to weight gain and blood sugar difficulties.
Sleep is also required for the generation of growth hormone. Growth hormone promotes lean body mass. It also aids in the burning of fat for fuel.
Growth hormone boosts bone mineral density, regulates blood sugar levels, regenerates the liver, and protects the body from ageing in general. This is just another reason why we must prioritise sleep in order to optimise our hormones.
Furthermore, sleep loss has an impact on hormone production (estrogen, progesterone and testosterone). According to studies, women require more sleep than men.
Here are some helpful sleep tips:
- Before going to bed, keep your bedroom cold and dark.
- Consume nutrient-dense foods to help with sleep and blood sugar control.
- Avoid screen time for at least 1-2 hours before going to bed.
- Spend 10-30 minutes outside first thing in the morning to reset your circadian cycle.
- Spend some time without screens when you get up to balance your blood sugar and obtain your ideal weight.
- Take a break in the afternoon.
- Take a social media break.
- Make sleep a priority.
- Active relaxation and meditation should be practised.
- Before going to bed, write down your concerns and to-do list.
- Take a bath with magnesium salts to unwind.
- Aim for at least 15-30 minutes of activity per day.
You will be able to attain your weight loss objectives faster if you start prioritising your sleep.
Conclusion
Weight loss is a journey, and losing weight and improving your metabolism takes time. Never give up! Continue forward!
Being hard on yourself causes worry in your body, which increases stress hormones like cortisol and can lead to food cravings and overeating. Accept your flaws and encourage yourself from a position of love.