10 reasons you can’t lose weight

The longer you have been over weight the more difficult it can be to lose unwanted body fat. The problem is in reality quite complex, as multiple factors interact to catch you in a cycle of weight gain. I don’t want to oversimplify it or trivialise the difficulties you may be experiencing. However, have a look at the lists below to see if you can identify something which will help you.

10 reasons you can’t lose weight:

1. You are an emotional eater
2. You skip meals and only eat one large meal a day
3. You have a sedentary job and don’t exercise
4. You engage in negative self talk
5. You don’t plan your food intake
6. You drink your calories in carbonated drinks, juices or fancy coffees
7. You eat energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods
8. You try diet after diet and your weight yo-yos up and down
9. Most of what you eat comes out of a packet
10.You are doing long sessions of cardio

If you want different results, you need to do something different. Here are some suggestions:

1. You need to reframe what food means to you – food is fuel for your body
2. You need to eat small frequent meals to boost your metabolism
3. You need to increase your activity level by doing something you enjoy
4. You need to speak encouragingly to yourself and use positive affirmations
5. You need to plan ahead to treat yourself to your favourite food or sweet treat
6. You need to drink mainly water
7. You need to substitute high GI foods like jasmine rice and white bread with low GI alternatives like basmati rice and multigrain bread
8. You need to adopt a lifestyle of eating Low GI foods
9. You need to observe the rule “if it grows – eat it, if it doesn’t grow – don’t eat it. Choose mainly fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein, legumes, nuts and whole grains.
10.You need to switch to high intensity exercise and add in some weight training

Other things you can do:

Take responsibility for yourself and your decisions by acknowledging that you have a choice. Realise that INTENTIONS equal RESULTS. If you are not getting any results, it could be that you have a hidden agenda which is sabotaging your efforts. Counselling may help. Strengthen your WHY so you can make good choices when temptation comes.

Make yourself accountable to someone for your results, reporting to them on a weekly basis. Focus on fat reduction, not weight loss – throw away the scales and get out the tape measure. Adopt a healthy lifestyle and the fat reduction will be a natural by-product.

If you are following all the suggestions above and still retaining excessive amounts of body fat, a visit to your GP is in order. You may be one of the small percentage of people who have a thyroid problem, liver problem or hormonal imbalance that interferes with your body’s normal functioning.

Be proactive in working for better health, you have the power to change – don’t accept the status quo.