5 reasons you can't lose weight
By Martin Ebner
In 95% of weight loss cases, it’s as simple as consuming fewer calories than you expend. Sounds easy, right? Unfortunately, too many of us, despite our best efforts struggle to lose weight and then keep it off. If this sounds like you, you may well be committing one or more of these 5 common weight loss mistakes.
You consume too many liquid calories
Due to very intelligent marketing campaigns for seemingly "healthy beverages", too many of us are unknowingly consuming high levels of unnecessary calories in the form of sugary carbonated drinks, full-fat lattes, alcohol, and even fruit juices. Instead: Drink tea, water with lemon and if need be, diet sodas to satisfy your sweet tooth. By simply halving the number of calories you consume through a straw you could double your chances of successfully losing weight.
You don’t practice Portion Control
Do you know what a suggested portion size of pasta, cereal or rice looks like? If not, it could be time to pay more attention to the food scales and less to your stomach.
Spend a week or so measuring the individual ingredients of your meals to get a better idea of what a suggested portion size looks like. By doing so, you’ll drastically reduce your risk of overeating.
You’re Not Exercising Enough
The quickest and most effective way to lose weight is by combining diet with exercise. Consider this, to lose 1lb of weight per week, you need to create a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day or 3500 calories per week. By including exercise into your routine daily you: A. Improve your overall health, and B. reduce the pressure of relying solely on your diet.
Exercise doesn’t have to be all or nothing and there are plenty of easy ways to burn off a few calories without stepping foot in a gym. Why not walk or cycle to work, take the stairs instead of the elevator, clean the house or do some gardening? Remember, every calorie expended means you’re one step closer to reaching your ideal weight!
For added motivation and accountability, team up with a friend and workout together or employ the services of a personal trainer.
You Consuming Too Much Sugar
Sugar is the single most detrimental ingredient to your weight loss results. When you consume too much sugar in a single serving your body struggles to break that sugar down into usable energy. Any excess sugar your body can't quickly convert into usable energy then gets stored as fat.
To avoid unnecessary consumption of sugar, make sure to pay attention to food labels, and always opt for whole foods over processed where possible.
You Skip Meals regularly
As contradictory as it sounds, skipping meals is actually bad for weight loss. When you go too long between meals, your metabolism begins to slow down. Sure, a meal or two skipped here and there is no big deal but when it becomes a daily habit, your body adapts to this pattern and your metabolism becomes less efficient at burning calories. Instead of eating 1-2 giant meals a day, aim to eat little and often, aiming for 4-5 small meals per day.
