Why You Arent Losing Weight One reason you may not be losing weight despite diet and exercise is that the exercise and diet plan itself is at fault. Keeping a food diary for a week can often reveal undetected diet busters: a latte here, happy hour drinks there. Perhaps youre taking in more calories than you realize or you are not exercising consistently or strenuously enough. According the British Journal of Sports Medicine, some people may exercise regularly but are otherwise sedentary in their everyday lives. On the other hand, it is important to allow muscle tissue to repair itself between workouts. Otherwise, muscles may progressively become smaller, leading to a decrease in metabolism. Stress may also be a factor in failure to lose weight. Stress triggers the production of cortisol, a hormone implicated in fat around the midsection. Additionally, cortisol also drives your appetite, especially for things that are sweet, fatty and comforting, according to Shawn M. Talbott, Ph.D., author of The Cortisol Connection. Chronic lack of sleep may also contribute to a failure to lose weight. Research at the University of Chicago found that sleep deprivation can lead to insulin resistance and a decrease in leptin, a hormone which influences a feeling of satiety, or fullness. The effects of lack of sleep have been shown to appear after just five days of four hours of sleep or less per night, according to Eve Van Cauter, Ph.D., a researcher at the University of Chicago. Shorter daylight hours may also induce increased calorie consumption. Raymond W. Lam, M.D., professor of psychiatry at the University of British Columbia, states that less exposure to daylight may decrease the levels of serotonin and dopamine, leading to cravings for carbohydrates and sweets. Taking a 15- to 20-minute walk during midday may help counteract this effect. A hidden health problem may also be the culprit in preventing weight loss. Thyroid disease is a widely recognized cause of weight gain due to a decrease in metabolism. Some medications also have weight gain as a side effect, including contraceptives, some antidepressants and diabetes medications. You should seek the advice of a physician to rule out medical causes for failure to lose weight. Another consideration is that your weight loss goals may be unrealistic. If your weight and body mass index (BMI) are within a healthy weight range, you may not need to lose weight. You may also have a genetic tendency to gain and retain weight, according to Martica Heaner, M.A., M.Ed, author of Cross-Training for Dummies. However, there is no reason to abandon a healthy eating and exercise plan, even if the ultimate goal is not to lose weight.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 03:58:37 +0000
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