10 Proven Reasons Why You Aren't Losing Weight

I’m sure we’ve all done this.

Eating what we think is healthy (like the food in the pic), exercising, and counting calories to lose weight, but the weight doesn’t come off. I know it’s frustrating to be doing the work but not seeing the results you want.

And maybe you’ve started feeling a little depressed about not losing weight. Because it’s not just about the numbers on the scale but about wanting to feel good in your own skin. You know you’re trying to lose weight, but it’s hard not to feel down when you don’t see any changes.

Then you look around and see other people making progress in their weight loss journeys and you’re like, “Why can’t that be me?” You blame yourself for not doing enough to lose the weight. But don’t. You just want to catch a break and see some progress for once, and that’s okay.

10 bad habits keeping you from losing weight

Here’s some commonly overlooked habits not to do when trying to lose weight. Are you doing any of these?

1. Overeating Healthy Foods

So, you might be making healthier food choices, but how much healthy food are you eating? Is it too much? Just because it’s good for you doesn’t mean you can eat as much as you want and still lose weight.

Are you paying attention to how much you’re eating or just saying to yourself, “Hey, it’s healthy so it’s cool. I can eat it?” Foods like nuts, nut butters, chocolate, sweet potatoes, eggs, baked potatoes, yogurt, salad toppings, bagels, avocados, olive oil, coconut oil, and lean meats are high in calories and fat and can cause weight gain.

The Fix: Start measuring your food. A food scale or measuring cups will help you with portion control. You don’t have to do this all the time, just until you learn what healthy portions look like. Making meat a side dish rather than a main entrée is also a good idea.

2. Not Getting Enough Sleep

How’s your sleep hygiene? Not sleeping enough can cause a hormone imbalance. This can make you feel hungrier, so of course you eat more. Plus, when you’re tired, your body doesn’t burn calories like it should.

The Fix: Try to get 7–9 hours of sleep a night. Keep a regular sleep schedule, even on weekends. Did you ever think your sleep habits could be affecting your weight loss?

3. Not Managing Stress

When you’re stressed out your cortisol levels go up. This hormone can make you store fat, especially around your belly. Have you noticed that when life gets crazy, your waistline seems to expand?

The Fix: Find ways to relax, whether it’s by meditating, deep breathing, working out, or just doing something calming. How do you handle stress right now? Managing stress can help with your weight loss.

4. Drinking Your Calories

Ever think about what you’re drinking? Coffee with sugar, sweet tea, juice, soy milk, alcohol, or even those “healthy” smoothies can add extra calories to your diet. And you probably don’t even realize it. Drinks don’t fill you up like food, so it’s easy to overdo it.

The Fix: Stick mostly to water, black coffee, or unsweetened tea. If you do smoothies, make sure they include protein and fiber. Also don’t forget to track those calories. Do you usually keep track of what you drink, or just what you eat?

5. Not Strength Training

First of all, do you include working out in your weight loss plan? If not, you should if you’re serious about losing weight. If so, what do your workouts look like? Are you only doing cardio? Cardio is necessary but lifting weights or doing bodyweight exercises builds muscle, which helps you burn more calories.

The Fix: Get some strength training into your routine. This doesn’t have to be weightlifting. You can do resistance exercises. I use resistance bands, do isometrics, and practice Pilates. You can fit some of this in at least three days a week to help with your weight loss.

6. Underestimating Your Calorie Intake

Do you ever think you’re eating less than you actually are? It happens. It’s easy to forget to count snacks, sauces, condiments, or little bites here and there. But it all adds up.

The Fix: Start tracking what you eat, even the small stuff, by using an app or writing it down. Keeping up with how many calories you consume daily will make it easier to stay under the minimum for weight loss. You need to be in a deficit of 3,500 calories a week to lose one pound in a week (at least for the short term).

7. Not Taking Care of Your Gut Health

If you’re having trouble losing weight, your gut might be part of the problem. If you’re feeling bloated, constipated, or having other digestive issues, you probably have an unhealthy gut.

The Fix: Eat more fiber-rich foods like fruits, veggies, and whole grains. It’s also good to add probiotics to your diet. If your gut is out of balance, it can cause a slow metabolism, which makes it harder to lose weight.

8. Doing Extreme Dieting

Are you cutting out whole food groups or barely eating anything? Extreme diets might seem like they work, but they can lead to binge eating when you can’t take how restricting they are anymore. These diets can also lead to dangerous health issues.

The Fix: Find a way of eating that doesn’t leave you feeling deprived. And it’s important to remember that you didn’t gain the weight overnight, so don’t think you have to try and lose it all at once. Have you ever felt like your diet was way too strict and it backfired on you?

9. Not Moving Enough

This is not just about working out 2 or 3 times a week. Although that is good, it doesn’t mean you should sit around on non-workout days. Sitting too long slows your metabolism down which, as mentioned, can keep you from losing weight.

The Fix: Keep it moving. Stand up, walk, walk-in-place, stretch, dance, and do anything else to keep your body active throughout the day. Do you think you could be moving more throughout the day?

10. Not Being Consistent

How often do you stick to your healthy habits? Do you think consistency could be the thing holding you back? For example, are you on point during the week but let everything slide on the weekends? It might be enough to slow down your progress.

The Fix: Find a routine you can stick to and give yourself small rewards here and there to keep a positive perspective about your weight loss goals. You don’t have to be perfect. As long as you remain consistent, you should see results.

The Takeaway

Losing weight is hard! This is for sure. But it is not impossible. And, it’s not just about looks but it’s also about health. Many diseases can be prevented and even reversed with weight loss. So, what’s standing out to you? How many of these habits do you think might be the reason for your weight loss struggles? What’s been the hardest part for you when it comes to losing weight?

Note: Although the information in this story has been sourced from reputable resources and personal experience, I am not a medical professional. Please consult your physician before trying anything mentioned here.

End of story.

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