You’ve made some great changes to your diet and started a good exercise program, but you’re not dropping pounds. Or you’ve been able to lose a little bit of weight, but it seems like you always regain it back. Then you wonder, “Why am I not losing weight?”
There may be a few reasons why.
1. Working out Too Much
When you work out too much, you can tax (đè nặng lên) your central nervous system (hệ thần kinh trung ương). You put your body into a situation where it’s constantly being stressed and releasing stress hormones. Overtraining can lead to injuries, muscle tears, and strains (căng cơ). It also can weaken your immune system (hệ thống miễn dịch) and make you more prone to sickness (dễ mắc bệnh hơn). You want to avoid this overtraining syndrome (hội chứng tập luyện quá sức) to be able to keep losing weight. When your stress hormones are up, it’s more difficult to lose weight, as your body wants to preserve what it has. Therefore, exercise regularly, but allow yourself time to rest and recover to improve your fitness and weight loss.
2. Not Getting Enough Sleep
If you are not getting adequate sleep (ngủ đủ giấc), you can create this same overtraining syndrome in your body. If you’re experiencing a lack of sleep, your body starts to think there is some sort of trauma (tổn thương) happening. This can lead to a lot of (sự viêm sưng) in the body and may be at the core of a lot of bad diseases. Along with that, these stress hormones also make weight loss very difficult, and your metabolism (sự trao đổi chất) also starts to slow. Studies show that sleep deprivation (thiếu ngủ) can lead to weight gain due to increased food intake. If your body doesn’t receive energy from sleep, it will look elsewhere (food) in order to make up for the lack.
3. Not Eating Enough
This may seem confusing, as if you’re eating less, surely you should be losing weight, right?
When you don’t eat enough, your metabolism slows down as your body doesn’t want to waste what it has. Everything becomes about conservation at this point, and losing weight is not going to be top on your body’s priority list. Add to this overtraining in the gym, and it can really stall your weight loss. Allow yourself to be fed and nourished (được bồi bổ) with healthy foods. Your body needs consistent fuel in order to function properly and lose weight in the long term.
4. Not Building Muscle
We’re not talking giant bodybuilder muscle here, but good, lean muscle can be part of what helps you lose weight. First off, just the act of having to build the muscle through strength training is going to take a full-body effort. This burns a lot of calories, which will help in weight loss. Also, the style of training that helps to build muscle is going to put your body into a better state hormone-wise (trạng thái tiết hóc môn hợp lý). Your body will be able to burn calories long after your workout is done. Your metabolism will now be higher and losing weight will be more achievable.
5. Not Eating Enough Protein
You probably hear about protein all the time, and its main goal is not just to build muscle mass.
Protein is important for so many different functions in the body, from building hormones to regulating tissues and organs in the body. Protein also has a thermogenic effect (hiệu ứng sinh nhiệt), meaning that it takes calories just to eat and digest it. This act of muscle protein synthesis can be a big calorie burner in the body. Protein can also be good at holding off cravings (cơn thèm ăn) and can keep blood sugar more stable. This way, you won’t get those big peaks and drops that can lead you to crave more carbs and possibly gaining more weight.
6. Eating Too Much
If you’ve been serious about losing weight, you’re probably more aware of your food portions and calorie intake. Calorie counting is not as simple as it may seem, as not all calories are created equal. However, it’s still important to be aware of how much you’re eating, even if you’re eating healthy, as you may be surprised by how many calories you’re taking in without knowing it. To lose weight, it’s important to stop drinking your calories. These are fast-acting calories that don’t fill you up and can make you want to eat more. This is going to make weight loss difficult, so do yourself a favor and stick to water.
7. Eating Too Many Carbs
You may be sick of hearing about everything to do with carbs, but if you find yourself asking, “Why am I not losing weight?”, you need to be aware of them because the majority of the carbohydrates we’re exposed to are not needed at all. Keeping things lower carb can have positive effects on triglyceride levels (mức độ chất béo trung tính) and cholesterol, along with controlling blood sugar and losing weight. Carbs based around your workout can still be great for energy but look to the best choices.
Credit: Lifehack
