14 DAY TRIAL // Say you just decided recently that time was right you changed your lifestyle and lost some weight or got in a better shape. You’re eating healthy now, work out on a regular basis and stay away from all sorts of temptations, yet, for some reason or another, the scales refuse to go down below a certain threshold, which means you’re not really losing weight even if it feels that way to you. As FitSugar points out, there are five reasons why this might be happening.
For starters, you must pay very close attention to what you eat. Working out burns calories, so it’s only natural that you feel hungrier after going to the gym, but that is not to say you’re to indulge just because you’ve spent the last hour or so sweating away. Most people feel the need to reward themselves after working out, research has shown, but you must be careful that your post-gym snack doesn’t pack more than 200 calories. The idea to losing weight with exercise is to even the scales, so to speak, by making sure you don’t ingest more calories than you burn in the gym.
Overindulging in healthy foods may be another reason why the pounds seem to not want to come off. “Yes, a bowl of granola is healthier than a bowl of Fruit Loops, but just because a food is healthy doesn’t mean it’s calorie-free. Be aware of your calorie intake and portion sizes. It may help to measure out your food for a while to make sure you’re eating the appropriate amount of calories per day.” FitSugar recommends.
The third reason for why you’re not losing weight is that you’re not doing the right type of exercise. Learn to choose your routine depending on your needs, the fitness-oriented publication advises: what this actually means is that you’re not to expect a massive weight loss with Pilates or yoga, because the fact is that they’re not big calorie burners. Before starting a routine, make sure you know what its benefits are and whether they are in accordance to your goals. If you’re looking to improve flexibility and tone the muscles in a not-quite-so-obvious way, then yoga and Pilates are just right for you, for instance.
You’re not losing weight: this can also mean you’re building muscle. “Muscle doesn’t weigh more than fat, it’s just more dense and not as bulky and lumpy as fat. That means a pound of muscle takes up less room than a pound of fat. So by increasing your cardio workouts, you’re probably gaining muscle and decreasing your overall body fat. Although the numbers on the scale may rise, you can tell you’re becoming more lean and toned by how you look in the mirror or by the way your clothes fit.” FitSugar points out.
Last but not least, it could be that you’re not losing weight because of the beverages you drink to hydrate during and after a workout. In order to avoid this, make sure you read the labels carefully and choose only those drinks that do not add too much to your daily intake of calories. Stick with plain water to keep hydrated and burn fat efficiently, experts urge.