The 2 Main Reasons You Can’t Lose Weight
One of my most COMMON complaints is from women who are eating well and exercising but still can’t lose weight. I have been here myself so I totally understand what you are going through!
In my own personal experience and from talking to many other women going through the same thing, these are the 2 main reasons you can’t lose weight.
You’re Not Being Honest With Yourself
When I first changed to a healthier lifestyle, I lost some weight. And then the weight loss stopped (everyone plateaus – it’s normal!). I was confused because I was eating great and exercising around 6 times per week. So I decided to keep a food diary.
WOW it was very informative. Looking back at it, I realised I was eating too much sugar, even if it was the healthy kind (i.e. fruit, dates, etc). Writing down EVERYTHING you eat can really help you figure out where you are going wrong. You might think you eat well, but keeping a mental note is not as helpful as writing it all down and reviewing it.
Keeping a food (and exercise) diary is your own way of staying accountable. Whenever I need a kick start, I keep a food and exercise diary. Please give it a go if you’re really having trouble losing weight! If you do and you find out that this is your issue, great! If not, please read on below.
RELATED POST: 6 UNEXPECTED REASONS WHY YOU CAN’T LOSE WEIGHT
Binge Eating
If you have issues with binge eating, it is almost 100% guaranteed that you won’t lose weight. Binge eating seriously affects your results.
A lot of women who binge eating usually eat really healthy (and also restrict themselves a lot), and then do the occasional binge. They wonder why they aren’t losing any weight and always tell me that they eat really healthy, but can’t figure out the problem. Binge eating is the problem.
I have binge ate in the past myself so I understand this issue. For me and a lot of other women, binge eating issues are caused by being too restrictive with diet and then obsessing over it.
Now, I don’t diet or cut certain foods out (I still eat chocolate and junk food!), and this really helps. Being able to eat “in moderation” after having binge eating issues is hard and takes work, but it can be done.
If you have issues with binge eating, please have a read of this blog post on how to overcome it.
If These Aren’t Your Problems
If you do actually eat really well, exercise regularly and don’t have any issues around binge eating, it is likely that there could be another reasons why you can’t lose weight. Please have a read of this blog post for some unexpected reasons that are causing this.
If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below :) xx
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Rachael is an Australian born certified personal trainer and nutritionist who holds a Bachelor degree in Science.
After struggling for years to find an exercise and diet program that is tailored to women striving for lean and toned body with no bulk she designed her Lean Legs Program. This program is tailored to each body type and focused on helping women get toned but feminine bodies, without getting bulky.
Her mission is to empower women and help them stay in shape in a healthy and balanced way.
Hi Rachael,
I sometimes have to work at night and, as a result, don’t get enough sleep. That in itself is an issue (increased hunger etc) but what would you recommend in terms of eating times? Should I eat at night? What should it be in terms of macros? Would it be an extra meal or rather instead of dinner/ breakfast? Also, I’m a pescatarian who avoids dairy and gluten, could I still do your 8 week plan?
Hi Sandra, eating times will be a bit tough. I think it would be a good idea to make set meal times for yourself and try to stick to it. So you might eat at say 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm and then midnight if you’re still at work or awake. I’m not sure exactly what times you work. Only you can really make this plan for yourself. But at night, I would eat a meal that has a combination of protein, fat and a small amount of carbs. I would probably make it a meal, depending on how hungry you are. My plan is gluten and dairy free. It does include meat but would be easy to swap out for alternatives and I could help you make some modifications xx
I totally relate with anything that you write.
I really need to admit, binge eating has been an issue for me for a couple of months, combined with skipping meals(eating only 1-2 times/day). It was awful. Now, after finally getting rid of binge eating, I just want to stick to a balanced diet.
Thanks for adding the food diary idea. I’ll give it a try these days.
You’re welcome. Good luck with everything! It sounds like you are almost back on track :) xxx