Why I Am Not Losing Weight – 13 Hidden Reasons

Weight loss goal is often achieved through regular exercise and a balanced diet plan. However, the ideal formula for losing weight (exercise + diet plan) does not work for everyone. Your body sometimes fights back when you try to reduce a few pounds, even when you think I’m doing everything correctly. At that time, you might start wondering “Why I am not losing weight?”

Not experiencing effective weight loss could be because of numerous factors, including the way you are carrying your exercise routine, your dietary patterns, medications you are taking, consumption of more calories than you are burning out, etc. The article Why I am not losing weight is all about the reasons that can become a barrier to efficient weight loss. Let’s delve deep into the topic to figure out what’s keeping you away from your ideal weight;

Why I am not Losing Weight – Top 13 Reasons

1. Mindset – “All or Nothing”

You have eliminated all unhealthy items and processed foods, cheeses, various snacks, pastries, and dairy products. Primarily you have started living on fruits, vegetables, and chicken. At first glance, it looks perfect – as you are soon going to see the effective weight loss results. Here comes the pantry – some delicious milk chocolate, now after consuming it you think your dieting plan failed and you stop caring about healthy eating. This is the moment you put a movie on with XXL chips pack and s beer bottle.

Weight loss attempts in the above manner are quite destructive cycles that become more and more extreme. The mindset of all-or-nothing keeps you in a constant circle of losses and wins – keeping you constantly frustrated. You might observe people around you make fun of you for starving over four times a month and then eating as much as possible in a single go.

What You Can Do About It?

Set “more realistic goals” and try getting rid of negative thoughts of failure while starting your weight loss journey. Learn how to value yourself. In replacement of failure, think about the times you have achieved certain things in your life. Focus on your strengths and keep track of your diet and exercise. Most of all, keep one thing in mind losing weight is not a quick process, you’ll be facing failures before success.

2. Compensating Poor Diet with More Exercise

You have decided to lose a few pounds/kilos and joined a gym as your first step. There you sweat blood but after getting home you eat everything you get your hands on. You don’t close your eating window by eight in the evening, rather consume fast food or beer with your friends. You keep repeating this cycle all the time with minor changes only, and then you complain about why I am not losing weight.

For effective weight loss results a body must burn more calories than it consumes. Exercise alone cannot contribute enough if you follow a poor diet pattern. Generally, the combination of increased physical activity and lower calorie intake works efficiently. However, some other factors also affect your weight loss journey such as the timing of your eating window, portion size, medical history, etc.

What You Can Do About It?

Do not rush for anything, try to incorporate things properly before setting out for a journey to a better body. First of all, set a realistic, timely, and measurable goal, for instance, lose 3 kg in 45 days. Choose a suitable training plan, that you can utilize at home too and your sleep should be under control. Lastly, follow a diet pattern with less calorie intake than you are burning out. Counting your calories is one of the most effective weight loss methods. You can either get help from a nutritionist or can do it yourself with little effort.

3. Miscalculating Calories

You are trying to control your calories but are miscalculating. Even if you are fully aware of the technique, you probably don’t pay attention to calorie counting. Sometimes you ignore drinks, you miss something here and there, you forget something, any fluctuation, and the problem is born.

Miscalculating calories can be an answer to why I am not losing weight. The problem occurs when you write down your calorie count later on – you can misjudge and write down the wrong portion size than you actually had. Caloric deficits require accurate values that cannot be achieved without utilizing a kitchen scale. Even, you cannot perfectly estimate the amount.

What You Can Do About It?

For calorie counting, you need to be more punctual. Try to take down notes for everything you eat/drink, and write in advance or instantly after you have consumed something. This way you can avoid forgetting anything you have consumed. At the start, it’s difficult to exactly estimate the calories but with time, your estimate will improve as per your understanding about diet.

You can also use fitness apps with calorie records or a kitchen scale to weigh your meal portions. Weighing food in the raw state is the most accurate way to calculate the exact energy level. Keep one thing in consideration, calorie deficit does not allow cheat days. Do not ignore drinks as their ingredients contain numerous calories.

How Much Should I Eat? Quantity and Quality

If you want to know more about calories and how much your body needs them as per your age, sex, health, etc. go through this article. You can understand the calorie consumption through the tables mentioned in it – to better understand how and what you should be in a healthy meal.

4. Insufficient Protein Intake

You might think your goal is weight loss, so there is no need to consider protein intake important. You suffer an unbearable hunger feeling during your diet, and your weight loss is quite slow – increasing suspicion as to why I am not losing weight. The reason may be the fact you are neglecting your protein requirements. The most important thing to gain muscles is “your protein intake”.

Proteins are crucial for cell regeneration and growth. Besides, they protect muscles from breaking down, which is quite needed specifically when you are on a diet. Among three macronutrients – proteins are highly saturated – helping to reduce the level of hunger you have while dieting. This fact is proved through various studies, one of them was a 12-week study that showed people with a 30% protein intake of their total calories per day – lost 5 kg as they consumed 441 less calories every day.  

What You Can Do About It?

Protein intake general recommendations are 0.8 g per kilogram of your body weight. Though, it is a minimum value for those living a sedentary lifestyle. People who are more active need 1.2 to 2.2 g/kg value because their physical activity demands high protein intake. To specify the protein value for yourself, first consider several factors, like your lifestyle, physical activity, age, etc.

Preferably, each diet meal should contain a protein portion. Add more eggs, meat/plant-based meat alternatives (if you are vegan), legumes, dairy products, and fish – the best protein sources. Supplementation can boost your protein intake through quality vegetables, whey, multi-component protein, etc.

5. Misjudging Weight Loss Progress

Your weight loss enthusiasm is evident – you have started healthy diet patterns without missing a single day of exercise. However, still there are similar results on the weighing scale even after numerous struggling days have passed. You might be feeling disappointed and thinking why I am not losing weight after struggling enough?

You need to realize it’s quite a common situation – body weight is likely to fluctuate by several kilograms. For instance, it depends on age, diet, hydration, sleep, medical condition, and several other factors. Hormones are usually overlooked, but they have a major role in the quantity of water your body retains, specifically in women. You can start gaining muscles while losing weight, this can happen if you have recently started exercising.

What You Can Do About It?

Always try to weigh at the same time of the day and under the same conditions – preferably morning time. the fact is the scale does not know it all, you need more indicators to measure continuous progress. For instance, measuring tape can be a good choice to keep tracking your small transformation. Take the measurements of the chest, arms, waist, thighs, and hips to check the circumference of the whole body. Take down the notes every time you measure through the tape and then compare them all later. This way you can get a better measurement of where you need to lose fat.

6. Not Exercising Hard Enough

You are exercising regularly while paying attention to your calorie count, but again and again – striking the question of why I am not losing weight. The problem is your way of carrying out this routine – like in the gym you are giving more time to pictures in front of the mirror. When you finally get towards exercise – you are low on mental energy and don’t really want to continue. You do fewer series to look like you didn’t waste time and you go home. It’s obvious, that such training is not going to work for effective weight loss.

A recent study concluded that for effective weight loss, 225-420 minutes of physical moderate-intensity activity is required every week. The upper limit of this research suggests exactly one hour of activity every day. Most importantly, you need to maintain this activity on a regular basis for a healthy and fit body.  

What You Can Do About It?

Aerobic and anaerobic are the two prominent types of exercise. In the first case, it is constant training – where large muscle groups like legs and arms are used. Aerobic helps in faster and more stable breathing by improving oxygen circulation – for instance, cycling or running. The second one involves explosive short but intense activities – for instance weight strength training, sprints, etc. During anaerobic workouts, the body primarily uses energy stored in muscles as the oxygen consumption level is higher than its supply.

For best weight loss results, you can try to incorporate a combination of both aerobic and anaerobic training.

7. Lacking Natural Movement All the Day

It’s evident that your effort to lose weight is not going to work without exercise. That’s why you try to manage to complete your training thrice a week – but still facing the question of why I am not losing weight. Here the answer is simple, you are not leaving your sedentary lifestyle. You feel like doing exercise for an hour is perfect and then you keep resting with your feet on a table. Then you look towards a friend who does not even work out but is more fit and slim than you. Have you ever heard about the power of natural movement?

There are non-exercise activities that burn calories through routine activities all along the day. Let’s say, you are burning 400 kcal through each workout from your thrice-a-week workout format. Then there is a person who naturally moves a lot every day – he walks more, runs up the stairs, carries heavy shopping bags, etc. It may seem simple but burns a lot more calories than your workout.

What You Can Do About It?

Think about your daily routine carefully, and try adding more natural activity to it. The easiest way of all is to walk more to expand your energy level. Plan an isolated twenty-minute walk, do not avoid stairs, or park away from your destination. Set a goal, and try to reach a specific number of steps every day – You can use your smartphone or smartwatch pedometer for help. You can also replace your sitting time with more standing options. Remember, housework can be a great help in burning calories regularly.

8. Not Paying Attention to Liquid Calories

To avoid extra calorie intake, you eat a healthy lunch but with a soda drink like Coke – sometimes smoothies, wine, beer, or even hard alcohol. Particularly in summer, refreshing drinks seem very tempting – but in actuality, they are bursting with calories. This can be an answer to your question about why I am not losing weight.

Sweetened beverages are liquid calories, and mostly they don’t have any health benefits. For instance, a can of Coke hides 10 sugar cubes approximately 142 kcal. Consumption of sweetened drinks adds up to your calorie count – but these calories do not feel as full as they can in the form of solid food. Studies suggest you cannot compensate for high-calorie sugary drinks by consuming less solid food.

What You Can Do About It?

Generally, drinking pure or carbonated mineral water is best. If you don’t like the taste of plain water, you can add flavor to it in numerous ways, without ingesting a large number of calories. A simple solution is to add a lemon, ice, or mint during hot days. Flavored powder or tea with a minimum calorie count can also be used to add extra flavor. Other than this, you can take RTD or ion supply drinks to supplement the ions lost through sweating.

9. Spinning in the Circle of Absurd Diets

You have started a new diet you searched for – to get your dreamy body. You are following the motto and keeping it perfect but even after two weeks of constant struggle it’s not working. A similar thing happened with your previous diet plan as well. Now after half a year, you are counting its more diet attempts than the kilos you have lost. And you are striking the same question again Why I am not losing weight?

The fact is diets alone cannot result in an effective weight loss. They work but are not sustainable for a longer time. the diet simply eliminates a single or multiple groups of foods from your meals leading to a brutal deficit. As a result, you lose weight rapidly which goes easily and comes easily too. Spinning in a circle of various diet plans does not help in losing prominent kilos in fact it can add a few. Also, sooner or later you are going to get frustrated by spending your money and time over such a waste.

What You Can Do About It?

While trying to lose weight, focus more on sustainable long-term ways of eating. First of all, there cannot be a constant struggle and you can keep following these diet plans for months without specific changes. The successful methods are complex diets that can easily become a part of your lifestyle. Maintain healthy eating habits, and add more proteins, vegetables, and fruits to your diet chart. Also, try to reduce salt, sugar, and fat content while paying attention to your portion size.

10. Losing Control Over Weekend

You are exercising regularly while keeping your calories under control – still facing the question of why I am not losing weight. Have you checked your weekend eating and working habits? After having a couple of chocolate bars or after treating yourself to fast food on the weekend – you pretend like nothing happened. Or maybe you are thinking once a week you can have anything without restrictions. Before continuing, you should know that this way all your efforts to lose weight are for nothing.

Cheat meals can be a part of the diet but they should be planned – a small portion of your choice food but calorically calculated. This procedure can only be incorporated when you are strictly following your diet plan. Particularly, this can be applied as a cheat meal – one or several small meals throughout your selected day. Cheat meals strictly depend on your goals and preferences – without specific universal patterns – usually once or twice a week.

What You Can Do About It?

Above all, learn to forgive yourself – do not blame yourself for everything. Everyone has weaker days but the important point is how quickly you get back on track. If you recently have started losing weight – it is better not to immediately think of a cheat meal/day. At first, you need to check and maintain your progress – although occasional treats can be added with caloric count. Do not forget, that skipping meals cannot reverse your cheating – the method seems tempting but is only an addition to hunger.

11. Not Having Enough Support

It requires a lot of determination and courage to take the first step toward a healthy lifestyle. Your decision is clear but your friends and family are making fun of you – their intentions are clear that they do not trust you. With the passage of time, you start believing that you are not capable of losing weight, and your journey ends.

It may sound silly but people do make fun of doing workouts and eating healthy. Especially, where these things are not common and those who never consider a healthy lifestyle for themselves. The fact is – losing a few kilograms is not simple and people ridicule around makes the journey even more difficult.

What You Can Do About It?

If you find a lack of sufficient support around – try to talk with your friends and family openly. Explain your situation – explain what this is about and how serious you are about your health and want them to understand it. If this doesn’t work, then remind yourself – you are losing weight for your well-being, not for others. Don’t let negative comments influence your efforts. Reject unhealthy foods and activities if someone offers – stick to your motivation. Start with short-term goals, try connecting to a person with similar goals, and keep tracking your progress.

12. Sleep is an Unnecessary Luxury

In this modern busy world, you might have heard a lot about this common phrase. In fact, sleep is one of the few important health factors that are often overlooked. You are probably postponing sleep too – this can be a reason you are facing the question of why I am not losing weight. After school or office, you have a specific schedule to follow and you are always trying to catch up on various hobbies like meeting friends.

It’s easy to forget about the time when you are watching your favorite show in the evening. After that, the morning alarm clock is like a curse that you snooze more than three times. No matter how interesting this routine is for you Whether – it is directly affecting your efforts of losing weight. Studies suggest poor sleeping schedule increases the risk of diabetes, obesity, etc. Moreover, lack of sleep reduces your leptin levels – resulting in increased appetite for caloric foods like sweets.

What You Can Do About It?

The most prominent recommendation according to studies is 7 to 9 hours of sleep – though everyone has different requirements. Therefore, if you don’t feel energetic/fresh in the morning and need coffee to get started – it’s time to do something about it. Generally, lack of sleep means you are taking less than 6 hours of sleep every night. According to the CDC, a person should not sleep less than 7 hours every night. You can try creating a peaceful environment at home quiet, cool, and dark – avoid caffeine when it’s late. Most importantly, avoid blue light emanating from your laptop or smartphone display – it causes great sleep issues.

13. Health Issues

Every aspect of your weight loss journey is going smoothly – you are managing caloric count and exercising regularly. But the problem is – the number on the scale is not moving in the expected direction. Your efforts are flawless, it’s hard to answer why I am not losing weight. Have you taken the health issues into account?

Health problems sometimes lead to weight gain – or make it tough for you to lose a few kilograms. A few of those health problems are:

• PCOs (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome)
• Certain types of medicines and drugs
• Hypothyroidism
• Sleep apnea
• Chronic stress

The latter condition triggers cortisol hormone release – affecting numerous processes throughout your body. Chronic stress alongside sadness and anxiety constantly increases its level – leading to increased blood pressure, belly weight, and weakened immunity.

What You Can Do About It?

If you have these or any other medical conditions that are preventing weight loss – talk to your doctor to get other effective options. Other than this, keep yourself checked with preventive examinations or check-ups on a regular basis. Explain everything to your doctor – follow the treatments and take your medications regularly, to avoid serious circumstances. This way you can make yourself healthy while managing diseases.

In a nutshell, efforts to lose weight can be accompanied by versatile obstacles. However, if you have made up your mind – just don’t give up as each problem has a solution – just an accurate approach is required. Keep a formula in mind – caloric deficit with an effective amount of physical activity. Do not try to measure your progress only through a weighing scale – ban unhealthy junk and avoid drastic diets. Try to create your ideal path – it should be healthy and sustainable.

Frequently Asked Questions