I wrote an email for my subscribers the other day called “White Noise”.
It went beyond just the fitness industry, but when I think about the title of this article “White Noise” is the first thing I think of.
White Noise is that annoying static sound in the background of your TV or the frequency that you can barely hear, but it’s an obnoxiously distracting sound.
But in life, it’s the clutter, opinions, fears, doubts, and judgments of other people and things in the background of your life.
They will not help you reach the goal, yet they are so damn hard to ignore and they follow you everywhere you go.
And when we think of Losing Weight, Gaining Muscle, The Best Diet, or anything else in the fitness and nutrition industry, there is a ton of White Noise we hear trying to pull us in every direction (usually marketing schemes from brands).
But the truth is this whole “Losing Weight” thing, is really not that complicated. It may be difficult to implement and consistently stick to, but the steps and procedures are actually pretty simple.
It takes a smart training program, a nutrition plan made for your life, and consistency.
Maybe you’re already doing that? Or did that and hit a plateau? Or just tweak things to push a little faster?
That’s what this article will do for you.
7 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight
1.) You’re eating too much.
Plain and simple, you’re not in a calorie deficit. The literal answer to weight loss is taking in fewer calories then you’re burning, or better said – Burn enough calories to ensure you’re below a maintenance caloric level intake.
This doesn’t necessarily mean you must track calories, but that could very well help you make sure you’re on top of this.
If you don’t want to track your calories, I would suggest looking at something you regularly consume that may be higher in calories and cutting it out. Maybe its creamer in your coffee, your daily mocha, a can of soda, or the BBQ sauce you love dumping all over your chicken. Whatever it is, it could be as simple as eliminating that one thing that gives you the extra 100-300 calories per day so that you drop into a calorie deficit.
Maybe you’ve done that and feel like your diet is pretty locked down… Time to start tracking your calories. At that point, it’s the best way to truly determine where you’re at, what you can and should adjust, and also how you can balance your diet as a whole.
At the end of the day… Low carb, low fat, paleo, or any other type of diet – does not matter, if you’re eating too many calories each day, no matter how clean those calories are, you will not lose weight.
This also means cheating to frequently.
Many of us are 100% on point in the week with whatever diet we’re following and that is working very well for our goals during the week… Until “Cheat Day” comes around again. The issue here isn’t the idea of having a little enjoyment, it’s turning that enjoyment from a glass of wine or a single donut, to a couple bottles or a box of donuts.
Moderation is key for staying in our calorie deficit.
2.) You’re Not Eating Enough
I know this is completely opposite as to number one, but more often than not this happens and I see it all the time with clients.
Eating too little will work for the very short term, but after even just a couple weeks your hormones will be way off and your metabolism essentially slows down to a sluggish pace.
When our metabolism is too low and our hormones, like our thyroid, are not functioning optimally, we cannot burn fat and lose weight.
So eating enough is just as important as not eating too much!
3.) You’re Not Eating Your Protein
I mean this point in two different ways, one by the means of not getting enough protein in your diet.
Having a higher protein diet simply works better for fat loss and maintaining muscle mass. It’s going to keep your satiety high and keep your gains safe, both very important when dieting.
But I also mean this in the literal way. You’re drinking protein shakes too often!
If you’re on the go all day, then yes slam one down. Or if you wont have food for a few hours after the gym and need something to hold you down, go for it.
But if you have the option to eat your protein I definitely suggest it. You’re body burns more calories, especially with protein, when we physically chew and digest food. A shake we can swallow down and absorb easily, which can be good in some cases.
But when trying to lose weight, lets focus on burning calories and keeping metabolism high.
4.) You’re Not Controlling Your Fat Intake
Fat is a beast of a macro… By this I mean it is extremely dense, but in a sly way.
Fat has more than double the calories per gram compared to protein or carbs, which means less is more and in the case of weight loss that can be a bad thing.
Just about anyone knows we can easily eat a full avocado, spoonful’s of peanut butter, handfuls of nuts, or easily cook in tons of oil. But the issue is that the calories involved in these scenarios can be outrageous.
I’ve seen countless clients simply watch their fat intake and make a massive change in body composition.
But I’ve also seen clients not picking the right fats often enough, so it isn’t just about our macros.
If you’re getting all of your fat calories from mixed nuts, you’re probably getting too much polyunsaturated fat in your diet.
Or if you’re getting it all from olive oils or even grass fed beef and butter, you’re probably getting too much monounsaturated or saturated fats.
The key here is simple…. BALANCE! I typically try to get majority of my fats from good saturated fat sources, but a little bit of all three is best and never too much on one.
Shoot to eat grass fed steak, cage free whole eggs, wild caught salmon/fish oil, coconut oil, and even some grass fed butter. People seem to forget or believe that these things are bad for us and even though we need to watch the calories from them, they’re golden nutrients in my opinion.
5.) You’re Cardio Game Is Weak!
Most people simply pick the wrong type of cardio and it always blows my mind because who the hell wants to sit on a treadmill for an hour?!
Too much low intensity cardio is going to produce higher levels of cortisol, which can lead to more abdominal fat, the kind we all want to get rid of most.
It also takes way too much of our time and doesn’t have an after burn effect that is going to cause longer duration calorie deficits and metabolic spikes.
Start picking things like hill sprints, interval training, sled pulls, and prowler pushes.
These things all burn a ton of calories, support and build more muscle, take less time to get done, don’t harm hormones like LISS cardio does, and they have a greater after burn effect so you’ll still be burning calories for 24-36+ hours post training.
6.) You’re Not Managing Your Stress or Sleep
This is another very common one; even I’ve been pretty guilty of this in the past.
But it can be hard because we have work, kids, social life, gym, meal prep, or something else that is “More important” at the time.
But what most forget is that nothing is as important as controlling your sleep and stress levels.
You cannot get good results from the gym or diet if you’re not sleeping. Recovery will be shit and your hormones will be very unbalanced.
You can’t enjoy a social life if you have no energy and enthusiasm or because you’re constantly stressing and thinking about something else, making you far from present in the moment.
The list goes on, but it all revolves around managing your sleep and stress.
So instead of getting into the science of why you need this for weight loss, just trust me when I say your hormones will not be happy and you will not lose weight if you do not sleep or control your stress.
Turn off the TV’s and lights well before bed, make sure you get into bed and set your alarm to ensure you have 6+ hours a night, try daily meditation for your stress levels, plan date nights with no phones, have fun, etc.
7.) You’re Not Staying Consistent To A Plan
This is last because it is the most important.
Plain and simple, you need consistency.
But you also need a smart plan, you cannot expect to wing it and hope results show. You need to have a system and plan created for you by a real coach who can not only provide the path to the result, but also hold you accountable through the entire process.
Too many of us are impatient and want immediate results, therefore we jump on these 30 day weight loss plans and expect a miracle. And sometimes we get fantastic results in those 30 days, but what happens afterwards?
This is why we need to plan on something longer than a month or two, think of a year.
Where do you want to be in a year? How will you get there? How can you fit it into your lifestyle? How can you stay accountable to it and create benchmarks to be sure you’re on the right track?
This is exactly what I do in my coaching programs and if that is what you’re missing click HERE now and see if you are a good fit.
But regardless this is the most valuable reason you’re not losing weight. All of the above needs to be considered and implemented, but without consistently following a plan and trusting the process, no results will come.
