Why Am I Not Losing Weight with All this Exercise?
Springtime is here and this is the best time of the year to embark on a weight loss regimen. We have great weather and longer days to be active. During this time, we require less food due to the warmer weather compared to during the winter when we need food for fuel to keep us warm. Many clients confuse hunger with feeling cold during the colder months. Our favorite client is one that is tracking calories, exercising and eating better and still not losing weight.
When a new client calls us and says they are doing all the right things to lose weight and not making progress, a list of possible scenarios runs through our mind.
You are eating back all the calories you burn.
When you work out, you are burning extra calories. Exercise is important in the weight-loss equation. But a lot of people overestimate how much they burn—and even use the "I exercised today" excuse to overeat and overdrink. How many times have you faced a food temptation and thought, "Well, I worked out today, so it's OK this time." Or, "I'll have this now, but work out extra hard tomorrow. If that sounds all-too-familiar, this is one major reason why you're not losing weight. We overestimate how many calories we burned and underestimate how many calories we're eating. Trainers even tell me that they think weight loss is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise. We are seeing a trend that people are over exercising causing them to have an insatiable appetite, feeling tired and mindless about food choices.
You are eating back all the calories you burn.
When you work out, you are burning extra calories. Exercise is important in the weight-loss equation. But a lot of people overestimate how much they burn—and even use the "I exercised today" excuse to overeat and overdrink. How many times have you faced a food temptation and thought, "Well, I worked out today, so it's OK this time." Or, "I'll have this now, but work out extra hard tomorrow. If that sounds all-too-familiar, this is one major reason why you're not losing weight. We overestimate how many calories we burned and underestimate how many calories we're eating. Trainers even tell me that they think weight loss is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise. We are seeing a trend that people are over exercising causing them to have an insatiable appetite, feeling tired and mindless about food choices.
You're relying on exercise alone to do the trick.
Yes, exercising can help you lose weight because it helps you create that calorie deficit to lose weight. The real truth is exercise alone will not help you lose weight. It takes a lot of time and effort to burn even a few calories. A full hour of intense exercise may only burn 400-500 calories for a lot of people. On the flipside, it's easy to eat hundreds or thousands of calories in even a few minutes. But it would take hours of exercise to offset those calories. If you are not changing your diet and reducing your calorie intake, exercise alone probably won't help your weight-loss results.
Yes, exercising can help you lose weight because it helps you create that calorie deficit to lose weight. The real truth is exercise alone will not help you lose weight. It takes a lot of time and effort to burn even a few calories. A full hour of intense exercise may only burn 400-500 calories for a lot of people. On the flipside, it's easy to eat hundreds or thousands of calories in even a few minutes. But it would take hours of exercise to offset those calories. If you are not changing your diet and reducing your calorie intake, exercise alone probably won't help your weight-loss results.
You are not eating as healthy as you think.
We all think we eat pretty well. Even people who eat a pretty bad diet don't think it's that bad. Often, we see that our exercise people skimp on eating during the day after exercise and eat heavier at night. It should be the other way around. After you exercise your metabolism is speeded up and calories are burned off at 3 times the rate compared to many hours later. We tend to eat late night meals because of schedules which also can prevent weight loss.
We all think we eat pretty well. Even people who eat a pretty bad diet don't think it's that bad. Often, we see that our exercise people skimp on eating during the day after exercise and eat heavier at night. It should be the other way around. After you exercise your metabolism is speeded up and calories are burned off at 3 times the rate compared to many hours later. We tend to eat late night meals because of schedules which also can prevent weight loss.
We enjoy our alcohol, but having a large glass of wine can easily be 200 calories. We are suggesting vodka and gin martinis which our clients are enjoying as they see with one drink, they feel that buzz and don’t need several glasses of wine. We are seeing sophisticated clients eating too much cheese, nuts, olives and avocadoes which of course can be considered healthy fats. The answer is that they are just eating too much fat. We teach our clients how to read the food label accurately. The food label expresses fat, fiber, sugar and protein in grams and our smart clients don’t understand the conversion to calories.
You are doing the wrong kinds of exercise.
When it comes to exercising there is confusion out there. One day you hear that strength training is the best way to lose weight. The next day you're told to focus on cardio. To our clients that walk for exercise, we tell them they must step it up and do interval training that will shock the metabolism. The answer is: cardio is the key for weight loss and strength training to keep from turning soft and keeping your muscles looking toned and feeling strong.
You are not being consistent enough.
When struggling to lose those final 5-10 pounds consistent efforts are important. You try to eat "perfectly" and exercise for a whole week, only to step on the scale to see that you haven't lost an ounce? You think, "what is the point?" and go on an all-out eating feast and skip the gym for a couple days. This is when clients call us and say it’s an emergency.
When struggling to lose those final 5-10 pounds consistent efforts are important. You try to eat "perfectly" and exercise for a whole week, only to step on the scale to see that you haven't lost an ounce? You think, "what is the point?" and go on an all-out eating feast and skip the gym for a couple days. This is when clients call us and say it’s an emergency.
It is our job to teach you how to enjoy birthday cake, drinks, and socializing with friends. You need a plan that includes your favorite foods and enjoyable with no deprivation. You need a lifestyle plan based on your schedule and family events.