Stanislav Mikhalchev, personal trainer, certified sports nutrition specialist (B. Weider College) explains.

Power Errors

No. 1. Wrong diet. Eating in the afternoon and a hearty dinner contribute to the deposition of excess fat. It is better to eat high-calorie dishes for breakfast and lunch, while dinner should be more modest; you should eat no later than 2-3 hours before bedtime. If you are really hungry, you can drink a glass of kefir or eat an apple. You shouldn’t go hungry forever - it’s dangerous for your health. Besides, if you lose your temper, you might just overeat. It is better to eat more often, but in small portions.

#2: Not getting enough sleep. During a night's rest, a person loses weight. But in order for calories to be burned, you need to sleep at least 7 hours every day. By the way, it’s worth keeping in mind: if you sleep the required amount of time, but take up sports, then the extra pounds can be confused with gaining muscle mass. If this is the case, you need to continue exercising and eating right.

No. 3. Snacks. What happens if you eat a small piece at the computer, watching TV or while cooking? Even if the portions are small, they will still take a toll on your body. And then the question will arise again: “Why am I not losing weight on a diet?” It is necessary to give up snacks or reduce them as much as possible. An alternative to seeds/sweets/sausages should be dried fruits and nuts.

No. 4. Lack of water. If a person drinks enough water, the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract improves, metabolism decreases, and calories are burned. Scientists have proven that water promotes the breakdown of fats. Therefore, drink at least 1.5 liters of purified or still water.

№5. Incorrect assessment of calories, fats and carbohydrates in food. We believe that diet products can be consumed in unlimited quantities. Actually this is not true. You can gain extra calories if you overdo it with diet foods. Therefore, it is necessary to control your food intake and not eat too much, even if it is an apple or oatmeal.

Fitness mistakes

No. 1. “Non-sports” nutrition. This is what accounts for 80% of all fitness failures. If you study every day for 2 hours, do not think that “everything will burn out.” Even professional athletes do not eat as they please, but in accordance with a special diet. It includes vegetables and fruits, a lot of protein and complex carbohydrates, and a minimum of sweets.

Recommendations: do not indulge in fatty, salty, smoked and sweet foods. Fitness classes give you the right to add 200-500 calories to your diet per day of training. Moreover, you need to get these calories from complex carbohydrates (cereals, porridge, vegetables).

No. 2. Confusion in the head. According to various estimates, from 20 to 80% of those losing weight suffer from a lack or unsystematic knowledge: not everyone can afford a personal trainer, and amateurs who do not have the necessary information write on Internet forums.

By training without a clear plan, not knowing how to correctly alternate exercises, neglecting the technique of performing them, you risk, for example, not losing weight, but building the muscles on the front of your thighs - a typical mistake of those who “burn fat” on their own on a bicycle or exercise bike. Or enlarging your waist is a problem for “athletes” who are passionate about pumping up their abs and oblique abdominal muscles. By the way, these exercises do not help you lose weight at all.

Recommendations: if it is not possible to consult a personal trainer, study physiology yourself. Find credible sources of information, magazines and websites where specialists—regularly practicing sports doctors and trainers—write.

No. 3. “The excellent student complex.” According to experts, half of people are prevented from losing weight... by perfectionism. A person has never taken care of himself and suddenly realizes that he looks terrible - and he urgently begins to put himself in order. Such enthusiasts spend 3-4 hours a day in the gym, or they give themselves such a load in an hour that they then barely crawl home. After suffering for a month, they begin to dislike fitness or get injured. There is only one result - a return to a sedentary lifestyle.

This mistake, inappropriate load, was found in about 50% of people - they walked either too fast or too slow. We pushed ourselves into aerobics and exercise machines or, conversely, were lazy.

The load can be either too intense or too weak. And also, it does not correspond to what a person expected to get from classes. And then he simply won’t train regularly and at the right time, which means he won’t lose weight.

Recommendations: Try different types of fitness and choose what you like. To calculate the required training intensity, arm yourself with a stopwatch or heart rate monitor and find the Karvonen method on the Internet: using the formula, it will help you assess how much a particular load is suitable for you.

No. 5. Schedule. For 60% of those who complain about lack of results, training occurs either too rarely or lasts too short. American doctors observed 5,000 people losing weight for 7 years. On average, they lost 27 kg and kept the weight off for five and a half years. So, these people did fitness for an hour every day. And don’t be alarmed by the words “workout” or “fitness”—in both studies, they meant normal walking.

Almost every one of us knows why a person loses weight. Indeed, almost everyone, if necessary, is able to lose weight without much effort. Sports, varied diets... However, after a while, weight loss may slow down or stop altogether. This article lists 20 common reasons why you are not losing weight.

In addition to answering the question why am I not losing weight, you will receive effective tips on how to break out of this vicious circle and start losing excess weight again.

1. You may be losing weight but don't realize it.

If you think your weight loss has stopped, then it may not be time to worry yet.

For example, you started training, but for several days (or weeks) you did not see the results in the mirror. This doesn't mean you aren't losing fat.

Body weight tends to fluctuate. This depends on the foods you eat and your hormones, which also have a big impact on how much fluid your body excretes (especially in women).

Plus, you can build muscle at the same time as you lose fat. This happens especially often if you have just recently started training.

You need to understand that what you really want to lose first is fat, not weight, so it's good to use something other than weight to measure your progress. For example, measure your waist circumference and body fat percentage.

In addition, do not forget to look in the mirror and evaluate how your clothes fit on you - the result can be very revealing.

If your weight doesn't change within 1-2 weeks, then it's probably too early to worry.

2. You are out of control

Awareness is incredibly important when you're trying to lose weight. Many people actually have no idea how much they actually eat.

Research shows that strict diet control can help you lose weight. People who use food diaries, or take photos of their food, consistently lose more weight than people who don't.

3. You're not eating enough protein

Protein is the most important nutrient for weight loss.

Increasing your protein intake by 25-30% can increase your metabolism by 80-100 calories per day and automatically cause you to consume several hundred fewer calories per day. Protein can also dramatically reduce cravings and urges to snack.

This is caused in part by the effects of protein on regulating appetite hormones such as ghrelin and others.

If you don't usually skip breakfast, this is the most important meal to load up on protein. Research shows that those who eat high-protein foods for breakfast feel less hungry throughout the day.

High protein intake also helps prevent a slow metabolism, a common side effect of weight loss, and also helps prevent weight gain from regaining.

4. Why am I not losing weight, Holmes? Elementary, Watson, you eat too many calories...

A large percentage of people who have trouble losing weight simply eat too many calories.

You may think this doesn't apply to you, but keep in mind that research consistently shows that people tend to underestimate their calorie intake.

If you're not losing weight, you need to start tracking your calories more closely.

Here are some useful things:

• Calorie calculator
• Calorie counters.

Calorie control is also important if you're trying to achieve a specific nutritional goal, such as getting 30% of your calories from protein. This may not be possible to achieve if you do not control your calories properly.

5. You don't eat healthy food

The quality of food is as important as the quantity.

Eating healthy foods can improve your well-being and help regulate your appetite. These foods tend to be much healthier and more nutritious than their highly processed counterparts.

Keep in mind that many foods labeled as "healthy" are not. Stick to whole, single-ingredient foods.

6. You don't lift weights.

One of the most important things you can do for weight loss is resistance training, such as weight lifting.

Elements of weightlifting can help you maintain precious muscle mass, which often burns along with fat if you don't exercise.

Lifting weights also helps prevent metabolic slowdown.

7. You are a glutton

Gluttony is a common side effect of dieting. It involves eating large amounts of food quickly, often much more than your body needs.

This is quite a big problem for many who want to lose weight. Some of them become addicted to unhealthy foods, while others binge on relatively healthy foods, including nuts, dark chocolate, cheese, etc.

Even if the food is healthy, calories need to be counted. Depending on the volume, just one episode of overeating will often ruin the value of an entire week of dieting.

8. You don't do cardio exercises

For some strange reason, cardio exercise (like running, jogging, swimming, etc.) has received bad criticism in recent years.

However, cardio training is one of the most effective ways to improve your health. It is also very effective for burning belly fat, the harmful "visceral fat" that accumulates around the organs and causes health problems.

9. You still drink sugary drinks

Sugary drinks are the most dangerous elements in food. Our brains do not compensate for the presence of calories in them and do not force us to eat less other foods after a stake.

This doesn't just apply to sugary drinks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, it also applies to "healthy" fortified drinks and juices that are also full of sugar.

Yes, fruit juices are problematic in terms of calories, so they should not be consumed in large quantities. One carton of juice can contain the same amount of sugar as a soda!

10. You don't sleep well

Good sleep is one of the most important factors not only in physical and mental health, but also in weight.

Research shows that poor sleep is one of the single biggest risk factors for obesity. Adults and children with poor sleep have a 55% and 89% greater risk of obesity, respectively.

11. You haven't cut down on carbs.

If you need to lose too much excess weight and/or if you have metabolic problems like type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes, then you may want to consider a low-carb diet.

A number of studies show that this type of diet allows for 2-3 times more weight loss compared to the standard "low fat" diet that is often recommended for weight loss.

A low-carb diet can also lead to improvements in many metabolic markers, such as triglycerides, HDL and blood sugar.

12. You eat too often

It's a myth that everyone should eat small, frequent meals in order to boost their metabolism and lose weight.

Research shows that in fact, eating frequency has little or no effect on fat burning or weight loss.

This eating pattern ends up being ridiculously inconvenient for preparing and eating food all day long. This makes eating healthy much more difficult.

There's even an incredibly effective weight loss method called intermittent fasting. It involves consciously refusing to eat for a long period of time (15-24 hours or more).

13. You don't drink enough water

Drinking water may have weight loss benefits.

In one 12-week weight loss study, people who drank half a liter of water 30 minutes before meals lost 44% more weight.

Drinking water also increases the number of calories burned over 1.5 hours by 24-30%.

14. You drink too much alcohol

If you cannot give up alcohol, but want to lose weight, then it is best to drink vodka diluted with a low-calorie drink. Beer, wine and sweet alcoholic drinks are very high in calories.

Also keep in mind that alcohol itself has about 7 calories per gram, which is very high.

15. You don't eat mindfully

A technique that involves slow eating is perhaps one of the most powerful weight loss tools in the world.

It involves chewing slowly, eating without distraction, savoring and savoring every bite, while listening to the natural signals your brain sends telling you that you've had enough.

Numerous studies have shown that eating slowly can lead to significant weight loss and reduce the frequency of binge eating episodes.

16. You have a medical problem that is preventing you from losing weight.

There are some medical conditions that can be associated with the problem of excess weight and make it difficult to lose weight.

These include hypothyroidism, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and sleep apnea.

Some medications can also make it more difficult to lose weight, or even cause weight gain.

If you think all of this applies to you, then consult a doctor for advice and examination.

17. Why am I not losing weight? Yes, my dear, you are addicted...

According to research, about 20% of people meet the criteria for food addiction.

People who have food addictions relate to eating unhealthy foods the way drug addicts relate to unhealthy drugs.
If you have such an addiction, then simply changing your diet or lifestyle will no longer help you lose weight - get help from a psychologist.

18. You've been hungry for too long

Dieting for too long is a bad idea.

If you've been on a diet for months and your weight loss has stalled, then maybe you just need to take a break.

You can even increase your calorie intake by a few hundred calories a day, start getting more sleep, and don't forget to lift weights to get stronger and build some muscle.

Aim to maintain your body fat levels for 1-2 months before you start trying to lose weight again.

19. Your expectations are not realistic.

Losing weight is usually a much slower process than people want.

Although it is often possible to lose weight quickly at the beginning, very few people can continue to lose more than 0.5 - 1 kg per week.

Another major problem is that many people have unrealistic expectations of what exactly is achievable with a healthy diet and exercise.

The truth is that not everyone can look like a fitness model or bodybuilder. The photographs you see in magazines and elsewhere are often enhanced by the use of Photoshop - literally, no one actually looks that chic.

If you've already lost some weight and are feeling good, the first thing you may need to do is become aware of your body's attractiveness. Trying to go beyond reality will not add optimism to you, but will only require unnecessary effort.

20. You're too focused on dieting.

Diets almost never work in the long term. Many studies, and simply bitter experience, show that people who constantly go on “diets” also constantly gain excess weight.

Stop being a diet addict and take a happy and healthy life as your main goal. Focus on properly and nutritiously feeding your body without depriving yourself of vital elements, and let weight loss be a natural positive effect of a healthy diet.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is about why doesn't a person lose weight , is intended for the reader's information only. It is not a substitute for advice from a healthcare professional.

Losing weight seems like an easy task to many. It would seem true that this could be difficult: choose a diet and follow it religiously; I decided to become a follower of proper nutrition and did; any physical activity – as long as it is there.

In general, it all depends on you and your willpower. But often everything does not work out according to plan, although, it seems, everything is being done as it should be: not a step to the right or to the left. And one day the question “Why am I not losing weight?” begins to sound with hysterical notes, hands give up, disappointment and depression sets in. What to do?

Reasons and mistakes: why you can’t lose weight

Let's figure out why the situation may not be in your favor. Having identified the root of the evil, all that remains is to work on the mistakes and direct weight loss in the right direction and find answers to the question: why am I not losing weight.

In fact, there are a lot of common mistakes that prevent you from losing excess weight. And people encounter them incredibly often, so you shouldn’t count yourself among the losers who can’t do anything. Don't despair and read on:

1. We put this mistake in the first place - a thoughtless and unjustified reduction in the overall caloric intake of food. This is exactly what most people do. They switch to cucumbers and water, seriously believing that they can survive on this diet for enough time so that the kilograms that go beyond the desired image turn into nothing. Now we will not talk about the harm to health of this approach; we will consider it only in the context of the problem we are studying. So, you suddenly began to eat less. What's happening?
   The body is under severe stress, it has suddenly been deprived of food, and it is not at all sure that this situation is temporary. Therefore, as nature intended, the strictest economy mode is activated: all metabolic processes slow down, and any calorie that is not immediately used is stored in the bins, that is, those same hated fat folds. This is one moment, and the second is hunger.
   It accompanies you everywhere, it is impossible to get rid of it, even by taking a dose of the hated salad, and now you are no longer a blooming woman, but a nervous hysterical woman with a gray face and circles under her eyes, ready to destroy everyone within a kilometer radius. But it is impossible to exist in such a state for a long time. Sooner or later, those around you will get sick of it, and they will feed you, or you yourself will reach the grocery shelves right in the middle of the supermarket. Then the process will go in a new circle, and you will never lose weight if you do not dare to step off these vicious rails.
2. Incorrect distribution of food throughout the day. We were once taught to eat breakfast, share lunch with friends, and poison our enemies with dinner. And we still subconsciously perceive this formula as the only correct one. She was joined by the idea of ​​“not eating after six.” And so, guided by this tandem, people toss and turn without sleep to the rumbling of hungry stomachs, while one of the most important tenets of proper nutrition says: there must be dinner! Moreover, an hour before bedtime it is incredibly useful to pamper yourself with a mug of kefir. And the most important thing is to receive food evenly throughout the day, divide it into three main meals and two to three additional ones (snacks). At the same time, portions should be small - overeating is harmful and absolutely prohibited!
3. No calorie deficit – in this situation it is impossible to lose weight. It can happen for various reasons. Some simply don’t know how to count calories and have an incorrect idea of ​​their energy expenditure. Someone, in parallel with the diet, begins to actively engage in sports, the body requires more food, and the person, who is not ready for such tests, without realizing it, leans on food. It may be quite dietary, but the volumes grow, but the weight does not move.
4. Self-deception. You won’t believe it, but most people firmly believe in not breaking their diet and not eating anything extra. If you said to yourself: “I eat little, but I’m not losing weight, why is this happening?” – immediately take a notebook and start keeping a food diary in it, carefully recording each cup of coffee. Very soon you will notice that your diet is full of cookies, chocolate and “nothing bad can happen from one ice cream.” As soon as all the “garbage” disappears from the pages of the diary, the centimeters on your waist will begin to melt.
5. Muscle growth. Many girls who are active in the gym complain that they do not lose weight. Weight, yes, but their fat disappears very actively, being replaced by muscle mass. If you want to be a thin reed, reconsider your training - you don’t need pumped up muscles at all. And if you need it, stop weighing yourself and learn to measure your progress using a measuring tape.
6. Lack of physical activity. Yes, the main key to losing weight is diet, but it will be ineffective if you lie on the couch all day. Force yourself to walk, do light exercises, get a dog, in the end - it will force you to regularly get out of the house and wander around the neighborhood. Gradually you will get involved, because movement is life, and these are not empty words.
7. Bad habits. Are you a diligent dieter, so every weekend you reward yourself with a bottle of wine or a couple of beers? Know that by doing this you are wasting most of your efforts. And here it is not so much the alcohol that is to blame, but everything that is unnoticeably chewed along with it.
8. Incorrect sleep pattern. Yes, you need to go to bed on time and get up on time, spend at least 8 hours in bed - and so on every day. Without this, you won't be able to lose weight. No way.
9. Stress. This is our scourge, since modern life literally consists of them. The goal is to try to reduce the impact of negativity on your own personality and perception of the world. Unfortunately, there is no universal recipe, but this is a topic for a separate article, and more than one.
10. Plateau effect. It happens to everyone. The weight just freezes at one point and doesn’t move, which is nice, even upward. You have to endure the plateau by simply continuing to stick to your line, or you can try to move the needle by arranging a couple of fasting days. By the way, on the contrary, “loading” days, a holiday for the stomach, help many people, but the main thing is to stop in time.
11. Diseases. Unfortunately, health problems are often the reason for lack of progress. If such a suspicion arises or you do not see any other explanation for what is happening, undergo a medical examination. In any case, it will not be superfluous.

As you can see, weight loss may stall for a variety of reasons. If you deal with them in time, the problem will be solved.

Belly doesn't disappear

Many women note that the weight on the scale seems to be decreasing, but their figure continues to be far from ideal. Everything is simple here: losing weight does not mean getting in great shape. This is only possible in youth, when the muscles are strong and the skin is elastic. Over time, all this is lost, and accordingly, the appearance of the figure after weight loss is no longer pleasing. Another point is the famous “fat skinny” effect.

For those who have no idea what it is, look at the photo of the once famous actress Tara Reid. As a result of losing weight, a person loses not so much fat as muscle. This happens most often due to lack of physical activity and extreme weight loss.

Many women strive to get rid of fat exclusively in certain places, the appearance of which does not suit them. “Why doesn’t my stomach lose weight?” - they ask. Why the leg? Or the head? We need to understand for ourselves once and for all that the fat from the waist will go away along with the fifth breast size. Either this or not at all. You can’t lose weight in one place, just as fat grows everywhere evenly, so it goes away.

The abdomen usually stands out the most due to visceral fat, which accumulates inside, between the organs. Getting rid of it is much more difficult than getting rid of the subcutaneous one, so the fight against the stomach usually drags on. Avoiding fatty foods and foods with a high glycemic index will help you overcome it.

What to eat to lose weight?

This question is asked by many women. Probably everyone dreams of a set of healthy products that will help melt fat. Yes, there are such people. For example, these are the famous grapefruits or Brussels sprouts. They are good to include in your diet, but it is impossible to completely base it on them.

Therefore, we will not now provide lists of “magic” products. Instead, we advise you to avoid diets and choose healthy nutrition. This is the only true system that will help you stay slim, beautiful and healthy throughout your life.

Don't expect a miracle. It will never happen without hard work and serious effort. If something goes wrong, you need to find the reason why the situation is developing this way. Then the question “Why am I not losing weight?” will be a thing of the past once and for all.

Svetlana Markova

Beauty is like a precious stone: the simpler it is, the more precious it is!

Most girls and women who strive for a slim figure are interested in knowing why they cannot lose weight if the exercise and diet are followed in full. The reasons that hinder the process of losing weight are many factors - from improper motivation to age-related changes. It is worth understanding them in more detail in order to lose weight and again enjoy the harmony of the body.

Reasons why you can't lose weight

The main factors that prevent you from losing weight are health problems and the wrong weight loss process. Metabolic disorders, lack of nutrients, and insulin resistance are just a few reasons why women fail to lose weight. Each of them has a solution that will ultimately affect fat burning processes.

Basic metabolic disorders

The number of calories you burn may be the reason why you fail to lose weight. Check the thyroid gland and hormones that affect the biochemical processes of cells in the body. Decreased thyroid function slows down metabolism, so you won’t be able to lose weight. Hormonal levels also affect the process - a reduced amount of estrogen slows down metabolism, so you should pay attention to soft diets - too strict ones threaten irreversible consequences.

The lack of nutrients entering the body affects the metabolism, which causes extra pounds to be gained. The rule of competent weight loss is stimulation of metabolism. With the right actions on metabolism, diets will be effective and you will be able to lose weight. To do this, you need to understand what the body needs, provide it with what it needs - oxygen, nutrients, water.

Stress

If a person fails to lose weight, stressful situations are almost always cited as the main culprit. This condition is not normal for the body, so it gains weight to protect itself. In psychological or physical stress, a person suffers from a lack of endorphins, which affect the process of pleasure. Their only source becomes food, addiction appears, and you cannot lose weight. To get rid of the state of “hibernation”, you need to fall in love with simple things - play sports, find a hobby, relax. Then even without dieting you will be able to lose weight.

Lack of sleep

Nutritionists say that lack of sleep leads to obesity, which makes it impossible to lose weight. Lack of proper rest at night leads to stress, which affects the increase in appetite and the amount of food eaten. If a person sleeps less than 7-8 hours a day, a craving for sweets and fatty foods appears, vigilance and willpower are weakened, and it is impossible to lose weight.

Poor nutrition

In an effort to lose weight, diet is very important. The efforts and results of diet and training depend on it. To get your diet in order, follow these recommendations:

• have a hearty breakfast, lunch and light dinner 3-4 hours before bedtime;
• chew slowly so that the signal of saturation reaches the brain, and it gives the command to stop;
• give up quick snacks on the run;
• a ban on starving yourself - in the absence of BJU, the process of lipolysis is disrupted, the weight remains at one point, and it is impossible to lose weight;
• eat healthy foods in your daily menu;
• reduce your consumption of potatoes, sweets, flour, fatty foods, fast food.

Violation of water balance in the body

An important factor is advice from nutritionists: when losing weight, you need to drink a lot of water. This amount is 1.5-2 liters of clean water per day, excluding tea, coffee, soups and other liquids. When the body is dehydrated, wastes and toxins are removed from the body more slowly, and their presence affects weight gain and the formation of fat deposits. Drink cool water every hour, drink a glass before meals to help you lose weight.

Slagging in the body

Cleansing the body of toxins for weight loss is considered an important process. The presence of toxins in the body leads to increased formation of fat deposits. The more a person loses weight, the more toxins accumulate in the body - they are formed during the breakdown of fat cells. They cannot get out on their own - you need to help the cells get rid of them. To do this, drink more water, take detox products for 15 days - vegetables, fruits, herbal infusions, fruit juices. This will help kick start your metabolism for several months and you will be able to lose weight quickly.

Lack of motivation to lose weight

When determining the results you want to achieve with a diet or exercise, motivation is necessary when losing weight. It should be visual, inspiring, ideal and achievable. Lack of motivation is not the only reason why you can’t lose weight – there is also anti-motivation. This is a fear of losing weight due to psychological factors. To do this, you first need to visit a specialist, understand the cause and how to eliminate it.

Why doesn't weight come off when exercising?

Those who are losing weight may experience a problem when the weight does not come off when playing sports. At first he is actively lost, but then he can get up. A plateau effect is created and you cannot lose weight. There are several reasons for this:

• the body does not receive enough load;
• the person does not give his full effort in class;
• too exhausting and painful methods lead to stress;
• incorrect exercise technique;
• unbalanced nutrition before and after training.

Why those who exercise intensively cannot lose weight: if we are talking about losing kilograms, then muscles weigh more than fat, so as they grow, the weight increases. If an increase in volume is observed, this may be due to improper nutrition or execution techniques, when instead of being toned, the muscles “swing”. To lose weight, follow the rules:

• After training, do not behave passively - go up the stairs, take a walk;
• measure your BMI, percentage of fat and muscle tissue before going to the gym;
• set a goal and develop a workout plan with a trainer to help you lose weight;
• do the work with perseverance, do each approach with quality.

Why can't I lose weight on a diet?

If a person follows a very strict diet, then he may not be able to lose weight. The reason is a lack of nutrients entering the cells, a slowdown in metabolism and the process of lipolysis (the breakdown of fats). You cannot cut calories too much - this can lead to muscle wasting, anorexia, and problems with the gastrointestinal tract, hair and skin.

Why you can’t lose weight on a diet: the reasons may be poor nutrition, lack of balance between dietary supplements, and lack of water. To solve this, you need to reconsider your diet - eat small meals, snack on proteins, slow carbohydrates. Do not exclude fats and vegetable fiber from the menu, but replace unhealthy foods with healthy ones. Then you will be able to lose weight faster.

Why don't you lose weight after 40 years?

Age-related changes after 40 years can cause a slowdown in the weight loss process. During this period, metabolism decreases, the rate of fat metabolism slows down due to hormonal imbalance, the development of chronic diseases, and women can gain excess weight. Even if you follow a diet and exercise, you will not be able to lose weight as much as was possible in your youth - one size in a week.

The solution to the problem is to reduce the total daily caloric intake to 1500-1800 kcal and adhere to simple but effective physical activity. Fast walking, fitness, yoga will do. A diet after 40 years is ineffective - try switching to fractional healthy meals, arranging fasting days every week. Before losing weight, it is advisable to be examined by a doctor to determine your hormonal levels.

What to do if you can't lose weight

The reasons why you can’t lose excess weight are discussed. It remains to figure out what to do if you are not losing weight. For this there are general rules and recommendations from fitness trainers and professional nutritionists:

• eat in small frequent portions, chew food slowly;
• calorie expenditure should be greater than their intake;
• track your nutrition - keep a diary, write down everything you eat;
• maintain water balance - 2 liters per day is enough to lose weight;
• eat before training to prevent active muscles from burning;
• exercise intensively, alternating strength and cardio training;
• arrange fasting days every week;
• set aside a cheat meal - a day for eating a forbidden tasty dish - sweets, cakes, pizza, but only in small quantities;
• to get rid of stress, do yoga, meditation, consult a psychologist, find joyful moments in life to gain energy and endorphins;
• get rid of the obsession with losing weight;
• maintain a sleep schedule;
• take detoxification courses every six months, stop smoking and drinking alcohol;
• check your hormonal levels, follow a diet in accordance with your doctor’s instructions;
• calculate the correct amount of calorie intake, body mass index, percentage of fat and muscle tissue;
• find the right motivation, set a program for your brain to carry it out.

Video: How to lose weight if you can’t

Why am I not losing weight?

This is how you sometimes wake up, look in the mirror and get so angry with yourself that right there, right there, you decide to start losing weight. By the way, it turns out that this is Monday, the first day of the month or spring, or the morning after the previous birthday.

It seems like this is a good time to start. And the date is convenient and memorable. But it was like that before. Monday, morning, self-hatred and readiness for accomplishment. But if you didn’t achieve your goal then, there is no guarantee that this time you will be luckier.

Therefore, before rushing into the embrasures, it is better to slow down and think about what of your planned plans may turn out to be impossible, difficult, or threatening to fail?

And one more note. Let's not forget, the goal of our enterprise is not weight reduction per se. For us, it is important to reduce fat mass while maintaining muscle mass. But it would be really good if, while losing weight, the muscles would become stronger and their mass would increase.

We cannot accept weight loss achieved through fluid removal as positive. The effect of losing weight will suit us only if the decrease in fat mass is accompanied by a healthier body, an increase in health reserves, quality of life and performance.

So, now about the most likely reasons for all our previous failures and disappointments, about the pitfalls that await us in a new enterprise.

Reason one.

I’m not losing weight because my scales are no good.

Perhaps the best thing that can happen. We repaired or changed the scales and everything is fine again. But first, a little clarification.

Even if a person is starving (does not eat anything at all) and satisfies all his energy needs from fat, then in this case he mobilizes no more than 200-250 g of adipose tissue per day. But this happens extremely rarely. Since fasting is almost always accompanied by a decrease in energy expenditure.

In reality, the rate of reduction in fat mass rarely exceeds 50-100 g per day or 350-700 g per week. If your scales provide an accuracy of about one kilogram, they, of course, will not notice such a small weight loss and you will get the impression that your weight, despite all your efforts, is stagnant.

Select scales that provide weighing accuracy of at least 100 g. Scales with less accuracy are more suitable for monitoring weight maintenance.

Check your scales:

• Weigh a known load. For example, a bag of sugar. The result must be equal to the declared one.
• Get on the scale, get off it, get back up again, and so on several times. In all cases the result should be exactly the same.
• Weigh yourself, shake your scale vigorously, and weigh yourself again. The result should not change.
• The weighing result should not depend on which part of the platform you are standing on. Whether you stand on your toes or on your heels, whether you stand on one leg or two.

Reason two

I'm not losing weight because I don't know how to weigh myself.

The scales in this case are good, but I lack some special knowledge when weighing.

For example, many do not take into account that a person’s weight fluctuates, and these fluctuations reach about one to one and a half kilograms per day. The minimum weight of a person is in the morning after using the toilet or, if lunch is missed, then in the evening before dinner. It is maximum before bedtime.

Clothes also weigh. For example, the weight of jeans can reach 800 g, the weight of boots can reach up to one and a half kilograms.

One patient carried a gun with him while being weighed in my office. At the same time, he weighed one and a half kilograms more than at home, and he was also very surprised why he was not losing weight.

• We must unify the weighing procedure itself as much as possible.
• You need to weigh yourself on the SAME SCALES. Often scales have an error in one direction or another from the true weight of about 1-2%.
• Weigh yourself at the same time of day, preferably in the morning, after emptying your bowels and bladder.
• Weigh yourself in the same clothes, or without clothes.

Reason three.

We don't lose weight because weight loss is masked by fluid retention.

A very common reason. Water exchange has its own patterns. The fluid is either predominantly released by the body or accumulated. Naturally, the weight fluctuates back and forth. And these fluctuations can reach 1-2 kilograms per day or more.

Here are some situations where fluid may be retained, masking weight loss.

• Eating large quantities of salty and spicy foods. Table salt (sodium chloride) is present in the body in the form of a so-called isotonic solution with an approximate concentration of 0.9-1%. That is, every extra gram of salt will retain 100 ml of water before it leaves the body. Accordingly, 10 g of salt will already retain a liter of water, and this will ensure a weight gain of a whole kilogram. For reference, 10 g of salt is contained in 200 g of salted and 100 g of dried fish.
• Fluid retention due to alcohol consumption. Same situation. Alcohol and its breakdown products require dilution with water to some less toxic concentration.
• Many women experience an increase in water accumulation in the second phase of the menstrual-ovarian cycle, one to two weeks before their next period. Sometimes weight fluctuations associated with the cycle are very significant and reach 3-5 kilograms. An interesting point is that the result of a short, for example, weekly course of weight loss very often depends on the phase of the cycle in which the weight loss began. If immediately after the end of your period, the effect can be two times greater than if you took care of yourself a week before it started.
• The condition after suddenly undertaking intense training. In this situation, fluid retention may also occur due to swelling of muscles that have been overtrained out of habit. It often happens that a person, when starting to lose weight, simultaneously begins to follow both a diet regimen that is too strict and an exercise regimen that is too strict. He hopes that the weight will come off twice as fast with this combination. But he often turns out to be disappointed - in the first days, despite the inhuman living conditions, the weight either does not decrease at all or decreases very slowly.

Fourth reason

I am not losing weight because the decrease in fat mass is accompanied by an adequate increase in muscle mass.

Sometimes this happens - if a person uses a soft unloading regime and at the same time trains, for example, walks about 5-7 km a day, then on the one hand he will experience a decrease in fat mass, and on the other, an increase in mass in approximately the same proportions muscles.

And then when weighing, say, a month later, a person may be disappointed - his weight has not changed! He will be sad: all his efforts are in vain!

In fact, he has every reason to be happy. After all, not only did his fat mass decrease, but also the likelihood of regaining weight decreased. Since with an increase in muscle mass, the body’s ability to break down fat increases.

According to experts, this tactic, when fat is reduced and muscles are increased, although it does not give a result that can be measured in kilograms, is considered the most correct, as it is accompanied by a significant healing effect.

This idea may seem seditious to many, but it is full of common sense. Often the reading on the scale becomes the most important criterion for success for us, and we try at all costs to achieve lower values ​​when weighing than the day before. But this is nonsense. After all, no one except you knows how much you weigh.

In fact, your weight is not important to those around you. To a much greater extent, they pay attention to how you are built, how fit and slim you are. The physique depends on the state of the muscle corset, that is, again, on the degree of muscle development.

And it is completely unacceptable to try to somehow limit muscle development for the sake of the treasured number on the scales - move a little, try to consume less protein.

A decrease in circumference or volume can indirectly indicate a change in body composition in favor of muscle tissue. If, at the same weight, your waist and hip circumference have decreased, then this is most likely due to a decrease in fat tissue and an increase in muscle tissue.

Take a centimeter and measure the circumference of the chest, waist, hips along the line of the large femoral tuberosities and each hip in the middle sections. Now add up the resulting dimensions. Losing one kilogram of fat approximately corresponds to a decrease in the sum of circumferences by 5-6 cm.

You can think about increasing muscle mass if, against the background of weight loss efforts, you feel a surge of strength, increased muscle tone and performance. By the way, your friends begin to notice this “weight loss without losing weight” much earlier than you. They tell you that you have lost weight and become slimmer. This is true - muscle strengthening is always externally manifested by good tone and posture.

Recently, devices have appeared that allow us to judge the ratio of fat and muscle in the body. But I must warn you. So far, the measurement accuracy of these devices, especially those intended for household use, leaves much to be desired.

Fifth reason

I don't lose weight because my efforts are insufficient or inadequate.

It seems to us that we are making enough effort, but our body does not think so. Despite our efforts, there is no energy shortage. Energy expenditure does not exceed energy intake and there is no weight loss effect.

For example, many people believe that losing weight will begin as soon as they give up sugar. And for several days they drink tea without sugar. But apart from reducing the quality of life, this does not give anything. There are only 40 calories per glass of tea. By comparison, a glass of milk brings in as much as 110 calories. Even if a person previously drank 4 glasses of sweet tea a day, this is only 160 calories - one serving of vegetable salad seasoned with a spoon of mayonnaise, or a palm-sized slice of bread.

A similar situation can arise if a person refuses to eat late (the so-called well-known norm is not to eat after 6 pm). It's painful, it's hard, but sometimes nothing more. Very quickly, the body learns to compensate for the lack of calories with an excess of them at other meals, for example, it begins to have a large breakfast, and there is no overall decrease in energy consumption.

For those who see such a mistake, I can advise the following. The problem of excess weight requires a complex of efforts, a combination of changes in both nutrition and lifestyle. The use of any one measure, no matter how much effort it requires, is often insufficient.

So, in a very large number of independent studies, it has been proven that training such as shaping lasting 30-60 minutes with a frequency of 3-4 times a week does not in itself lead to significant weight loss. But many of us think that to lose weight it will be enough for them to just sign up for a gym.

Sixth reason

I'm not losing weight because my efforts are too much

This reason contradicts the whole logic of traditional weight loss, which says - do everything you can, and a little more. Do more than you can. Follow the most unbearable diet, apply the most grueling training regimen that you can stand!

This practice is deeply ingrained in our consciousness. We agree that such tactics are unhealthy. But we are ready to risk our health. We admit that such rapid weight loss may then be replaced by equally rapid weight gain. But we would like to lose weight, and then we will do something. But to admit that it is precisely such “excessive” tactics that can cause weight loss to stop?!... And, nevertheless, this is so.

Multiple scientific studies have proven that tactics based on too strict calorie restriction very often lead to a slowdown in energy expenditure and a slowdown in the rate of weight loss.

Moreover, the dependence here is the most direct - the more pronounced the calorie deficit, the more likely it is to slow down energy consumption and fat breakdown.

The slowdown in consumption is explained by the fact that, with too little nutrition, the body is unable to mobilize the missing part of the energy from the fat reserve, or by the fact that such nutrition does not contain the so-called essential food factors in the required quantities.

First of all, proteins, vitamins, minerals and trace elements. The lack of these factors disrupts metabolism and inhibits the breakdown of fats.

Most scientists now agree that the most effective in terms of weight loss are regimes with moderate energy restriction - about 25-30%. In practice, this means that if a person usually consumed 2200 kcal per day, then for successful weight loss his diet should not be lower than 1500 kcal.

Moreover, it turns out that such moderate regimes are often accompanied by stimulation of energy expenditure. This effect is explained by the fact that light food does not interfere with performance, does not cause lethargy and drowsiness after eating, and also by the fact that on a diet with a moderately reduced calorie content, a person has more complete sleep, feels more rested, and has higher muscle tone .

According to a number of studies carried out in reputable scientific centers, intense training DOES NOT INCREASE DAILY ENERGY EXPENDITURE. That is, increased energy consumption during exercise is compensated by a slowdown in energy consumption due to fatigue after exercise. Again, there is scientific evidence showing that intense exercise stimulates appetite and encourages people to eat more fatty and sugary foods. While moderate-intensity training, on the contrary, reduces appetite and improves nutritional control.

It is these facts that made it possible to formulate the rule that for weight loss, healthy walking and other moderate-intensity activities are much better suited than running and tedious workouts in gyms.

How can you determine if your efforts are excessive? Focus on your own feelings.

If your diet is accompanied by a feeling of hunger, if, while following a diet, you feel chilly, weak, or have decreased aspirations in life, then most likely your diet is too meager. And vice versa, if against the background of nutrition you feel a surge of strength, lightness, if your performance is increased, then you have chosen everything correctly.

This fully applies to physical activity. Optimal load in no case leads to fatigue. The tone after such a workout is usually higher than before.

Seventh reason.

I'm not losing weight because I don't really need it.

Let's agree that if a person REALLY needs to lose weight, he can clearly answer the following questions:

• why does he need to lose weight,
• Why does he need to lose exactly that many kilograms?
• Why does he need to lose weight by this time?

For example, a girl has a meeting with classmates in a month. Naturally, at this meeting she wants to look as elegant as she did in her senior year. This would have been the case if it weren’t for the extra 6 kg that have accumulated since then. So, the task is to lose 6 kg within a month in order to look good at a class meeting. All the conditions are known - how many, by when, why?

If a person cannot answer all these questions clearly, it means that he does not have a specific motive for losing weight. Motive is necessary, and here's why.

The thought is material, if I see a goal and go towards it, my tone increases, the activity of hormones that cause the breakdown of fat (adrenaline and norepinephrine) increases. Energy from the depot enters the blood and fills it with satiety. The appetite decreases, we follow the diet without any effort, and things quickly improve. And vice versa, if the motive is unclear, if it is nothing more than a good wish, at the very first hardships of the diet discomfort will appear, appetite will increase, and with it the desire to postpone all this weight loss until better times.

Actually, there may be two wishes here.

First, try to find this motive. Try to find answers to these questions that are so necessary for the success of an enterprise - how many, when, why? I warn you right away that this work is not as simple and obvious as it seems. The participation of a psychologist may also be required. Sometimes interest can help. Are you wondering how you will feel and look if you weigh 3 kilograms less in a month? The only way to find out is to take it and lose 3 kg in a month. At the same time, the more realistic the goal you set for yourself, the less mental strength you will need to achieve it.

Second, use tactics—weight loss as a component of recovery. Take a break from the weight number! All the same, no one is interested in her except you. Build your life so that both nutrition and physical activity give you exclusively healing effects. In the simplest case, this is a low-fat diet with a feasible limitation of sugars against the background of physical activity in the form of healthy walking for 25-35 minutes a day.

Such regimes, without causing any particular hardship or discomfort, often lead to weight loss of about 1-2 kg per month. And all this against the backdrop of improved mood, performance, sexuality, and so on.

Eighth reason

Actually, I'm losing weight, but it's annoyingly slow.

A number of situations are also possible here. In particular, all the situations we have already discussed above. After all, they can lead to both a complete stop in weight loss and a slowdown.

But there are a couple more situations that do not fit into any of these groups. This is when we SEEMS that we are losing weight slowly.

The first situation is imaginary.

Through all media channels we receive promises to help or teach us to lose weight by 7 kg per week, 20 kg per month, and so on. Largely due to this, for some of us the normal rate of weight loss is no less than 2 kg per week. Such a person will regard any result less than this as insignificant. With all the ensuing consequences - doubts, hesitations, cessation of efforts, breakdown and disappointment.

But let's repeat it again - the real rate of reduction in fat mass rarely exceeds ONE KILOGRAM PER WEEK. The optimal, according to most doctors, is a weight loss of about TWO - THREE KILOGRAMS PER MONTH. This reduction is physiological and can be achieved without extra effort, which means we have every reason to believe that this result will be lasting.

This kind of doubt can engulf a person if, say, in the first few days of losing weight, he lost weight quite quickly, and then, despite continued efforts, things suddenly slowed down.

This situation occurs quite often and should not become a reason for doubt. The problem most often lies in the fact that in the first few days of the diet, water is actively removed, and then its removal stops and, accordingly, weight loss slows down.

In general, water is perhaps the main mask for weight loss. Below I have given several situations when fluid leaves the body at an accelerated rate. All these situations can give us the illusion that now we are really losing weight. Accordingly, when the removal of fluid stops, the illusion will be replaced by disappointment.

• Experiments with the use of diuretics and laxatives. First, while taking them, the fluid effectively leaves the body and weight decreases. However, then, when the effect of the medicine wears off, a reverse phase occurs, and water begins to accumulate effectively. I must say that using diuretics or laxatives to reduce fat mass is completely pointless. They do not in any way affect the rate of fat breakdown.
• Fluid loss during intense athletic training. Very often a person, either on his own or encouraged by a trainer, tries to do as much “sweating” as possible. And when he weighs himself, he is glad that he managed to lose a whole kilogram during the workout. However, this is again a kilogram of water, not fat. Do the math for yourself. Even with very intense training, energy expenditure rarely exceeds 900 kilocalories per hour. And this is the equivalent of a maximum of 100 grams of fat.
• Water loss caused by sauna use. In this case, weight loss is due solely to fluid loss and also has nothing to do with the consumption of adipose tissue.
• Loss of water due to hot weather. Very often during hot periods we see a weight loss of 1-2 kilograms. However, when the heat passes, water reserves are restored, and weight is restored accordingly.
• A situation that is not so well known. Reducing water content associated with carbohydrate storage. Carbohydrates in the body are contained in the form of animal starch glycogen. The total mass of these reserves is small, does not exceed 100–150 g. The calories in this reserve are no more than 600. During normal life activities, a person spends this amount of energy in 4-5 hours of wakefulness. However, glycogen in the body does not exist in the form of dry matter. It is associated with water. A kind of jelly. To retain this amount of glycogen in tissues, 1-1.5 liters of water are needed. When following a fasting diet, glycogen reserves are depleted literally in the first days. And due to the removal of glycogen-bound water, rapid weight loss of up to a kilogram per day is observed. However, even with a slight expansion of nutrition, glycogen reserves are restored, and the person gains back everything that was lost. Very often this mechanism works for people who use traditional fasting days, apple or cottage cheese. The kilogram lost after such a day returns safely the very next day.
• Loss of fluid due to a decrease in salt content in the body. This mechanism of weight loss can also be observed in those on a “weight loss” diet. Especially if this diet is low in table salt.

These are the situations. Therefore, if suddenly your business has slowed down, do not rush to despair. It’s better to calmly analyze the situation, look for mistakes in your actions or in the interpretation of the result. And most importantly, remember that the main goal of our classes is to improve health and improve the quality of life. And it’s not at all a desire to lose some kilograms with all your might, through incredible efforts and at the cost of your own health.