Youre Getting Older And Losing Muscle
As women hit menopause and estrogen levels begin to dip, they lose muscle as they age, says Gorin. In fact, muscle mass decreases 3 to 8 percent every decade after age 30, according to research. Thats a big deal, because, per the Mayo Clinic, muscle burns more calories than fat.
Post-menopausal women are more likely to gain body fat and need fewer calories as they get older, Gorin says. Whats more, natural changes in fat tissue that come with aging can prompt the body to gain weight, according to an article published in September 2019 in Nature Medicine.
What to Do You cant control the clock, but you can control your health habits. People of any age can lose weight and keep it off, as long as they create the habits that are necessary and have a plan in place for any slips in behaviors that can cause weight gain, says Karp. Effective behaviors include making nutrient-rich foods the basis of your diet, limiting empty calories , and adding resistance training into your weekly routine to rebuild lost muscle, advises Gorin.
You Are Not Being Consistent
If you have checked all of these reasons off the list and still find yourself gaining weight/ struggling to lose weight or inches, while dieting, be honest with yourself about your diet. Are you actually eating exactly what you should be eating to see the expected results? Are you portioning things outright? Are you weighing your food?
It may seem like a really over-the-top practice to weigh and portion out everything you eat but even small bites can add up in a big way! For the first 3-4 weeks of a diet you should be portioning things out correctly and weighing them if need be. And tracking your intake using a food tracking app to help hold you accountable and ensure you are actually hitting your calorie goals.
Even if you don’t intend on weighing things out forever, it will at least get you comfortable with the correct portions so in the future you can better eyeball these portions.
You should also be tracking your calories every day and using weekly averages. If you are sticking to your diet during the week but allowing a lot of wiggle room on the weekends, you may be doing more harm than you thought.
Fill Up With Fruit Veggies And Fiber
Even if youre cutting calories, that doesnt necessarily mean you have to eat less food. High-fiber foods such as fruit, vegetables, beans, and whole grains are higher in volume and take longer to digest, making them fillingand great for weight-loss.
Its generally okay to eat as much fresh fruit and non-starchy vegetables as you wantyoull feel full before youve overdone it on the calories.
Eat vegetables raw or steamed, not fried or breaded, and dress them with herbs and spices or a little olive oil for flavor.
Add fruit to low sugar cerealblueberries, strawberries, sliced bananas. Youll still enjoy lots of sweetness, but with fewer calories, less sugar, and more fiber.
Bulk out sandwiches by adding healthy veggie choices like lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, cucumbers, and avocado.
Snack on carrots or celery with hummus instead of a high-calorie chips and dip.
Add more veggies to your favorite main courses to make your dish more substantial. Even pasta and stir-fries can be diet-friendly if you use less noodles and more vegetables.
Start your meal with salad or vegetable soup to help fill you up so you eat less of your entrée.
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Muscle Memory Is Coming Back And Youre Growing
So, yes in some rare circumstances this is possible. A professional bodybuilder that used to do just that was IFBB bodybuilder Kevin Levrone.
Kevin is probably one of the most gifted bodybuilders to walk the planet. The guy could literally take 6 months away from the gym and then train for a competition and get serious again, and hed turn into an absolute freak!
So if youve been away from the gym for quite some time then you have muscle memory working for you. The scale isnt going to reflect a weight drop that in your mind is synonymous with your fat-loss efforts.
That is why taking physique progress photos on a regular basis is a great idea! Photos can really expose the truth, and you can clearly see if youre losing weight in terms of fat loss!
Our bodies remember where we once were when we used to weight train regularly. Muscle memory is a very real thing!
Often times just the process of lifting weights again begins to gain the size back we once had and during this course in time youre probably going to be gaining muscle weight and not OVERALL WEIGHT!
But rest assured that youre recomping your body and just because the scale is moving up doesnt mean fat-loss still isnt moving down! Everyone is different and our backgrounds may be different.
Where one individual may try to clean their diet and drop 30 lbs, another individual may clean up his diet and gain back 30 lbs and not pack on any fat at all. Is any one approach wrong? No, in this case its not.
Youre Not Eating Mindfully
A technique called mindful eating may be one of the worlds most powerful weight loss tools.
It involves slowing down, eating without distraction, savoring and enjoying each bite while listening to the natural signals that tell your brain when your body has had enough.
Numerous studies have shown that mindful eating can cause significant weight loss and reduce the frequency of binge eating (
Here are some tips to eat more mindfully:
Summary
Always eat mindfully when trying to lose weight. Mindless eating is one of the main reasons people experience challenges to losing weight.
There are some medical conditions that can drive weight gain and make it much harder to lose weight.
These include hypothyroidism, polycystic ovarian syndrome , and sleep apnea.
Certain medications can also make weight loss harder or even cause weight gain.
If you think any of these apply to you, speak with your doctor about your options.
Summary
43 ).
If you feel you have a junk food addiction, simply eating less or changing your diet can seem impossible.
Summary
If you have strong food cravings or food addiction, weight loss can be challenging. Consider seeking professional help.
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You’re Not Eating Enough Protein
If you’re eating the same low-calorie, carbohydrate-rich foods over and over in hopes of shedding a few pounds, you could be doing yourself a disservice.
“Eating too little protein to keep the body in good health can grind weight loss to a halt,” says Cooper. “Adding in protein and shaking up the diet a bitadding in some unfamiliar foods that contain different types of nutrientscan sometimes help jumpstart weight loss.”
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You Are Not Exercising Enough
Dieting is only part of the weight loss equation the other equally important part is exercise. Restricting your daily calorie intake without changing your activity levels will not take you far. The secret for long lasting weight loss is exercise.
What you should do?
Include exercise as part of your weekly schedule. If you are not a gym type person then there are many other fun ways to get fit try Zumba or pole dancing!
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Your Sleep Schedule Is Off
If you get more than 9 hours of sleep a night, you may be the envy of your friends, but too much or too little sleep — less than 5 hours a night — can be linked to weight gain. Both can throw off the way your body makes the hormones that control your appetite and hunger. And if you donât feel rested, you may skip your workouts, too.
You Dont Drink Enough Water
Between 2 and 6 cups of clear, plain water each day can help you lose extra pounds. Water has no calories at all, so it satisfies your thirst without adding weight. And when you drink enough water, you may be less likely to grab sodas, juices, or coffee drinks packed with sugar. High calories in sweet drinks can add up to a big weight gain.
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Youre Eating Too Many Unhealthy Foods
For people who find it easier to follow a strict diet, having cheat meals or cheat days every now and then may be fine.
For others, these meals can build up and prevent weight loss. Eating unhealthy foods too often can slow down weight loss.
If someone feels out of control around unhealthy foods, they may have a food addiction. Speaking to a healthcare provider can help you manage your relationship with food.
SUMMARY
Some people can eat junk food from time to time without slowing down weight loss, but this may not work for everyone.
The number of calories you eat can affect your weight gain and loss.
One of the main reasons low carb and ketogenic diets lead to weight loss is that they reduce appetite and make you eat fewer overall calories without trying.
If youre not losing weight despite following the diet, try reducing the number of calories you eat in a day.
Online nutrition calculators can help you to work out which foods are higher in calories than others.
Some experts recommend reducing calories by around 500 calories per day for a weight loss of 1 pound of weight per week . This may not work for everybody.
SUMMARY
The number of calories you eat affects weight gain and weight loss. A deficit of around 500 calories is often enough for healthy weight loss.
You might feel frustrated if you dont see results as fast as you expect, but weight loss takes time.
In many cases, losing around 12 pounds per week is a realistic goal.
A Medical Condition May Be Preventing Weight Loss
Many hormonal conditions can cause weight gain or prevent weight loss, particularly hypothyroidism.
If you suspect an underlying medical condition, see your healthcare provider. Explain that youre having problems losing weight and that you want to rule out any medical issues.
Certain medications can stimulate weight gain. Check the list of side effects to see if weight gain is on the list. You may be able to take an alternative drug that doesnt have this side effect.
SUMMARY
Certain medical issues and medications can make it more difficult to lose weight. See a healthcare provider to discuss your options.
Many people in health and fitness circles believe that everyone should be eating many, small meals throughout the day.
Researchers have studied this thoroughly and havent confirmed the benefits of frequent, smaller meals .
Many dietitians believe its natural for humans to eat fewer meals per day and sometimes go long periods without food.
Some people use intermittent fasting, an eating pattern where you only eat within a certain time window. This may be an 8-hour window each day or occasional 24-hour fasts.
Intermittent fasting can help some people lose weight. However, this eating pattern isnt for everyone, and restricting food can trigger negative emotions in many people, especially with a history of disordered eating.
To stay safe, talk to your healthcare provider before trying fasting.
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Are You Getting The Right Kind Of Exercise
While it might seem that we have become more serious about fitness than ever, the truth of the matter is that only 11% of all Indians actually use the gym after signing up for a membership. The average Indian, as a matter of fact, only manages to get a mere 19 minutes of exercise in a day, as opposed to a minimum recommendation of 30 minutes of physical activity.
Irregular exercise coupled with ill-informed ideas about healthy living, whether its the idea that breakfast is the most important meal of the day to the myth or that exercising on an empty stomach can help burn fat faster can serve as an effective deterrent to our fitness goals.
The first step in your journey to sustainable weight loss, therefore, is to stay clear of fad diets and instead consult specialists to design holistic strategies that can help you find and maintain a healthy balance between the calories you consume and shed.
What Should My Calorie Deficit Be
Before knowing what your calorie deficit should be, you must first determine how much calories you consume per day. This can be easily done by downloading a highly rated calorie app from your app or play store.
Once you have done this, eat as you would on a daily basis and log in everything on the app. This will give you a good estimate of your daily intake. After this, you should realize that for healthy and sustainable weight loss, you should be on a calorie deficit of 500 to 1000 calories a day .
This will help you lose 1 to 2 pounds a week . A calorie deficit is also determined by age and the amount of physical activity done in a day. The less active you are, the less you eat. Input all these details into your calorie counter, and you will know what your deficit should be.
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Weight Loss Mistake #: Youre Stressed Out
When youre stressed all the time, you may find yourself feeling too overwhelmed to think about a well-balanced meal and instead buy whatevers convenient, Taub-Dix says. Whats more, she points out, is that many of us are stress eaters, or someone who eats unnecessarily simply to soothe their intense feelings. As someone who does that regularly always forgetting to grab my packed lunch before running out the door only to find an excuse to grab a slice of pizza or a bunch of processed snacks for lunch Ive finally come to terms with the fact that my stress has been inhibiting my progress. Stress can be the outcome of an unhealthy lifestyle, a busy schedule or lack of sleep, says Taub-Dix. Proving yet again why its so important to find balance in all areas of your life when youre hoping to shed some extra pounds. And of course, these efforts will have effects on your health that go far beyond simply losing weight. The number on the scale the priority for changing your habits but changing your habits might just change the numbers on the scale, Taub-Dix says.
Different Cultural Views Of Weight
Although people across the US and most of Europe consider a slim body to be attractive, people in various parts of the world prefer a larger, more rounded shape.
In many cultures, carrying some extra weight is associated with fertility, kindness, happiness, vitality and social harmony.
Interestingly, the wealthiest countries tend to value thinness, whereas the opposite is true in less wealthy countries .
For instance, researchers who studied data from several non-Western societies reported that 81% preferred plump or moderately fat women, while 90% preferred women with large hips and legs .
However, even among developed countries, what is considered the perfect body seems to vary greatly based on personal and regional preferences.
When 18 graphic designers from around the world were asked to modify a plus-size models body into the ideal body, the range of results was somewhat surprising.
The modified versions had body mass indexes ranging from only 17 in China to 25.5 in Spain, which is consistent with weights between 102153 pounds for a woman who is 55 tall.
With the exception of the BMI of 17, which is considered underweight, this shows that a wide range of body sizes and shapes are viewed as attractive and desirable, regardless of how closely they resemble what is often considered ideal.
Summary:
The ideal body varies greatly from country to country and is often influenced by a societys wealth and the diversity of its residents.
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Youre Not Doing A Calorie Deficit Right
At baseline, being on a calorie deficit means that youre taking in less calories than you burn. It can be tricky to perfectly calculate what kind of deficit you should be on, but the National Institutes of Health has a body weight planner that can at least give you some idea of how much youll need to cut out in order to see results.
But you also need to keep track of what youre eating all day, Gans says. You may think you are on a calorie deficit, but somewhere throughout your day, you are actually consuming more calories without realizing it, she says. Having too few calories in your day can also be problematic, Cording saysit can leave you hungry and more prone to overeat. A general rule of thumb is that you dont want to cut out more than 500 calories a day from your eating plan.
You Have Unresolved Trauma
While this is heavy stuff, it’s important to be aware of the correlation between abuse and weight gain. A history of sexual abuse is often linked to weight gain, in particular, and the number of people who have been sexually abused, especially at young ages, is staggering: One in three American women report experiencing some kind of sexual violence in their lifetime, per the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.
Whether youre a child or an adult , there are resources that can help victims of sexual violence or other abuse.
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