5 Surprising (And Out Of The Box) Reasons You're Not Losing Weight
Firstly, wanna listen on the podcast? Listen below or click ‘follow’ to open on your fav podcast app!
So, you’ve counted calories to a tee, tried every diet under the sun and exercise daily, yet you put on weight even by just looking at food?
YOU’RE NOT ALONE.
There are so many different confounding factors that affect women’s metabolisms and their ability to burn fat.
It’s not an easy as calories in / calories out for most of us unfortunately (even though this is still extremely important to consider).
Here are 5 situations that you may not have considered before that can dramatically affect your ability to lose weight.
Which one surprises you the most?
You have issues with your thyroid
As well as gaining weight easily and finding it hard to lose, do you constantly feel tired, have cold hands and feet or have a slow bowel? You may have a slow metabolism! i.e. a slow thyroid. The thing is, most GP’s don’t test this in depth enough, I see it over and over again – and have been through it myself before I was diagnosed.
Find a great functional or integrative medicine doctor or a GP that you know, before you go, is happy to test all T3, T4, Thyroid antibodies, TSH, and reverse T3.
I go into this in far more depth in episodes 37 & 38 on Body Bites with Bec!
You have an imbalanced gut microbiome (ie not enough of the good guys and too much of the bad guys).
Your gut bacteria are smart little critters! Studies have found that they can certainly affect peoples waistlines in a few different ways. They affect how different foods are digested and they can also produce chemicals that support feelings of fullness.
As a result, certain species of gut bacteria can definitely affect your weight! Also, your gut bacteria can influence how dietary fats are absorbed in the intestines, which may affect how fat is stored in the body!
The more of the “good guys” you have the better.
To read more about this topic, how this occurs and how to optimise the health of your gut, be sure to read this blog.
I also love the test, Microba. You can order this test online and it analyses the composition of your gut bacteria! I was so impressed.
You have unknown food sensitivities, or you know - but won’t stop eating them.
You might when you realise the weight connection…
With the most common being gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, whey, nuts and corn, if you’re sensitive or intolerance to one or multiple foods, it can affect your ability to lose weight big time.
This is a strong reason why my 3 Week Body Reset is free of wheat, gluten and dairy - as they’re definitely the most common food sensitivities that affect women and therefor, can interfere with weight loss attempts! Then, it’s easier to pin point extra sensitivities whilst following along.
To learn far more about how gut issues may be affecting your weight and a huge, vulnerable deep dive into my own personal gut healing journey, I have these podcasts for you!
You have chronically high cortisol levels
Are you stressed? Or, do you not “feel stressed” but have a go-go-go life where you rarely stop and take time to rest? If you’re experiencing unknown weight gain and, it’s particularly around the stomach, it could very likely be due to the fact that your stress hormone, cortisol, is sabotaging your efforts.
Cortisol is a hormone that should be high in the morning and gradually drop throughout the day. For women that have high levels all day (from being constantly “on”), it can make it extremely difficult to lose weight, as cortisol (in very brief terms) is a fat storage hormone.
I would recommend getting a saliva test to see how your levels are doing and become serious about practising de-dress techniques such as:
Regular exercise
Deep breathing
Scheduling time off for breaks
Having more white space in your calendar by saying NO more
Considering a job change
Only surrounding yourself with positive people
Practice mediation, I love the app calmed Calm or Insight Timer
Work with a therapist
And supplement with supplements such as magnesium, adaptogenic herbs and / or essential oils. Visiting a naturopath could work wonders here. My favourite is Manon at The Naturopaths Corner
You’re not getting enough shut eye
Getting less than 6 hours of sleep each night will not favour fat burning. A lack of sleep causes changes in your hunger hormones and increases your cravings for high sugar, high carb foods.
The combination of these two factors definitely won’t do wonders to your eating habits and motivation!
Regardless of how much you’re trying to exercise, or how well you’re trying to eat, if you don’t prioritise your sleep and aim for at least 7 hours per night, it will be very difficult to lose weight.
There are many tips to help with this!
Some of mine (I’m actually a recovering and ongoing insomniac) are:
Stopping work at least 2 hours before sleep time
Having the same sleep time each night
Putting lavender on my pillow
Having all lights off at night or, if they’re on, making sure they’re very dim
Having my phone and computer on night shift (ie yellow light instead of blue)
Wearing an eye mask
Listening to a meditation on the app, Calm
Taking a sleep herbal by The Naturopaths Corner
Taking Bioceuticals Ultramuscleze Night
Never having caffeine after 12.00pm
Trying to not go over one standard drink
In summary, if you’re serious about getting to the route cause of your frustration and finally working out why you’re not losing weight, it may be worth investigating these things with an experienced, highly renowned functional or integrative doctor so that they can investigate all of these things and assess your individual situation.
However, simultaneously, it is extremely important to be in a calorie deficit for weight loss AND ensure you’re removing any food sensitivities and optimising your gut health at the same time to slim down successfully.
This is what I do with my programs. Not many diets out there also consider your gut health alongside calories.
My lower carb, slightly higher fat approach is changing lives for women worldwide who have “tried it all” and I couldn’t believe in it with any more of my heart, it’s the way that I eat myself and have for 7+ years!
To start your journey now, check out my 3 Week Body Reset!
