#47: 5 Surprising (Out Of The Box) Reasons You're Not Losing Weight - Despite Trying It All
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?
1) 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 talk about this topic in far more depth in episode 38 on Body Bites with Bec. Definitely give it a listen to learn more!
I also have this directory for you, filled with lots of highly recommended doctors to help you test for these things! Click here to see it!
2) 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.
However, if you are going to an integrative doctor to investigate your thyroid like mentioned above, do a gut test through them too (they will guide you in the right direction here). Having their guidance is highly recommended, rather than ordering a test and analysing it on your own.
3) 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.
I go into more depth about food sensitivities and their connection to weight in episode 26 on Body Bites with Bec. I just wanted this to be a reminder!
And, I have this page that will fill you in with lots of resources to give you all that you need to know too!
Also, 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 foods that affect women with gut and weight concerns! Then, it’s easier to pin point extra sensitivities whilst following along as I provide you with a journal to fill in for this exact reason.
4) 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.
Also, a recent study investigated the psychological basis of sugar cravings during times of stress. Researchers proposed that sugar turns down the stress response in the human brain. As a result, we may be consuming sugar as a quick way to hold back feelings of stress!
So, be conscious of noticing what causes YOU stress in your life, and work on coping mechanisms as much as possible, such as:
Regular exercise
Deep breathing (check out the nostril breathing exercise which is scientifically proven to lower cortisol levels)
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.
I would also recommend getting a saliva test (by one of the integrative doctors mentioned in point 1) to see how your levels are doing.
5) 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!
Want to learn about my best tips to increase your sleep time and quality? Head on over to read this blog or listen to episode 36 on Body Bites with Bec!
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, I would go straight to a really experienced, highly renowned functional or integrative doctor so that they can investigate all of these things and assess your individual situation.
Then, working along side me, or another nutritionist who’s approach you like to help with your diet is extremely vital too. These 5 reasons assume you are on top of your diet at the same time!
For the diet side of things, 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.
Bec
