Why Am I Not Losing Weight?

Summer is quickly approaching and this is the season where many of us are scrambling trying to get our summer body ready. While there are some that are on track and steadily reaching their goals, there are others that just aren’t sure why it’s not coming together. Here are just a couple of traps you don’t want to fall into!

Lack of Preparation

Have you ever been so busy that the hours go by and when you finally get a chance to eat you just want to ravage your entire cupboard? Or you are just so hungry that you find yourself at the closest McDonald’s ordering a Big Mac and fries because you really want something quick? Of course you have! We have all been there. So how do you avoid this? Preparation. That’s it. Let’s face it, we all have busy schedules and lives. If you don’t set time out of your week to plan and prepare meals, this could sabotage your goals.

When your meals are already planned and you have something healthy in the refrigerator that’s ready for the microwave, you can easily save yourself the 500 extra calories wasted on the drive thru or the quick treats from the cabinet. Allocate an hour or so on a Sunday to grill up meats and veggies etc. so you will always have healthy options available even when life gets in the way.

You’re Eating Too Much

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard clients say to me “I’m eating healthy but I just don’t know why I’m not dropping.” Someone can eat quinoa, veggies, lean meats, egg whites etc.; however, if you are overeating you will never drop. Listen up, this is very important: To lose weight you must be in a caloric deficit. You must be burning more calories than you are consuming. It’s just that simple. If you are overeating, the rest of the food that your body doesn’t need (hasn’t burned or used) is stored as fat.

To effectively and efficiently know what your body needs, you must track what you are feeding it. A simple app to use is My Fitness Pal. Instructions on how to use the app can be found on our website CapstoneFitness.com under the resources tab. If you have questions on your settings based on your goals after you have downloaded the app, stop by the gym and talk to your trainer. We are always willing to help.

Your Goals Are Unrealistic

As a trainer, the reason I push logging so much is because you really can eat anything if it fits into your numbers for your goals. I see so many of you go for a low carb approach for a “quick fix” or go on diets with super limited calories and then end up failing because it’s hard to enjoy life or even just live life with being so strict. If you log your food, you can make it work. Here’s an example: If you know you are going out to eat that night and maybe your carbs are going to be higher for dinner etc., then you can plan and keep your breakfast and lunch lighter than normal. At the end of the day, you will still achieve your goals. Stick with an approach that works and that is realistic.

You Just Don’t Want It Bad Enough

Be honest with yourself, do you really want to make changes or does the idea just sound good? It’s a serious question. When you want something bad enough, you will get it. Let me try and put this into perspective for you; if you have a plane to catch at 5:00am, do you hit the snooze button and sleep through your flight? Of course you don’t. Missing your flight is not an option. I could say the same about a doctor appointment or business meeting, etc. If the only time you can work out during the day is at 5:00am, are you getting there or are you skipping? Is missing an option? If it is, then you need to reevaluate how bad you want it and how important your goal is to you.

You Feel Guilty

To some of you this may sound weird but to some of you, you know exactly what I am talking about. Maybe you’re a mom and taking time from your kids to go work out seems selfish to you. Maybe you have a demanding job and you feel like those 45 minutes you spent working out could have gone to your company instead. Whatever your life entails, there will always be something, chores to get done, work to do etc. It never stops.

So if you are feeling guilty, I want you to bear with me briefly while I make this analogy. Think of a car that doesn’t have enough fuel in it and that’s not being taken care of (regular maintenance, washed, waxed, oil change, etc.). How does it run? Not so good, right? Now think of a car that’s taken care of (serviced on schedule, fueled with the best gas, washed, etc). How does that car run? Pretty good, right? Well how do you want to take care of your people or perform your responsibilities? Do you want to be the car that’s put putting along or the well oiled machine? When you work out and eat right, you will have more energy. You will be able to balance it all just a little better. Trust me.

Your Workouts Are Sub-par

When you leave the gym, do you feel like you gave it your all or do you walk out feeling like you still had more in you? I remember when I was training for a competition and I was tired and not giving it my all during my workout. My husband looked at me and said “Remember, your body is at war.” At that time, I looked at him like he had two heads but now I realize it’s probably one of the best things he has ever said to me.

When you are training and pushing hard, your muscles fatigue = they are at war! As you continue to train, they learn they are going to be at war again but this time they are going to be more prepared, so they grow with rest and fuel (food). The more muscle you have in your body, the more calories you will burn throughout the day so stay focused and push hard! We all have bad days but if we can recognize them and push past them, we become that much stronger on all levels. Make your body work for you.

We have one life to live, let’s make it a healthy one!

To good health today and always,

Christina