Why You Aren’t Losing Weight Working Out

Are you working out hard regularly and still aren’t losing weight?  Find out what might be the culprit.

If you are working out hard in the gym or at home and making better nutrition choices it can be frustrating when you don’t see movement on the scale, your clothes are still fitting tightly or your measurements are the same or increasing.

Keep reading because you might uncover the culprit standing between you and your weight loss goals

Here’s why you may not see weight loss results even though you’re working out.

You haven’t been consistent long enough

I know many of you see on Facebook and Instagram people who have lost massive amounts of inches and weight in 2 short weeks and while that is great for them, that’s not you.  Our bodies are different and respond to a workout regimen differently than the next person.

Someone losing 20 lbs in 2 weeks may have had more weight to lose to begin with and was highly underactive, so once they begin moving their body, the weight immediately drops off initially.

Give yourself some time before complaining about not seeing weight loss results. You didn’t gain the fat overnight so it will take time to burn it off.

I recommend to my clients they allow at least 90 days to see some results but actually 6 months of consistency to see and trust the weight loss results.  Long-lasting weight loss results takes time.

You aren’t working out intensely enough

If you are in the gym or performing your workout and you can comfortably chat and socialize with other people then you aren’t working out hard enough.  If you are performing cardio and can easily read a book or focus on the program on television you aren’t working out intensely enough.

You should be using your workout time wisely and getting the heart rate up at least 70% to 80% of your heart rate max to build endurance, strength and to obliterate fat.

You aren’t switching up your workout programs frequently enough

Our bodies are smart and tends to adapt to an exercise routine fairly quickly.  When it does that, the changes you saw when you first began the workout program stop being realized.  We say that your body has plateaued.

In order to jumpstart additional progress, you should change up your workout routine every 3 to 4 weeks.  It doesn’t have to be drastic but it should be challenging enough and something your body hasn’t done before.

You can change up the types of exercises you’re doing or vary the sets and number of repetitions.  Whatever it takes to keep your body guessing.

You’re overeating

You are working out intensely and when you’re done you are not only exhausted but ravenously hungry so you eat.  The problem is, all the calories you just burned you might be putting back into your body and then some.

If you aren’t in a calorie deficit and eating in a caloric surplus then you will gain weight (assuming you don’t have any metabolic issues) instead of losing weight.

Perhaps eat something small with protein and carbohydrates 30 to 60 minutes before working out and definitely eat something post-workout which includes carbs and protein so you aren’t ravenous going in or coming out of the gym.

Then consider eating 4 small meals throughout the day every 3 or so hours so your body doesn’t get into a starving state.  Be mindful of the calories in each meal so that the total number of calories consumed that day keeps you in a caloric deficit for the day.

You’re not resting

If you are overtraining and not allowing your muscles to rest, you will not only stall your weight loss results, you increase your chance of injury.

Resting the body part you exercised is important because growth doesn’t happen while the muscle is working (being torn down), it happens at rest because it repairs itself and builds itself back up stronger.

This is important because the more muscle you have on your body, the more calories you burn at rest vs. fat which means you’ll lose weight faster.

I recommend if you worked legs on Day 1, don’t return to a leg day hitting similar muscles for at least 2 to 3 days to give those muscles time to heal.

You’re not getting enough sleep

I can’t stress this enough, if you aren’t getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep a night, your body will not lose weight.  When you don’t get enough sleep your body produces a hormone called cortisol which is a stress hormone and causes weight gain.

It also causes fat to be stored in your belly area which causes a gut.  That’s not good and can be a precursor to chronic disease.

Instead, record your favorite TV show, shut down social media and put your mobile phone down and get good peaceful rest.  It will give your body a chance to destress, repair, refresh and replenish.

You’re Insufficiently Active

What this means is you arent’ working out hard enough (similar to intensity above) or long enough to really make a change.  You may be a frequent visitor at the gym and you do go through the motions of your workout but you aren’t burning nearly as many calories as you should. 

You’re watching TV or socializing vs. focusing on your workout.

In short, you are halfway doing it.  

You may be walking on the treadmill on flat at 2.5 mph barely paying attention or lifting 5 lb weights which you’ve done for the past 6 months with no results.  This type of working out is ineffective and a waste of time.

Your workouts should be deliberate, intentional and INTENSE to bust through plateaus and be effective.  They don’t have to be multiple hours long but the time you do spend exercising should have your heart rate up long enough to burn mega calories.  Aim for 100 calories every 10 minutes.

Our bodies need to be challenged constantly to render health and transformative results.

Watch a video on why you’re not losing weight working out

If you incorporate these tips into your daily routine, you will begin to see your own weight loss results.

Which of these things do you plan to add to your daily routine?