A Few Words About Weight Loss
The inability to lose weight despite being on a weight loss program is an issue that concerns many of us.
Many people find themselves in a constant “battle” with the scale without fully understanding the reasons behind this inability.
Many of us, despite trying to adopt healthy eating habits, control food intake during the day, and be as physically active as possible, observe that our weight may remain unchanged or even increase.
Below, we will look at the possible factors that may make it difficult for us to lose weight or cause us to see our scale “stuck”.
1. There Is No Calorie Deficit
In order to effectively lose weight, a negative energy balance must be created, meaning the calories we consume through our diet should be less than the calories our body “burns”.
Initially, the nutrition specialist assesses your total energy expenditure and then carefully designs a diet plan with the appropriate energy intake, aiming to achieve a negative energy balance.
Essentially, their goal is to ensure that the calories you “burn” are more than those you consume. And they ensure this by measuring your “burns” with reliable tools (metabolism measurement) and not equations, which can have large deviations from your actual needs.
Therefore, if you’re not losing weight despite your efforts, your initial thought before starting to get discouraged and believing that your body is not responding to your effort, should be to consider whether you’re actually following your diet plan and consequently, whether you’re truly in a negative energy balance. This is obvious, but not necessarily essential.
Many deviate significantly, considering their deviations negligible, but often these are what cause the scale to “stick” and prevent the number from going down.
For example, consuming alcohol, soft drinks, or juices during the day can sabotage your effort.
In this case, it’s good to keep a 3-day food diary so you can identify any deviations from the diet plan.
Book your appointment today and start the diet you deserve
Book Appointment2. Changes in Your Metabolism
When we are in a negative energy balance, our body mobilizes compensatory mechanisms that lead to a reduction in basal metabolic rate (BMR).
This phenomenon is called adaptive thermogenesis and occurs in everyone who reduces their energy intake.
The more unorthodox and abrupt the calorie reduction, the greater our body’s resistance to further weight loss.
The basal metabolic rate represents the rate at which our body expends energy – that is, calories – to maintain its vital functions, such as breathing, thermoregulation, and heartbeat.
This energy accounts for 60-75% of the total daily energy expenditure for most people. The other factors that determine daily energy expenditure are:
- Thermic effect of food – which represents the energy our body consumes to process the food it receives
- Energy expenditure due to physical activity – which represents the calories we “burn” to perform any movement
So when we are in a weight loss effort, our body resists further weight loss by reducing its burns, that is, by reducing the basal metabolic rate which, as we saw, is the main component that determines our daily energy expenditure.
This can lead not only to regaining the lost weight but also additional weight gain (essentially ending up with more weight than you started with).
This reduction in metabolism can affect the weight loss effort even if we have good adherence to the nutrition plan.
In order to avoid a significant drop in our metabolism, it would be good to:
Avoid restrictive and quick diets
Often, extreme diets that drastically limit daily energy intake can lead to rapid loss of excess weight but simultaneously have a significant negative impact on our metabolism.
Therefore, it would be good to choose a dietary pattern that is not exhausting and restrictive.
On the contrary, for a successful and effective weight loss, the diet plan that is followed must be completely personalized and based on your nutritional needs, lifestyle, and preferences.
Focus on Food Quality
It is now a fact that the quality of our diet has significant benefits for our health and well-being as well as our metabolism.
Equating foods based solely on their caloric content is a wrong practice.
Remember that not all foods have the same nutritional value and consequently effects on our metabolism and health.
Pay particular attention to the quality of your diet.
Increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fish, nuts, and seeds while simultaneously limiting the consumption of processed foods rich in added sugars (sugar), salt, “bad” fats, and other additives, such as sweets, soft drinks, baked goods, cold cuts, etc.
Don’t skip exercise
Increasing physical activity can contribute to our effort to lose excess weight when combined with the appropriate diet plan.
Increasing physical activity will increase your energy expenditure (i.e., your “calorie burn”).
By staying physically active, we increase our energy expenditure and consequently, it’s easier to maintain a negative energy balance, which is necessary for weight loss.
Also, exercise, especially resistance training, is essential for improving body composition. It can help us maintain our muscle mass and consequently maintain our metabolism.
3. Changes in Body Composition
It’s quite common for the scale to stop dropping for several days or even weeks, but this doesn’t necessarily mean we’re not losing fat, which is the main goal in a weight loss program.
Don’t forget that our weight consists of fat mass and lean body mass, which includes muscle mass, bones, organs, and our body fluids.
Consequently, our body composition may have changed and this change may not be reflected on our scale. This is especially observed in individuals who have increased their physical activity.
Often, weight measurement alone is not enough. Body composition analysis or body fat measurement is what allows us to have a more comprehensive picture of your body.
4. Hormonal Disorders
A very common reason for the scale getting stuck is due to hormonal disorders.
For example, disorders in thyroid hormones can sabotage weight loss as thyroid hormones are the main regulator of our metabolism, controlling the rate at which our body expends energy.
Additionally, insulin resistance or hyperinsulinemia is a hormonal disorder that can contribute to slow weight loss.
In any case, it would be good to contact your treating physician for appropriate guidance.
Book your appointment today and start the diet you deserve
Book AppointmentConclusion
Weight loss is a difficult process and many parameters can affect it.
Often our weight may not change, but this shouldn’t always worry us.
The first and most important step is to know your energy needs by measuring your metabolism.
We shouldn’t forget that the process of weighing is a “snapshot” event. That is, the reading on our scale each time depicts the state of our weight at that specific moment, which can be modified (either up or down) in the immediate next period. We don’t give up and patiently strive for the best result.
Before you stress about all of the above and try to find what’s wrong, you should ask yourself.
Did anyone ever say that weight loss is easy?
Change in our body takes time, patience, and patience.
There are no easy paths and magic potions. Enjoy the journey towards your new self and trust the process.
It’s always good to consult a nutrition specialist to help you achieve your goals.
