Today’s post is for my warriors out there who are stalling with their weight. Whether it’s to gain or lose weight, this is a look into a few potential reasons why your progress has lost its speed. And with each of them, I’ll also include a solution to help you turn things around! So, don’t despair if things seem to have stopped working. By troubleshooting your diet, fitness, and lifestyle, you’ll be sure to find some answers! If you’re ready, let’s get started!

#1: Food Quality

As the years go by, I’m becoming more and more convinced that the majority of our physique is attributed to diet. When you’re young, you can get away with a lot more indulgences than you do when you’re older. That’s just a part of life. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have an amazing body! It just requires more discipline along with discovering what works best for you. With that being said, even the healthiest of diets can backfire if they aren’t followed properly. For instance, you can totally eat nothing but spaghetti, Oreos, and packaged cereal and still call yourself a vegan. Conversely, you can have nothing but bacon, heavy cream, and fried cheese and continue to stay in nutritional ketosis. But does that mean you’re getting in all of the essential nutrients your body needs? And what do you think that does for the rest of your body, like your heart, brain, and gut? The point being that quality isn’t something to ignore when it comes to your diet. If you’re eating one too many junk, processed foods just because they happen to follow the rules of whatever diet works for does not mean there won’t be any undesirable side effects. A lot of these foods are hyperpalatable and cause you to overeat them due to their addictive nature. Instead of having a normal serving size, you wind up eating the whole bag or container. Over time, the habit of going overboard is going to set you up for weight gain.

Solution: As I always say, look to whole foods. None of which will cause you to binge. Whole foods are also rich in either one or a combination of the macronutrients protein, carbs, and fat, which are miles more filling and satisfying compared to junk foods that’ll only make you famished just moments after eating them. (And for those of you trying to gain weight, don’t stuff yourself with these kinds of foods either! Even though adding extra pounds is your goal, you should still do it in a healthy, sustainable manner that won’t put you in a pickle once you’ve reached your goal.)

#2: Food Quantity

Disclaimer, I am not a fan of counting calories. In fact, I rarely, if ever, do. My belief is that as long as we’re nourishing ourselves with the foods that mother nature created, we’re good to go. However, we can indeed mess up despite eating quality, whole foods. And it has to do with quantity. Take a look at nuts for example. I love some good roasted, salted macadamia nuts as much as the next person, but I do know that I have to be careful with eating too much of them due to the fact that they are a high-calorie food. Sure, a handful isn’t going to cause a problem, but what about multiple handfuls? Take a look at sushi. The basic ingredients are rice and raw fish; maybe some soy sauce on the side. But having a ton of rolls is also going to give you a lot of carbs- more than you need in one sitting. With your food, quantity does factor in, especially if you have a specific goal in mind.

Solution: For a short while, start tracking your food intake. Let there be no stone unturned here, so be honest with yourself. Write down what you’re eating for every meal, snack, and everything in between, and be sure to give accurate measurements. And on top of that, you may want to include your daily caloric intake. This is just for the short term, mind you, but it’s going to open your eyes as to how much you’re truly eating. If you thought your diet was perfect, be prepared for a shock after you do this for a few days. You could be over, or under, estimating! If you’re trying to gain weight, you may just find that you’re not eating enough to reach your goal, and if you’re looking to lose, then you may end up discovering those extra calories that are sabotaging your efforts. The good news here is that after a while, you won’t need to continue counting and tracking, because you’ll have hopefully learned how to portion and design your meals and snacks intuitively. That’s what I do today; I know what my body needs, and what I need to do whether gaining or losing weight is my goal.

#3: Re-Assess Your Workout Routine

While dialing in your diet is definitely important, you should also approach your workouts in a similar fashion. With your workouts, quality and quantity both matter. Usually, the first instinct that most people have is to work out even longer whenever their weight loss begins stalling. This is actually a recipe for disaster because you won’t be able to continue going for hours upon hours every day without burning out. And if you’ve ever been a part of a commercial gym for long enough, you’ll notice that the people on the cardio machines mostly look the same throughout the entire year despite getting up to an hour’s worth of exercise. While we don’t know what their dietary habits are like, their workouts don’t seem to be doing anything when it comes to building and shaping their bodies. There’s hardly any muscle tone or size. And most of them don’t even look like they’re enjoying what they’re doing! This is why I created the ZGYM, my home exercise program. The workouts are at least a quarter of the amount of time most people spend at a regular gym, and they make every minute count. My workouts target your whole body, helping you to build the muscle shape, size, and tone that you desire. People assume that I’m a gym rat who works out for hours on end when the reality is that couldn’t be further from the truth! I’m simply being smart with my workouts and choosing to move dynamically so that I can create the figure I want to have.

Solution: Track your workouts and consider the type(s) of exercise you’re committing to. If you’re over-exercising, then your body could be holding on to extra weight due to the inflammation and stress that comes from such excess. I’d also add that you may need to add more challenge and intensity, rather than duration if losing weight is your goal. For those of you who need to gain weight, consider adding in more resistance training rather than cardio-based workouts. You’ll also definitely want to shorten your workouts if weight gain is a goal, too, since too much exercise can burn off the extra calories you need.

#4: Get Rid of Unrealistic expectations

Here’s a reality check: our weight, whether it’s to be lost or gained, is a process. A time-intensive one at that. Some people can manipulate their weight at the drop of a hat and at record speed, while others need more time. If it took years for you to suddenly gain a lot of weight, then it’s going to take some time before you find to lose it. As for gaining weight, a similar approach applies. Having to readjust your lifestyle for a certain goal doesn’t happen overnight, at least not without consequences. Extreme measures are usually short-lived, and wind up leaving you back at square one- sometimes at an even worse shape than you were previously.

Solution: Be patient. If you expected yourself to lose 100 pounds in twenty days, or gain 50 pounds in two weeks, then I urge you to take a step back and manage your expectations. Even if you lost or gained just a few pounds, know that some progress doesn’t mean any progress. And some days will be better than others. Success isn’t a one-way path. It often has its twists and turns and ups and downs. So, don’t be so hard on yourself if you aren’t doing as well as you, or who you think, should be doing. My only caveat here is that if you’ve factored in everything from getting the right food and exercise right, as well as other things like sleep and stress control, then go and get checked out by your doctor. There might be a deeper metabolic issue at hand here. You could have a hormone balance or trouble with your thyroid. But you won’t know until you’ve checked with someone who can explore deeper than you could on your own.

There you have it, everyone. I hope these tips help you to get out of any blocks that are keeping you from your goals and am always here to give you the right tools and information on your path to success!