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Let's Talk About the Reasons Why You Can't Lose Weight
Fitness | July 19, 2016
Are you happy with your weight? Great! You can skip this article.
Do you want to lose weight and know how? Great! You too can skip this article.
Do you want to lose weight and can’t? Do you work so hard and torture yourself with weird diets and waste tons of money at the grocery store on stuff that someone swears will help you change your body and life forever and feel hungry all the time and STILL can’t lose the weight you want to? Ok. Well then, this article is for YOU.
I love to learn stuff. Especially stuff about exercise and nutrition. Lately I’ve been learning a lot from a really great website called Authority Nutrition. They put out this great list of 11 common reasons people can’t lose the weight they’d like to. I absolutely love this list and think it’s spot on. Here are my thoughts on their list:
1. Protein. This is a big one. Sufficient protein intake MUST be a part of your diet if you want to gain muscle. Remember, the more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns at all times. Some people call this an increased metabolism, although it’s a little more complicated than that. Additionally, protein help you feel really full, satisfied, and energized for long periods of time.
2. Processed Grains. Some people might call this a low-carb diet. And yes, if you avoid processed grains, you will end up passing on a ton of carbohydrates. When we skip processed grains, we say no thank-you to breads, wraps, pastas, pastries, cereals, and many snack foods. These kind of processed carbs are low in nutrition and high in calories. They’re also loaded with preservatives and additives to enhance flavor and give them a long shelf life. All of these things can cause inflammation in the body, which can negatively affect health. Good carbs are whole foods like oats and low sugar fruits and veggies. Those kinds of foods are filled with real nutrition your body can use and can help you feel satisfied and invigorated.
3. Low-Fat and “Diet” Foods. Many people still think that the best way to lose weight is to buy up a ton of processed foods that boast being low in fat and calories. Like I said above, processed foods really have to pile on the chemicals, preservatives, additives, and salt to make up for the flavor they lose when they cull out all the fat and calories. Additionally, the Precision Nutrition article cites numerous studies that prove that low fat diets don’t actually help people avoid heart problems or cancer, nor does it help people lose weight. And a lot of times, when people avoid fat they tend to eat a lot of carbs instead. And we discussed above why that’s not a great idea. Finally, many people think it’s good to replace butter with processed oils and margarine. But again, processing and additives don’t add nutrition to our food and instead introduce chemicals and preservatives.
4. Juice. Oh juice, you trendy little mess. I bet there’s not one of you out there who doesn’t know someone who swears by some kind of magic juice for staggering weight loss results. Maybe it might even be you? The problem with most juices is that they’re usually loaded with sugar to make them palatable. Let’s just say you’re eating 2000 calories of regular food per day and you decide to try an all-juice diet. Because it’s just liquid, you end up drinking about 400 calories a day. Of course you’re gonna lose weight! However, the second you stop juicing and start eating regular food again you’ll gain it all right back. And while you’re on the juice cleanse you’re probably not going to feel great because you’re probably drinking a ton of sugar and not getting much nutrition (and probably zero protein!). This is a recipe for inflammation and yo-yo weight loss and gain. And if you add juice to an already nutritionally appropriate diet, you’re probably just adding in unnecessary sugars. Not exactly a route to weight loss.
5. Don’t Obsess Over Calories. If you eat 2000 calories a day and your diet comes from all whole, unprocessed and nutritionally dense foods that include plenty of protein you’ll feel satisfied, energized, and healthful. You’ll have plenty of oomph to do you workout and build muscle. Your hormone and inflammation levels will stay stable. Your body will incinerate calories while it’s exercising, building muscle, and working through all that fabulous fiber and nutrients you’re throwing its way. You’ll sleep well and feel happier, lowering your cortisol levels, a hormone that causes weight gain. Now let’s imagine that you eat 1500 calories a day all from candy, Doritos, and beer. I bet, even though you’ll be at a 500 calorie deficit that you won’t lose one pound. You’ll feel terrible, lethargic, and won’t have the building blocks you need to build muscle. I bet you’ll even be hungry and feel unsatisfied. In other words, not all calories are created equal”.
6. Whole Foods (No, not the grocery store!). I’ve been saying this for a while now and I’m going to say it again because I truly believe it’s the most important thing we can talk about when we talk about nutrition. Eat whole foods! What does that mean? Eat things that are minimally or totally unprocessed. Find out where your food comes from! You should care about the source and how it’s grown/raised. Farmer’s Markets are are growing in popularity every year. If you have access to any, please visit them as much as possible to eat things that are grown and raised in a responsible, chemical and hormone free way. You can also support your local economy and enjoy extra flavorful food that is grown outside in an appropriate season. You’ll get more nutrition, more satisfaction from your meals, and feel like a vital part of your community.
7. How Often to Eat. This one is my favorite. As nutrition science evolves, we too have to evolve and let go of old ways of thinking and eating. We have to be flexible and accept that maybe our old eating habits are not necessarily the best. New studies have shown that eating 5-6 small meals a day do little for boosting our metabolism, and that the overall amount of food we eat in a day is more important than the number of meals. The most interesting part is that short periods of famine are very beneficial to human body, because it produces a cellular repair press called autophagy. I used to be one of those people that would keep my body constantly in the “fed” state, however that hasn’t been happening for the past year or so since I got really busy with my work, which naturally forces me into short periods of hunger. It’s a win/win situation for me and I bet it’s a huge relief for you too. No more stressing about all the snacks and small meals you have to plan during the day. Just eat your breakfast, lunch and dinner and if you happen to skip one of those, just make sure your overall amount of food for that day makes up for it.
8. Eat Your Yolks! Lots of people think that it’s dangerous to eat egg yolks because they’re high in cholesterol. But the yolk is nutritionally dense, holding almost all of the protein, vitamins, and minerals in the egg. The Authority Nutrition article cites a bunch of studies that prove that eating eggs has little to no effect on bad cholesterol levels and only increases the good cholesterol levels. Eggs are pretty amazing. You should eat ’em, yolks too.
9. “Health Foods”. Just because the package says it’s healthy, it doesn’t mean it’s true. Sadly it’s mostly the exact opposite. Beware of the words “organic”, “gluten-free”, “heart healthy whole wheat” or “vegan”.
Organic sugar is still sugar. Gluten free junk food is still junk food.
Heart healthy whole wheat is made out of modern wheat which has nothing to do with the nutritious wheat our ancestors ate. It has a similar glycemic index as white bread and can cause inflammation and increased cholesterol levels. Vegan products grow in popularity these days, and are often marketed as convenient replacements for non-vegan foods, but keep in mind that these are usually highly processed products that offer zero health benefits.
10. Butter is a natural fat. If you guys have been following me for a while and checking my food journal, you know how much I love butter. I even put it in my coffee! That’s a real love. Unfortunately it’s been getting a bad wrap from mainstream nutrition, which advises us to replace natural sources of fat such as meat and butter with processed vegetable oils and margarine. Why would anyone want to replace traditional foods with pseudo-foods that only make us fat and sick? Some folks just still don’t get it…
So, that’s my take on the AN list. Do you have any other big bullet points when it comes to losing weight? What are some of the challenges you face when you’re trying to lose weight? ‘Id love to hear all about it in the comments.
Private Member |
Thank you Zuzka! I appreciate your knowledge on nutrition and love that you share! I got the best results when I started a high fat low carb diet when I started following you! I struggle mostly when you post AMAZING chocolate & pb snacks or anything sweet, controlling my portion is where I’m weak 🙁
Private Member |
Hi Z,
For me, I find it really difficult to stay disciplined on the weekend. I can go all week doing your workouts, eating delicious low carb foods and never feel deprived, but once Friday/Saturday comes around its hard because people tend to go to happy hour for drinks or restaurants for dinner and they are not as conscious about their food choices.This makes it much more tempting for me :/ Any advice on how to be social, but not over indulge and sabotage all the hard work from the week I put in? Otherwise, it just seems like a continuing cycle where I lose weight then gain it all right back on the weekend.
Also, I find that on the weekends I want to “treat” myself more by having a dessert or something sweet, but often this leads to eating more of those type of bad foods. Should I eliminate sweets completely? Thanks for this article and I’ll be sure to check that website out!
Private Member |
riverside, ca - california, usa
Hi, Katie!
You know, I found myself in the exact same situation, and I know SO WELL how you feel. Here’s what I decided for myself and it works!
I basically do all of my workouts diligently 7 times a week. Once a week, I picked Friday, I eat one of my favorite meals or desserts at my favorite restaurant with my husband. Sometimes I do both! We went to Cheesecake Factory. I had Chicken Madeira, and then we even shared a slice of cheesecake. It didn’t make me feel bad at all. Sometimes it’s okay to just give up to your “lady needs” and have fun! Life is not about depriving yourself. It’s about staying healthy, for sure, but every now and then a little “cheat” is not going to kill you or make you overweight, for as long as you get back right on track the next day. :))
I also very much recommend intermittent fasting. I eat within an 8 hr time window (from 10 am to 6 pm) and then fast until 10 am the next morning. You go 16 hours without food, but this works wonders! Even when I was in San Diego with my husband two weeks ago, I ate a whole bunch of things I enjoyed (but usually right after my workout), and the scale didn’t even shift a bit! Then the rest of the new week is my healthy menu again. Some studies even show that it’s good to “reset” your menu from time to time, so that you confuse your body into burning more calories. You can look up carb cycling and also intermittent fasting I mentioned. It’s a big deal, and it’s also scientifically proven to make you gain lean muscle mass and burn fat like crazy! I tried it being super sceptical, but now I’m never going back. :)))
I hope that helps!
Private Member |
Hi! Thanks for sharing your experience! I have two questions:
-when do you do your workout? Inside or outside the eating window??
– by fasting you mean eat nothing which contains calories, meaning no bulletproof coffee in the morning, right??
Private Member |
riverside, ca - california, usa
Hi, Sofia!
You’re very welcome!
You know, in terms of when I do my workouts, it solely depends on what kind of workout I do. Since I do intermitent fasting, I try to workout during the fasted state, so basically outside the eating window. Some people say that bulletproof coffee breaks the fast, but I think it honestly doesn’t because it doesn’t spike up your blood sugar (for as long you don’t sweeten it), and it can actually give you some enormous boost during your workout. I tried it, and I’m still getting great results! 🙂
When you workout fasted, it proved to be great because you burn more fat due to the fact that your glycogen is depleted (it takes about 6-8 hours for it to be depleted completely, not days like some people think). I workout, for example, 20 minutes before I break the fast if Zuzka’s workout is only 20 minutes. After that I eat my first meal, either a WEM or FM, depending on intensity. :))
Private Member |
Hello there! I was wondering if you could tell me more about your experience with intermittent fasting 🙂 This week I just started experimenting with it (12,14,16 fasts) and its been very interesting! My questions to you are: 1) What do you typically eat during your window? 2) Do you intermittent fast every day? 3) Do you find it hard to eat enough calories in a shorter window (also, how many calories are you supposed to eat?). 4) Do you drink any alcohol? 5) What changes have you seen since starting the method? Sorry if this is WAY to much information to ask, I’m just so curious and want to start changing my life and think this might be a good option for me which makes me excited to keep trying it 🙂 Hope you are doing well, and have a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day!
Private Member |
riverside, ca - california, usa
Hi, Katie!
I’ll try to answer your questions as best as I can!
1) Typically during my window, I try to eat as healthily as possible, but since I only have 8 hours to eat, I sometimes even like to indulge. I like oatmeal with fruit, cottage cheese on a whole wheat muffin with some almonds on it (or something similar I think goes well with it), Brie cheese (LOVE IT!), etc.
2) I try to intermittent fast every day, but if I don’t feel like it, I always listen to my body. If I feel really hungry, I just eat. 🙂
3) I noticed that it really is hard sometimes to eat enough calories, but I can tell it’s very much of an individual case. I don’t gain weight easily, so if I know I definitely ate too little, I’ll even have a hefty meal at a restaurant (really, anything I feel like eating) to fill in the gap. On most occasions, though, I really don’t count calories.
4) I do like adult beverages, and I always have Blue Moon in my fridge 😉
5) First of all, I noticed that I gained muscle mass way quicker than when I wasn’t fasting. Your body basically utilizes the food you give it in a much more efficient way. I also noticed that I feel less lethargic, and I sleep way better, too. It works great for my bloating problems because I basically have a schedule when I start, and when I’m done eating for the day. This way I’m not heavy and slow during the evening (I eat from 11:00 to 19:00).
Thank you so much, Katie. Have a wonderful rest of your day! 🙂
Private Member |
Wow! Thank you so much for responding so fast! If your willing to keep advising me, I thought of a few more questions to ask you. If not, you’ve done more than enough and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it 🙂 Do you workout every day on your fasts? And if there is a day you do not, does that change what kind of foods (fat/protein/carbs) and how many calories you probably consume in your 8 hour window? Or have you found that you can still be flexible on non or light workout days? Also, since your window is so small, do you tend to do 2, maybe 3 meals? With the meals that you do have, do you typically balance fat, carbs, and protein? For years I have been practicing the 5-6 smaller meals (low carb) with 2 snacks and have found that I got stuck in a rut which is why the fasting theory has become so interesting to me! Thanks again and I have a great day as well!
Private Member |
monterrey, mexico
Im in the same situation!!!
Private Member |
balestrand, norway
Have you ever tried allowing yourself a small daily treat? For instance if you like chocolate, a piece of 75% or more chocolate each day. I find this helps satisfy and keep cravings at bay, so it’s not quite as tempting on weekends. Plan in a bit of your favorite food each day and see if it helps!
Private Member |
Thank you all so much for your helpful suggestions! I cannot express in words how amazing it feels to have a community that supports you with such care and understanding. I am excited to see what will work for me as I continue my fitness journey with you!
Private Member |
birmingham, al, usa
I find allowing to treat myself with splurge from time to time does not hurt. But I have learned that going out for those splurges helps. i.e. Going out for an ice cream treat or getting a slice of cheesecake from a restaurant/bakery. This works for me instead of buying a gallon of ice cream or entire cheesecake to take home and mindlessly eat. Of course, going out for splurges is the occasional thing.
However, I struggle with lowering my carbs on a vegetarian diet. A lot of plant protein sources come with carbs too. i.e beans, lentils, etc. Zuzka, I recall you doing a 30-day vegetarian diet, and you commented that you noticed weight gain due to the food you had to incorporate in your diet. That is my struggle when trying to find ways to lower carbs. I am happy as a vegetarian and I eat healthy, but finding ways to increase protein but lower carbs is my struggle.
Private Member |
ca, usa
Great article and good advice. When I was younger, in my 20s and 30s, I tried many different diets and ways of eating. Now in my late 40’s, I think I have truly figured out what works for me. I first ask myself, “am I really hungry or just bored, etc….” and what truly sounds good. I don’t eat anything I don’t really enjoy. There are very few things that I “crave” that I can’t find a healthier version of that I enjoy just as much. Portion sizes are the key, in my opinion. I wish I could have told my younger self to not stress about food so much and just eat when hungry and eat what you enjoy.
Private Member |
usa
Hi Cari, same story for me! I’m in my late 40s too and went through the exact same diet thing you did in my 20s and 30s. I was even a personal trainer in my 30s. I have tried almost every diet and I only ended up giving up. Now I mostly eat like Zuzka does but I can’t totally eliminate some foods because my husband loves Mexican food, bread and potatoes. (Oh and we’re beer connoisseurs.) Our dinners together every evening are a big deal in our lives. But we do eat a lot of healthy whole foods because he does heavy manual labor and says he just doesn’t have the energy when he eats junk. Oh and I’m so proud of him because he has actually given up Cokes which he used to have every single day or he’d get headaches. 🙂
Private Member |
Awesome article. What are your go to protein snack that you always have around?
Private Member |
Love this, and really think these tips make a LOT of sense. Fortunately as I’ve grown older, my appetite has diminished so I have an easier time eating small portions For example, today I had a small banana, 4 oz of cottage cheese, and a hard boiled egg for breakfast and lunch. Dinner was a chicken thigh without skin and sautéed spinach. I was never hungry and I think I got enough protein, which is normally a bit of a struggle for me since I try to avoid animal protein whenever possible. Trying to avoid the carbs as much as possible! But I am on board 100% with eating whole foods and avoiding the Lean Cuisines and low fat cookies!!
Private Member |
sydney, nsw, australia
For me, I know I probably eat too much healthy fats. I’ve actually started increasing my carbs slightly with a bit more fruit and higher carb vegetables and I’m noticing I have a lot more energy and am eating less fat. Not that I think high carb is better, I just think I was eating way too few carbs and trying to get energy from too much fat. I think for me, a low carb/high fat/moderate protein is still good, but I just needed to increase the carbs slightly and decrease the fats a bit. It’s easy for me too eat too many nuts, avocado, oils, dark chocolate, etc. It all adds up calorically.
Private Member |
Personally I eat mindfully but I don’t skip on anything and I don’t obsess over calories. I just try to make sure I eat balanced mostly fish/seafood, chicken and steak all with some side of vegetables or salad. I’m not a soda fan so I drink water/Pellegrino. If I’m craving fries, chocolate or a comfort food then I partake, but moderately. Sometimes I just want that taste and then I’m satisfied. I get my protein via collagen hydrolysate in my morning and night time teas as I’m cutting out coffee. Red wine is my downfall because of the residual sugar, I’ve read about diluting with Pellegrino and drink as a spritzer.
Private Member |
georgia, usa
Awesome idea adding spritzer to your wine!! I’ll have to try that out next time I have a glass, thank you!
Private Member |
czech republic
I got crazy when my friend told me “I am so hungry, but I must wait one more hour to have my snack so that I stick with 6 portions a day!”… I really had to explain to her closely, that it does not matter how often or how many times a day she eats. She was surprised that the overall amount of calories is what actually matters. She sent me a text yesterday and thanked me for telling her, that she is not afraid to eat now and she is still losing cm around her body parts.
Private Member |
uk
I don’t blame her though. So much conflicting info out there its hard to navigate your way out of so much nonsense throwing our way. I remember few years ago when Zuzka was still with bodyrock she was telling us to put alarm on every 3 hours and eat like that 🙂 Now not only we don’t have to do that its actually ok to skip meals. IF is new 6 meals per day. And eating clean is new obsession. I’m kind of bored with all the new trends and fads coming and going. Eating food should be really simple and yet fitness world manages to make a science out of it. OK, I’m ranting too much again, have a good day 🙂
Private Member |
I agree. Eating to fuel our bodies should come naturally. Our higher power didn’t mean for us to struggle like this. It should be eat from the trees and earth and that’s it; with maybe the occasional animal here and there as well as grains. There are too many opinions out there.
Private Member |
czech republic
Of course I dont blame her too… like u said, there is too much info out there and people who are new dont know what to choose from. So I understand it. I explained to her there is no need to suffer with hunger, I think this is a dogma of nutritional specialist she had… which I understand too, they try to teach people to eat regularly, not just once a day in the evening choosing from wrong foods. But people should know it is not ok to starve as well and wait for some “perfect” hour to eat. She was really frustrated, I was watching her, she was nervous, drinking water like crazy to stop the hunger… I think she was actually waiting for someone to tell her she can eat, which is ridiculous. Now she knows she wont get fat by eating one hour earlier or later if she is not hungry… it’s crazy how some misleading information influences one’s mind.
Private Member |
Wow, that sounds crazy. Sounds like she was definitely “Hangry”. Haha. I’m glad you were able to help her out with some sound advice that’s working for her.
Private Member |
Zuzka, I want to be mesomorphic like you!!! Genetically gifted is what they call this body type. And it says you gain muscle and lose fat so easily. Naturally lean, high energy levels, great carb intolerance, highly efficient metabolism, naturally strong, tend to partition surplus calories into muscle, respond quickly to any type of training, etc. (Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle Book).
My question is how would you turn a natural born ectomorph who has had bad habits for years that made her more like endomorph but wants to have the qualities of a mesomorph? That sounds so silly but any tips are helpful… I know to workout before carbs but is 5 minutes ok or something not so intense. Sometimes you don’t really know they are coming in your life and you don’t want to get all sweaty or have time, are dressed appropriately or in a place that you could just do a workout.
Thanks so much for reading!!!
Also, I have read that weight training on an empty stomach is not good… they suggest a protein shake before. I was thinking that your new supplement that has protein would be perfect!!!!! Do you have any idea when it will be available?