When dieting, the body has makes a natural response by fighting back. The first dieting days may cause notable weight loss, but the process may slow down or stop after a while. The text highlights five reasons you no longer lose weight when dieting:
There’s not Enough Protein in Your Diet
Protein is essential for weight loss. High protein intake helps reduce appetite and boosts metabolism. It achieves this by altering the activity of weight-regulating hormones like peptide YY, cholecystokinin and GLP-1 while reducing the level of the hunger hormone-ghrelin. In fact, taking protein with 25-30% of calories enhances metabolism by 80-100 calories per day making you take fewer calories. High-protein intake also reduces craving and urge to snack during the night. Breakfast should be the most important meal to include protein as the body feels satiated throughout the day.
Eating Lots of Calories
Most people who have trouble losing weight take lots of calories in the form of snacks, junk, and carbs. If you are not losing weight, you should weigh the foods you are taking and track the number of calories they have. You may use a calorie calculator to find out how many calories you take and a calorie counter to keep track of nutrient and calorie intake. Tracking is also essential if you want to achieve a particular nutrient goal, e.g., getting 30% of calories from proteins. This way you don’t need to weigh the number of calories on each food every time you are eating.
Binge Eating on Healthy Food
It is a common side effect of dieting that causes the body to take large amounts of food rapidly. When dieting individuals restrict their bodies to eating certain foods and the body’s natural response is to obsess over those foods. Research shows one of the long-lasting side effects of dieting is pre-occupying your mind with food. As a result, when you find yourself eating the ‘forbidden’ food, you scarf it down in a frenzy due to excitement and the fact that you don’t want to get caught eating. The enthusiasm quickly morphs into guilt and shame as the mind gets into terms with what you have done. Binge eating not only applies to junk food but also healthy foods like nuts, dark chocolate, nut butter, cheese among others. While these foods are healthy the calorie count matters.
You Have Hit a Plateau
People who diet for extended periods hit plateaus hence no evident change in weight loss. In such scenarios, it is important to reassess the daily calorie intake and increasing fiber intake. When losing weight, the body requires fewer calories for maintenance however if they are reduced beyond 1200 it may lead to reduced metabolism and prevent weight loss. Research also shows that high fiber foods help shed more weight when other diets have caused the body to hit a plateau. A daily serving of 30 grams a day of vegetables, fresh fruits, and whole grains help eliminate up to 210 calories.
Lack of Enough Sleep
Good sleep is essential for mental and physical health as well as weight loss. Inadequate sleep causes weight gain and in extreme cases obesity. Children who don’t get enough sleep increase the risk of developing obesity by 89% while adults increase the risk by 55%.
These actionable points provide enough insight as to lack of weight loss. However some individual’s bodies fail to change even after making dietary changes. It calls for bariatric surgery at RenewBariatrics.com to reduce the capacity of the stomach which leads to weight loss.