Why Youโre Not Losing Weight
"I've been working out and eating healthy, but still not losing weight". Sound familiar? Good news! I have the answer for you...
You're eating more calories than you're burning in a day!
Even though you might be eating "healthy" foods, you're eating too much. The only way to lose weight is by being in a caloric deficit (eating lower calories than what you burn throughout the day). Here are some ways to help you be more aware of this issue.
1. Start Keeping Track of Food
- I know it can be tedious at first, but you might be shocked with how much an actual serving size is. One thing that I've done, is purchase a food scale and weigh out ounces and grams of your proteins, carbs and fats.
- Keep a food journal. You can use pen and paper, or download the app, MyFitnessPal. The app is very helpful! It allows you to scan food items, as well as look up different restaurants with their nutrition facts.
- Make sure you're counting those "handful scoops". A handful of trail mix, M&M's, or chips can quickly add up the calories.
2. Be Aware of What You're Drinking
- We should be consuming at least a gallon of water a day, especially those who workout and sweat a lot. Grab a bigger water bottle (32oz) to make it a little easier to re-fill. If you get sick of drinking plain water, don't be afraid to add some Crystal Lite to it.
- Juices, milk, smoothies, coffee's, soda, sweet tea, energy drinks, and even some protein shakes. All of these drinks have excessive calories that we are unaware of. For example: Did you know that a White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks is 430 calories?! That's with 18g fat, 55g carbs, and 53g of sugar. That's insane! Drinks like that can add up so quickly, and even though we might be eating healthy, these drinks can throw us off completely.
3. Night Time Binging
- Now before you jump to conclusions, I completely support carbs after dark! But a lot of the time, we come home from a long day at work and seem to not be able to stop eating. Why is that?
- A lot of the time what happens, is we starve ourselves throughout the day, eating like a little bunny and then come home and are STARVING! Make sure that you're packing balanced, and satisfying meals throughout the day instead of having 1 hard boiled egg for breakfast, 2 crackers as a snack, and then a nibble of lettuce for lunch. No wonder you eat like a mad man at night!
- Space out your meals as well. Eating every 3 or so hours helps me stay satisfied. The bigger of a gap that you create between meals will also cause you to binge. You're body is trying to tell you something, so listen to it!
4. The Weekend
- The weekends can be the reason you're not seeing results. Working hard, and staying on track all week, but then the weekend arrives and you're conflicted with social gatherings that revolve around food. I definitely think you should enjoy your time at these events, but keep everything in moderation.
- If you plan on going out to dinner, look up the menu before hand so you know what to order when you get there! Be careful when ordering salads; a lot of them can be full of high fat toppings (cheese, bacon, nuts, dressings), and sometimes you're better off ordering an entree. Don't be afraid to ask for things on the side (sauces, dressings), as well as asking for your food to be steamed, and not sauteed.
- If you're going to a family/friend party, offer to bring a veggie tray! Bringing a healthy dish will help you stay on track. The best way to load up your plate is have majority of your plate contain protein, and veggies which will leave you a smaller space to add in a couple "yummy foods".
- Alcohol!!! Enjoy yourself with a drink or two, and grab a lower calorie drink such as (Rum & diet, Truly, Claw, Vodka & club soda) instead of those high calorie drinks.
Keep these four tips in mind, and keep chugging along with your fitness journey!
