source: http://www.fitnaijaweb.com/7-reasons-youre-not-losing-weight/

Concerned how you’ve putting in some effort to your weight loss goals without any results? Well, here are 7 possible reasons why it’s taking you so long to start shedding some pounds.

1. You’re Still Drinking Sugar

Sugary beverages are the most fattening items in the food supply. Our brains don’t compensate for the calories in them by making us eat less of other foods.

This isn’t only true of sugary drinks like Coke and Pepsi; it also applies to “healthier” beverages like Vitamin water – which are also loaded with sugar.

Even fruit juices are problematic, and should not be consumed in large amounts. A single glass can contain a similar amount of sugar as several pieces of whole fruit!

2. You’re Not Cutting Back on Carbohydrates

If you have a lot of weight to lose, and/or if you have metabolic problems like type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes, then you may want to consider a low-carb diet.

In short-term studies, this type of diet has been shown to cause up to 2-3 times as much weight loss as the standard “low-fat” diet that is often recommended.

Low-carb diets can also lead to improvements in many metabolic markers, such as triglycerides, HDL cholesterol and blood sugar, to name a few.

3. You’re Eating Too Often

It is a myth that everyone should be eating many, small meals each day in order to boost metabolism and lose weight.

The studies actually show that meal frequency has little or no effect on fat burning or weight loss.

It is also ridiculously inconvenient to be preparing and eating food all day. It makes healthy nutrition much more complicated.

There is even an incredibly effective weight loss method called intermittent fasting. This involves deliberately going without food for extended periods of time (15-24 hours or more). You can read about that here.

4. You’re Not Drinking Enough Water

Drinking water can have benefits for weight loss.

In one 12-week weight loss study, people who drank half a liters of water 30 minutes before meals lost 44% more weight.

Drinking water has also been shown to boost the amount of calories burned by 24-30% over a period of 1.5 hours.

5. You’re Drinking Too Much Alcohol

If you like alcohol but want to lose weight, then it may be best to stick to spirits (like vodka) mixed with a non-caloric beverage. Beer, wine and sugary alcoholic beverages are very high in calories.

Also keep in mind that the alcohol itself has about 7 calories per gram, which is high.

That being said, the studies on alcohol and weight show mixed results. Moderate drinking seems to be fine, while heavy drinking is linked to weight gain.

6. You’re Not Doing Cardio

For some strange reason, cardio (as in running, jogging, swimming, etc) has gotten a bad rap in recent years.

However, it is one of the most effective ways to improve your health. It is also very effective at burning belly fat, the harmful “visceral” fat that builds up around the organs and causes disease.

7. You’re Not Lifting Weights

One of the most important things you can do when losing weight is to do some form of resistance training, like lifting weights.

This can help you hold on to your precious muscle mass, which is often burned along with body fat if you are not exercising.

Lifting weights can also help prevent metabolic slowdown, and make sure that what is beneath the fat looks good.

You don’t want to lose a bunch of weight just to look “skinny-fat” underneath.

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