Six Reasons You Aren't Seeing Results From Working Out

Oftentimes people come to me concerning the fact that they are "doing everything right"- hitting the gym daily, staying on top of their nutrition, getting enough sleep at night, etc.” So what else could they possibly do to reach their goals when their weight stalls or they stop seeing results? Below are six factors that may impede your progress:

1. You’re not tracking your food intake, and if you are, you’re not tracking it accurately

If your goal is to lose weight, it’s imperative that you pay attention to your caloric consumption. Body composition, on the other hand, takes into account the quality of your food. (However, make sure you do pay attention to both for health and digestive reasons!) How can you be more precise than just watching what you put in your mouth? Write down what you’re eating for a few weeks— I recommend apps such as MyFitnessPal to to log your intake conveniently, buy a food scale, use measuring cups and spoons, meal prep for simplicity and on-the-go nourishment.

2. You’re not in a true caloric deficit

As stated previously, if your goal is weight loss, you must pay proper attention to the amount of food you’re eating. In order to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you consume- it’s as simple as that. Note that this does not necessarily mean “EAT LESS” than you currently do in order to weigh less; it’s all relative, meaning eat less calories than your body burns. You can find *about* how many calories your individual body needs by chatting with your nutrition coach- that’s me! You can also use an online macronutrient calculator to get more specifics on the carb/fat/protein amounts your body needs.

3. STRESS and lack of sleep

This one is extremely looked over; these factors can play such a vast role in a person’s weight loss, as they affect the levels of cortisol in your body, a stress hormone that can lead to decreased appetite regulation, increased hunger, and even out-of-whack hormone levels when spiked. All of these functions play a seriously large role in your metabolism. Aim for around 7-8 hours of good, restful sleep every night to ensure your cortisol and energy levels remain balanced. Sometimes we feel like we’re always on the go and life doesn’t seem to slow down for anybody. Take some time for yourself and engage in meditation, yoga, or even some time to journal and jot down any stressful thoughts bombarding your mind.

4. Your exercise sessions aren’t challenging or intense enough

You’re not lifting weights, doing higher-intensity cardio, or you’re only engaging in one or the other. Strength and resistance training increase your metabolic resting rate, which benefits you after you’re done working out and causes your body to continue burning calories throughout the day, even when you’re at rest. On the other hand, high-intensity cardio challenges you aerobically, burning more calories overall during the workout. If you are only doing one or the other, switch up your routine and add both modes of exercise into your weekly regimen.

5. You’re not drinking enough water

It can be a hard habit to get into, but try to get in around 1 gallon of pure water every day- not including coffee, tea, etc. Your body tends to hold/retain water, and the more you drink, the less you will hold. Water also helps with energy levels, prevents dehydration, keeps your metabolism and digestive systems functioning regularly, and may even curb your appetite. Sometimes we think we’re hungry when our bodies are actually just craving some H2O. Drinking a glass of water in the morning before you eat or drink other beverages, including coffee, can even help with digestion and prevent bloating.

6. Believe it or not, it is possible to become too efficient at exercise

What!? Our bodies burn the most calories when we’re performing inefficient exercise, simply because it has to work harder and expend more energy to keep up the same pace. Exercise is stress on the body and your muscles. In order to achieve homeostasis, your body adapts to the stresses you place it under (and rather quickly), so you must continually find ways to challenge it and undergo the process of progressive overload. If you’re lifting weights, start tracking the volume of your workouts (sets x reps x weight= total volume for that exercise). Each week, practice increasing the volume of your lifts by either adding an extra set to an exercise, a handful of reps, or even increase the weight of that exercise. This will start a weekly increasing trend of overloading your body, forcing it to adapt to new (positive) stress.

Get Specific and Pack up, Wolves

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