Are you working out but not losing weight? What are you doing wrong?

Spring is in full swing and most of us have ditched our Netflix and winter hibernation routines for outdoor activities and workouts a few times a week.  Part of that routine might be going for a run, spin class, or some form of boot camp.  For those in the city, perhaps you’ve taken to the streets and walk to and from work rather than taking the subway.

 A workout, is a workout after all.  So you’ve changed your daily routine to up your activity level but you still aren’t seeing any results.  What the heck is going on here?  Even though you may not think you are doing anything wrong, you might be a victim of one or more of the many pitfalls of weight loss.  Luckily, with a little help, you can recognize the pitfalls, and try to avoid them.

Common weight loss faux pas

1. You are eating the wrong foods 

Diet is said to be 80% of the battle when trying to lost weight.  You can work out every day, but if you are fueling your body with junk food and unhealthy meals, you will likely have issues keeping weight off.  Our best recommendation is the stick to all natural, whole foods.  For proper weight loss you should be eating a normal amount, but avoiding processed foods, excess carbs and sugary products.  A good way to do this when shopping at the super market is look for products that have few ingredients on their labels. Cook your own food so that you have better control of what you are putting in your body and aren’t hit with hidden additives.  Keep it simple, your body will thank you for it.

2. You’re eating too much

Eating clean is not the only thing you need to do to lose weight.  Portion control is a big part of this.  If you are eating clean, but eating too much it can be hindering you from reaching your weight loss goals.  In order to lose weight, your body needs to burn more calories than you consume.  This means you can’t eat giant portions and expect great results.  You should be eating slow and when you are hungry.  You should not feel hungry (don’t even think of depriving yourself!), or feel stuffed from over eating.  Balance is key here – so try to just cut the normal portions of what you would regularly eat.

3. You are doing too much cardio, and not lifting weights

Although a necessary part of a weekly workout routine, too much cardio can take away from losing the weight you set out to.  Doing long sessions of cardio, like long-distance runs or hours on the elliptical can break down lean muscle. This is bad since lean muscle mass increases the metabolism and allows your body to burn more calories. Running long miles our body becomes more focused on storing energy as fat to fuel you on the long miles.  Instead, you should be alternating cardio with weight training to build lean muscle.  Strength training like lifting weights, or resistance exercises like push-ups and squats help tone up your body and promote fat loss.

4. You’re not getting enough sleep

When you aren’t sleeping you are compensating by getting a caffeinated drink, or an extra meal to keep you going.  By not sleeping, you’ve already fallen for the first two weight loss pit falls on this list!  Additionally, when you are tired, you are less likely to work out, and more likely to give in to carb loaded food cravings.  Lack of sleep spikes levels of the hormone cortisol, our fight or flight hormone, and tells our body we need to conserve energy.  Conserving energy in our body translates to the body holding onto fat rather than burning it. 

5. You are too stressed out

This pitfall is again tied into the stress hormone, cortisol.  Over short periods of time, it is fine for our bodies to endure this “fight” or “flight” response, like during a workout, but over long periods of time it can be very toxic for our body and cause weight gain.  Stressful home and work life can put all the hard work at the gym and in the kitchen to shame.  Higher levels of cortisol have been associated to increased belly fat.  In addition, just like sleep, being overly stressed out can lead you to make poor foods choices and increase your tendency to binge eat.  Finding ways to de-stress is an important part of any weight loss regiment.