If you’ve been trying to lose weight but with minimal success, there may be barriers preventing you from reaching your goal that you’ve never even thought of.  It’s frustrating to not see the weight come off when you are following a fitness routine and making healthier food choices.  Understanding how certain roadblocks can hinder your efforts, can be the key allowing you to hurdle over the barrier reaching your weight-loss goal after all. 

1.     You don’t have enough muscle

More muscle equals more calories burned.  Muscle burns more calories than fat.  That’s why men burn calories a lot faster than women as they have more muscle. 

       What to do:  Start lifting weights.  To build and maintain muscle, alternate between strength

      exercises (weights) and aerobic activities (walking or running).

  2.     Genetics: The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree

If both parents are obese, you are much more likely to be obese.  Researchers estimate that genes account for at least 50-90% of your stored body fat.

 What to do:  Realize you’re not doomed.  Your weight loss challenge is just greater but not

impossible.  Losing even just a few pounds can improve your health dramatically.

3.     You’re getting older

      A slow metabolism is common as we age, especially with sedentary lifestyles.  Inactivity

       means we gradually lose muscle and increase body fat, resulting in less calories burned. 

       What to do:  Move more. Include physical activity like walking, swimming, or

       biking.  But just move more in general throughout the day.  Getting up and moving around  

       your house/workplace, standing versus sitting, cooking dinner, etc. – it all adds up as they

       burn more calories than just watching TV, checking out social media or driving.  Thin

       people tend to fidget/move more than obese people and burn as much as 350 calories more

       per day – the equivalent of 2 donuts. 

4.     The problem is in your medicine cabinet

Many medications that treat various diseases like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure affect weight.  Some make you hungrier, others stimulate fat storage.

What to do:  Ask your physician if a different medication or a lower dose could work.  Do not change your medications without discussing it them first.

5.     You underestimate your portions and calories

Most underestimate calories by huge amounts.  Women and overweight people miscalculate more than others.  Other studies suggest the greatest underestimating occurs when the meals are the largest. 

What to do:  Eat smaller portions.  Use measuring spoons, measuring cups, and a food scale to guide you.  Read food labels for serving size and calories – it can be a real eye-opener!

6.     You eat mindlessly or when distracted

Do you eat dinner in front of the TV or while on the computer?  Do you stop eating when you’re past feeling full or when the show is over or when you’ve cleaned your plate?  Such distraction leads to mindless over-eating.

 What to do:  Always eat from a plate.  Sit down and savor the taste as you eat without distraction.

7.     You deprive yourself

 Are you so strict with your diet, you can’t remember the last time you ate a donut, cookie or a slice of pizza?  Then, after a long streak of being “good,” you give in to the temptation, making you mad at yourself and feeling guilty.  You decide you’ll start your diet over tomorrow – or next week – or never.

What to do:  Take the focus away from the list of bad foods and emphasize those that are good for you.   If 90% of the time you eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy, the other 10% doesn’t really matter.  Enjoy that treat – but just one.  If you want another, it will still be there tomorrow.  After all, donuts, cookies and pizza won’t drop off the face of the earth. 

8.     You overestimate your calorie burn

 Gym machines often overestimate calories burned.  We can easily out-eat our workouts.  One hour of weight training burns around 250 calories equivalent to a 22 ounce fruit smoothie.  An hour of power walking or 30 minutes of jogging burns around 400 calories equivalent to a large bagel with cream cheese.  To burn a non-fat latte and a blueberry muffin (600 calories), one needs to walk for 90 minutes.

What to do:  Don’t reward your good work with food.

9.     You don’t drink water

We all know water keeps us hydrated but it can also aid in weight loss.  Drinking cool water can help speed up metabolism and lessens the likelihood of wanting to drink sugary beverages.

What to do:  Drink a tall glass of water before each meal which can help control the amount you eat by filling you up.  Choosing foods that contain a lot of water such as fruits and vegetables, also helps fill you up without adding a lot of calories. 

10.  You’re spouse or partner doesn’t support your weight loss efforts

 If you’re the only one in a relationship who is trying to lose weight and you’re significant other is not supportive or a hindrance to your weight-loss efforts, this can spell trouble. 

 What to do:  If they seem to be sabotaging your goals by offering you high-calorie foods or discouraging you from working out, you will have to address this issue with them.  Sit down with them and communicate you need their support.  Express your feelings of how much this means to you to get in shape and in better health, finding ways of compromise when it comes to eating and exercise. 

11.  You skip breakfast

Up to 80% of people who are overweight to obese tend to skip breakfast.  They may think it’s a great way to save calories but your body will hold on to fat because it thinks it’s being starved. 

What to do:  By eating breakfast, you can actually lose more weight as it will jump start your metabolism.  Don’t make it a bagel and cream cheese or donut breakfast though.  Have a good protein source to provide sustainable energy and a healthy carbohydrate source with fiber to fill you up for hours. 

12.   You’re still drinking soda

 Next time you reach for a soda, remind yourself there is no nutritional value whatsoever in that drink.  You’re drinking pure sugar water – about 10 teaspoons of sugar. 

 What to do:  Stop buying sugary beverages.  Keep them out of the house.  If you have to have a “taste” to a beverage, add lemon, lime or orange slices to a pitcher of water kept in the refrigerator and enjoy the natural goodness it offers – without the calories.

 13.  You eat out too much

Face it, frequent eating out at restaurants is fun, but not good for your waistline.  Restaurant-size portions and all the excess calories, fat, sugar and sodium that goes with them, add up quickly. 

What to do:  Cut back on the number of times you eat out.  Cook more meals at home where you’re in charge of the portion sizes and ingredients.  When you do eat out, split a meal with a friend, order healthy options and order water for your drink, skipping sugary or alcoholic beverages.