Every year you have a New Years' resolution, and you swear to yourself that you are going to stick with it this time. Whether it's getting to the gym regularly, eating more vegetables, or finally dropping 10lb, you are going to do it this time.
You start off with a bang. You're hitting the gym regularly, but you notice nothing significant has changed on the scale and you're starting to get frustrated. So, your view on regular exercise starts to change and you resent it. That's when you become sporadic and then, stop going altogether.
One hour every other day at the gym can improve your health and help you lose weight but, after a short time, you'll stop seeing progress. This is the crucial point where you have to make a decision, "do I just keep doing the same thing with little to no results, or do I give up and chalk it up to my body being hard to change?"
Anyone can go to the gym for an hour three times a week, hit the treadmill or group class hard, and go home. The real change happens when you begin to look at what you're eating each day and how you are treating your body for the other 23 hours.
One hour every other day at the gym can improve your health and help you lose weight but, after a short time you'll stop seeing progress. This is the crucial point where you have to make a decision, "do I just keep doing the same thing with little to no results, or do I give up and chalk it up to my body being hard to change?"
Quitting is certainly not the answer, and neither is continuing on with the same routine that's not working for you. So, what do you do? You look at the OPEX Regina top six reasons you're not losing weight and take time to slowly incorporate them into your day-to-day.
1) You're not eating enough protein:
Protein is the single most important nutrient when it comes to losing weight. Eating protein can help boost your metabolism, help you eat fewer calories during the day, and helps keep you fuller longer. The best time of day to load up on protein is at breakfast. You will have fewer cravings throughout the day and get your metabolism kick-started in the morning. Our recommendation serving size for protein at each meal is one fist-sized portion for women and two fist-sized portions for men. Adjust your portions as needed if you find you're still hungry or feeling sluggish a few hours after your meal.
2) You're eating too many or too few calories:
A large component of losing weight is knowing how many calories you're consuming each day. The large majority of those trying to drop body fat or pounds don't actually know how many calories they eat. Eating too many calories or too few calories is detrimental to your success with weight loss. We suggest tracking your food for a few days to get an idea of your caloric intake. This can be as simple as writing down your meals in a journal or tracking them in a food app. We recommend using a food tracking app so you can start to learn the caloric value of your foods. You might just surprise yourself when you see how nutrient deficit a lot of the foods we typically eat really are. Once you have a good understanding of what foods are filled with nutrients such as protein, vitamins, and healthy fats, you can start to build a well-rounded plate at every meal with little to no effort.
3) You're not eating whole foods:
This is a big one! The quality of the food you are eating is just as important as the quantity. Whole foods help regulate your blood sugar, give you the essential nutrients your body needs for a healthy immune system, helps you drop body fat, and can help regulate your appetite. We suggest sticking with single-ingredient whole foods when shopping for groceries and put five ingredients or less on your plate at mealtime. Whole foods consist of such things as chicken breast, ground beef, fish, sweet potatoes, veggies, beans, etc. For a full list head to our free downloads.
4) You're still drinking sugar:
We all love our pumpkin-spiced lattes before work or a nice glass of orange juice in the morning. The only problem with these options is, they're loaded with hidden sugars. Some contain the same amount of sugar as eating several pieces of fruit without the added benefits of fiber.
It's not just these sugary drinks that are the problem though, it's even the vitamin waters you consume post-workout! They are loaded with hidden sugars, so they taste good. Then your brain can't compute the number of calories you are consuming to offset your hunger. We suggest sticking to water as much as possible. If you have trouble consuming enough water add a splash of lemon or try these fruit-infused waters!
5) You're not lifting weights:
The most important thing you can do at the gym to lose weight is resistance training or in more general terms, lifting weights. Adding consistent weightlifting to your exercise allows your body to retain muscle. The more muscle you have the more efficient you will become at burning calories. An added bonus to more muscle mass is stronger bones and joints.
6) You're not sleeping well:
Next to lifting weights, sleep is one of the most overlooked and neglected components of weight loss. Sleeping 7-9 hours a night helps your body recover from stress both physically and mentally. It also helps regulate the hormones in your body that control your hunger cues. When your body gets enough rest, it can repair the muscles that you broke down during your workout and allow you to fast overnight to regulate your blood sugars. We suggest getting to bed two hours before midnight, sleeping in a cold dark room, and shutting down your electronics 45 minutes before you turn the lights out.
Need help with your New Years' resolutions? Contact us anytime to learn more about our memberships and services at opexregina.ca.