What are the 10 factors that make it difficult to lose weight? If you say, “Why can’t I lose weight?” these recommendations are for you!
With the pandemic, the increased time spent at home and the restriction of mobility, the constant desire to eat and drink, has led to weight gain for many of us. As a result, those who want to get rid of excess weight and return to their ideal weight have gone in search for ‘how to loose weight?’ However, seeing that these requests and efforts are not reflected on the scale can often be demoralizing, while also reducing motivation.
Nutrition and Diet specialists say, “The inability to maintain body weight control, not being able to see the weight loss we are aiming for on the scale may have caused us to take away the source that motivated us in the first place and return to the beginning. On top of that, seeking miracles with unrealistic goals and following shock diets that are unsustainable, that can cause us to lose weight, are among the biggest mistakes made,”.
Nutritionists explained 10 factors that make it difficult to lose weight, and gave important warnings and recommendations to those who said “why can’t I lose weight?”
10 factors that make it very hard to lose weight
Counting calories for to lose weight
Are all calories equal? Those who say “calories are calories” say there is no difference between consuming a 250-calorie slice of chocolate cake and a meaty vegetable dish with equal calorie value and will have the same effect on your weight. It is true that all calories have the same amount of energy, but our body counts not only calories, but also molecules.
Your food preferences; it has a great effect on biological processes that control what, how much and when you eat. If you do not exceed the energy level you need to consume daily and cannot lose weight, one of the factors that causes this may be your food choice. Therefore, the content of the nutrients you consume is as important as the amount of calories you get in the weight loss process.
Insufficient water consumption
Our body’s water content ranges from 42 percent to 70 percent, depending on your age and gender. Digestion, absorption and transport of nutrients to cells; Water, which is essential for many metabolic processes such as the removal of harmful waste from the body, can also slow down the weight loss process when not consumed enough during the day.
When the body is dehydrated, digestive enzymes and intestines can slow down, causing weight gain. Another reason is that the feeling of thirst felt by insufficient water consumption is confused with hunger and appetite control becomes difficult. Increasing your water consumption with a healthy diet plan can help with weight loss by increasing your metabolic rate and reducing your appetite.
So how much should there be sufficient water consumption? A healthy adult individual should consume 30-35 ml of water per kilo. The best source of water is water, and incorporating other liquids you take during the day into this amount will reduce your consumption. For those looking for a clear answer, an average water consumption of 2-2.5 liters per day is ideal.
Insufficient physical activity
The main thing in the weight loss process is to catch a calorie deficit, that is, not to get more energy than you spend. You can lose weight by creating a calorie deficit without exercising, but exercising regularly is one of the important factors in maintaining and maintaining weight loss, along with energy-limited diets.
It is very important that the person does exercises at least 3-4 days a week over 30 minutes and in accordance with the health condition of the person. Especially in our age when living conditions make us less mobile, regular physical activity supports the weight loss process, but also contributes to the development of body composition by preserving muscle tissues and increasing fat loss.
Inadequate and poor quality sleep patterns
Sleep is an important factor in weight control. Adequate/quality sleep patterns are essential for the continuation of brain functions, the fulfillment and regulation of metabolic and physical functions of our body. 2015, studies show that sleeping less than 6 hours and more than 9 hours can trigger weight gain, though.
The deterioration in our sleep patterns affects our circadian rhythm, which we call the inner clock of our body, which greatly affects the release of our hormones. Especially ghrelin and leptin hormones, which regulate our hunger and satiety signals, can lead us to foods with high calorie density with deteriorating sleep patterns, causing increased calorie intake and slowing down the weight loss process.
On a day when you wake up without getting sleep, you may experience weakness, slow movements or be in constant sleep. This can cause your physical activity to decrease during the day, reversing your energy balance in the direction of weight loss. Therefore, once you have determined the sleep duration that is ideal for you, falling asleep at 23.00 at the latest will help your body to rest, to be more physically active the next day and to balance hormone levels, supporting your appetite control.
Disease presence and weight relationship
There are many factors that make it difficult to lose weight. In addition to the modifiable risk factors you have at your disposal, such as sleep patterns, physical activity, insufficient water consumption and incorrect food selection, you may also have a hormonal problem such as insulin resistance, hypothyroidism, cushing’s disease or polycystic ovary syndrome.
For this, you should see an endocrinology and metabolic diseases specialist, apply the treatment recommended by your physician if your blood values are outside the range you should have and request that you contact a dietitian and create a special nutrition program for you.
Inadequate and unhealthy nutrition
Dieting very low calorie, reducing nutrient intake by going hungry or completely removing certain food groups from the diet leads to insufficient macro and micro nutrients.
The idea that ‘if I eat less, I will lose more weight’ does not work in the long term and causes the weight lost in the short term to not lose fat and to slow down the metabolism along with body composition. As a result, your weight loss rate may decrease. You should manage the weight loss process with a diet that is balanced in protein, carbohydrates and fat ratios that suit your energy needs.
Miracle food quest
Social life, diet, body weight have been bothering almost everyone lately. This affected our view of nutrients and changed over time. We’re all looking for a savior. When we are included in a healthy eating program, situations can arise where we reverse the beneficial effects by imposing miraculous meanings on many foods that make it easier for us to lose weight.
For example, consuming avocados rich in antioxidants, fiber, monounsaturated fat and vitamin E in the amounts determined within a healthy diet plan supports the weight loss process, while increasing the calories consumed and complicating the weight loss process.
Unsustainable eating habits
With the influence of social media, we have recently encountered many different diets such as nutrition models that are not scientifically worthless, meals produced for consumption in different forms. And if someone around you lost 10 kilos using an “X” or a “Y” diet, it can make all this more interesting.
However, an individually unprepared diet program can make it difficult for you to lose weight by not gaining a permanent eating habit. You can achieve sustainable and permanent weight loss with a healthy eating program based on science, not individual experiences, that suits your needs and social life as well as your psychological situation.
Weighing all the time!
Weight varies throughout the day, and constantly weighing during the weight loss process does not ensure that you get results as soon as possible. There may not be regular weight loss every day after starting a healthy eating program, or the scale may not show the correct result due to factors such as the amount of fluid and food you consume during that day, your urine or defecation status.
Weighing frequently and leaving all this behind can cause you to be demoralized because “I’m on a diet but I can’t lose weight”, and by giving up diet, the weight loss process can be prolonged. The recommended is to achieve slow and permanent weight loss. In order not to decrease motivation and to see the correct result, measurement should be carried out 1 time a week, on the same scale, in the morning on an empty stomach, after defecation and without clothes.
Hidden calories make it difficult to lose weight!
“I eat healthily but I can’t lose weight!” is one of the frequently heard phrases. While you’re very confident that you’re eating healthily or that your food preferences are right, you may be unwittingly over-consuming certain foods and beverages. However, while you think you can get fewer calories by shrinking your portions, the actual amount of calories in the food you eat may be much higher than you think.
Especially the sauces used and the preferred cooking method can increase the amount of calories of the food you eat. Sugary drinks, soups, oil seeds and smoothies, which have recently emerged as a healthy alternative, can also be a hidden source of calories. You should remember that this can make it difficult for you to lose weight, as well as cause weight gain.