Why am I not losing weight? The most common causes explained

 

"No matter what I do, I don't lose weight." Millions of people think this way or something similar every day. New diets and workout routines are constantly tried, but the weight remains more or less the same. What could be the reason? Why simply don't I lose weight? Maybe the following approaches can help you.

 

Numerous studies show that diets do not work in the long term. This is also more than logical. Why should a short-term diet permanently ensure a lower body weight? After all, certain mistakes or problems in nutrition initially caused the overweight. Once the diet is over, people fall back into their old eating habits. So you should start thinking in terms of permanent dietary changes rather than diets. permanent dietary changes instead of diets.

Take a look at your diet for this. Through which critical habits does your overweight arise? Do you tend to often eat snacks like chips or gummy bears? Do you often overeat at dinner because you ate too little during the day? Is it the choice of foods, do you eat too many processed convenience foods? The answers to these questions are much more helpful than searching for the next diet.

By the way, you should stop looking for tips and advice in nutrition magazines and the like. If these magazines gave the right tips, one issue would be enough. They basically live off the fact that affected people do not have lasting success in weight loss.

So: Forget strange diets like low-carb, strawberry diets, or ketogenic diets. What matters are permanent, healthy, and feasible dietary changes that ensure a healthy diet and healthy weight in the long run.

 

Still, it could be that you do not lose weight. Studies have revealed interesting connections between the gut flora and people's weight. For example, it has been found that the microbiomes of overweight people are similar; they contain certain bacteria in high numbers that are hardly or not at all present in slim people.

Furthermore, studies have provided indications that a person's microbiome can influence their eating habits and even cravings for certain foods. Exactly how the bacteria influence people's personal cravings is unclear. Nevertheless, the insight is interesting that our microbiome could possibly be responsible for overweight. Accordingly, it would be even more difficult for overweight people to achieve lasting weight loss.

 

Losing and gaining weight follows the laws of thermodynamics. From this, a very simple principle is derived that explains any weight loss: To lose weight, a calorie deficit must exist. You must consume fewer calories than you burn. Then your body must draw on fat reserves to meet its energy needs. Also, you can remember that one kilogram of body fat contains about 7000 kilocalories. So you would need to burn 7000 kilocalories more than you consume to lose one kilogram of body fat.

This is the basic principle of any weight loss. As you can see, it is relatively irrelevant whether you avoid carbohydrates or fats. What matters in principle is that more calories are burned than consumed.

Be sure to note that the calorie deficit should not be too large. This could lead to a "broken metabolism." A broken metabolism can occur if too few calories are consumed over a long period. Then the body enters the so-called "starvation mode." It reduces energy consumption because it fears starvation. This makes further weight loss significantly more difficult. To avoid this hunger state, a small calorie deficit should be maintained.

Symptoms of a broken metabolism can be cold hands and feet as well as fatigue and tiredness in everyday life. These signs indicate that your body wants to save energy at all costs.

 

There can be many reasons. Usually, your calorie deficit is not sufficient. You are not consuming fewer calories than you burn, which would require your body to draw energy from fat reserves. By the way, you should exercise when losing weight because otherwise your body primarily breaks down muscle. Muscles consume much more energy than fat cells, so your body breaks down muscle to save energy.

If calorie intake has been adjusted accordingly and you still do not gain weight, you should see a doctor. Different causes can then prevent weight gain. For example, disorders in the gastrointestinal tract that prevent complete nutrient absorption. Metabolic disorders can also prevent weight gain.

That is very individual. Overweight people who start losing weight go from a calorie surplus to a calorie deficit. This is an adjustment for the body's metabolism because it now has to draw more energy from fat reserves. If the calorie deficit is too large, a broken metabolism can develop as described above. How long the adjustment takes is unclear.

A person loses weight when they have a calorie deficit. Independently, disorders in the gastrointestinal tract or metabolism can trigger weight loss. Even then, the body simply prevents calorie absorption, so a calorie deficit ultimately causes weight loss.

People gain weight according to the laws of thermodynamics when they have a calorie surplus. Again, problems with the thyroid or disorders in the digestive system can cause issues with weight gain.