Losing weight doesn’t happen overnight but it should happen at a fairly regular pace. If you’ve been dieting and exercising for a while has your weight loss slowed down recently? If it has you may be falling victim to some common mistakes.
Don’t worry, it’s going to be okay. Everyone goes through dieting ups and downs. Here are some reasons why you may be seeing slowed weight loss.
4 Reasons Why Your Weight Loss Slowed Down
You’re Close to Your Ideal Weight
Slowing weight loss shouldn’t always be devastating. In fact, slowing weight loss may indicate you are nearing your ideal weight. The closer you get to your ideal weight the slower you will reduce body fat. If you’re close to your ideal BMI or are already within a healthy range, you may have a harder time losing weight then if you’re obese and overweight. Don’t get frustrated, just take it as a sign you’re getting to your goal.
Free Report: Top 5 Exercise MistakesYou’re Not Eating Enough
This may seem like advice that is contrary to common sense, but it’s one of the biggest reasons that people see weight loss slowed down. Getting your calories too low can have the opposite effect of weight loss. It can even cause slight weight gain.
What is the ideal number of calories? Well, this is a highly individualized answer. Many experts agree that women should never go below 1200 calories a day and men 1500 calories a day. These numbers are different for extremely short, sedentary, old, or young people.
If you recently noticed a slowdown in weight loss and you’re being stricter than ever on your diet, ease up. Add a few extra calories here and there to see if your weight loss improves.
You’re Exercise Routine Needs To Change
Surprisingly changing the amount you exercise every day can cause you to stop losing weight. Increasing the duration or intensity of your exercise routine can help you get through a plateau. If you’re are upping your exercise to a high volume however, you may end up forcing your body into a plateau by not upping your calories as well.
In addition to not eating enough for the amount of exercise you do, exercise can cause a plateau in weight loss by inducing overtraining syndrome. Often people who overtrain can experience stalled weight loss. Overtraining syndrome is rare and should only be considered as a last resort.
You’re Using Too Many Condiments
When people think about their weight loss they usually don’t think about their salad dressing or ketchup. Unfortunately, as your weight decreases, you need to eliminate excess calories from your diet. Things like ketchup, salad dressing, sour cream, and other condiments can be full of hidden sugar and calories. Calorie dense dressings and sauces can ruin otherwise healthy dishes.
If you want to make sure that you’re doing everything possible for your weight loss, then you need to eliminate your calorie-heavy condiments. This can give you the much-needed edge to push through your plateau.
Different Results For Different People
While it’s easy to wish that weight loss was an exact science, it’s not. Weight loss is extremely personal and can vary in speed depending on a ton of different factors. If you reach a plateau and can’t figure out why, it may be time to see a nutritional expert.
Registered dietitians can help you analyze your diet and find out where you may be messing up. They can customize meal plans and tailor your food choices to your needs. If you can’t get in to see a registered dietitian in person, that’s not a problem. Websites like MyFoodDiary has a food database curated by trained staff that makes nutrition tracking easy. These resources are priceless when trying to figure out why your weight slowed down.
Top 5 Exercise Mistakes (Free Report)
Knowing what not to do is as important as knowing what to do when it comes to burning fat and losing weight. Being healthy is about taking action to do more of the right things, and fewer of the wrong things every day.
Did you know your exercise routine may actually be hindering your weight loss efforts? There are certain mistakes that are easy to make which can cause your weight loss to slow down and even cause you to gain weight! Download my free report, Top 5 Exercise Mistakes to help you avoid these weight loss mistakes so you get the results you deserve.
