We often see people who really struggle to lose weight and/or maintain their ideal weight. It can be very frustrating when you feel you are doing all the “right” things, but nothing seems to work or stick.

There can be many reasons why you can’t lose weight, and because we are all individuals, those reasons will be different for each of us.

We have listed 10 reasons why you may not be able to lose weight and what steps you can take.

 

1. Being on a diet

Being ‘on a diet’ implies that there will be a time when you are ‘off the diet’. You are only eating healthily for a limited period of time cutting out those naughty habits.

If you then go back to eating in the way you were before, guess what happens? You go back to being the way you were! And therefore, put on more weight.

Shifting the emphasis to ‘I’m making healthier choices to improve my general nutrition and health’, puts YOU in control, not the ‘diet’.

2. Your diet or regime is wong for you

There are several diets / regimes that you can follow in order to help you to shift those extra pounds but they are not all going to work for you.

Your friend might lose lots of weight on a high fat diet (e.g. Ketogenic), but you may put on weight with this diet. Similarly, some people may do well on a diet with lots of carbohydrate, but for many others it will be a disaster.

The way we process our food is dependent on many factors – genetics, ethnicity, body type, lifestyle, exercise and exercise type, gut bacteria.

Invest some time in figuring out what is the right diet for you. A genetic test would be a good start, by testing over 70 genes to see how you process your food.

3. The wrong mix of exercise

4. Stress

An excess of that weight gaining hormone cortisol can also be caused by everyday stress such as work, family, lifestyle, finances etc. Consider doing an Adrenal Stress Test via your local BANT registered Nutritional Therapist: bant.org.uk – “find a practitioner”.

Not only does it release cortisol, but it also induces unconscious eating.

5. Underactive thyroid

An underactive thyroid can make it very difficult to lose weight.

Other typical symptoms include fatigue, poor temperature control, low mood, constipation, dry skin, thinning hair, loss of outer third of eyebrows.

Hypothyroidism is very under-diagnosed in this country. GPs tend to only test levels of TSH – Thyroid Stimulating Hormone which only gives you half of the story.

There are other thyroid hormones e.g. Free T4 & T3, plus thyroid antibodies that should also be taken into account.

Consider doing a Total Thyroid Screen test with your local BANT registered Nutritional Therapist: bant.org.uk – “find a practitioner”.

6. Nutrient deficiencies

Being low in certain nutrients can affect your ability to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight.
The B Vitamins, particularly B12 are important, Vitamin D, Iron, Iodine and Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids are the main concerns. Which can be found in fish, meat, poultry, eggs, dairy products, clams and beef liver, some breakfast cereals and other food products fortified with vitamin B12

These are all likely to be low in a Vegetarian or Vegan Diet.

7. Eating most of your food at night

Many people think they are “saving” calories by eating very little during the day, the tendency is to compensate by overeating at night.

Calories consumed at night are not burned off with physical activity and the excess energy is stored as fat.

We need, therefore, to consume most of our calories during the day, when we can burn them off, and eat more lightly at night.

8. Unconscious eating

Many of us eat for a myriad of reasons other than hunger. Comfort eating, boredom, self-sabotage, or just mindless snacking can really bump up the calories.

For a week, keep a food diary and record honestly everything you eat and drink. Then circle the food that you didn’t need to eat – usually snacks, numerous teas/coffees, squashes/cordials, alcohol etc. Just eliminating these from your diet can make a huge difference.

9. Quality of your food

Processed, packaged and convenience foods often have hidden sugar and empty calories. Switch to eating real, fresh, natural food. Make every meal as nutritious as possible with no hidden nasties.

Want to know how your genetics might be affecting your ability to lose weight?

Book our Nutrigenomix DNA test. An easy cheek swab sample analyses over 70 different genes to give you a wealth of dietary and lifestyle information, including how well you process fat and carbohydrate, and what sort of exercise you should be doing.

If you need a little more help and support to kickstart a healthier body and mind, then take a look at our health retreats