As a personal trainer, fitness and nutrition coach, I have worked with hundreds of clients over the years. It seems almost every client I have worked with comes in with some form of misinformation or they believe they already have an idea of what they need to do to lose weight and keep it off. Unfortunately, many of these individuals have been told by our society to believe that there is only one way to lose weight and that is by “eating less food and exercising more.” This statement is true to some degree; you do have to create a calorie deficit each day and week to lose weight on the scale. I would also agree exercise is a very important factor in losing weight. However, just by eating less food and exercising more, you are not guaranteed to lose weight. Not to mention if you are losing weight there is no guarantee you will keep this weight off without following the correct plan.

So in this 5 part series I give you 10 reasons why most are not losing weight.

Reason 1) Not Eating Enough

My clients always think I’m crazy after sitting down with them and then telling them they are not eating enough to lose weight. I can not blame them for being doubtful after our society has been telling them on a daily basis that to lose weight you must eat less, not more. However, what most fail to realize is that eating less food can actually slow down your metabolism and put your body into starvation mode. Metabolism, in simple terms, is the speed in which your body burns through food. So eating more can increase it, and eating less will almost always slow it down. Think of your metabolism as a campfire; the more you feed it the more it will burn, and the less you feed it the more it can slow and die out. So eating more than your BMR, (basal metabolic rate) which is the amount of calories your body needs to function is key to losing weight and keeping off.

Reason 2) Eating The Wrong Foods

When trying to lose weight, most of us focus on just trying to create a calorie deficit each day and not really looking at what foods they are eating. This is a mistake in my opinion. The foods you choose are just as important as the amount of calories you eat. Not all calories are created equal. If I had a plate of donuts that equaled 1000 calories and a plate of chicken, rice and vegetables that equaled 1000 calories you think the body would recognize them the same right? Outside the body they are the same amount of calories but as soon as you eat them they are digested differently. The donuts are loaded with saturated fats and simple sugars and your body will spend little or no time digesting them and they will have a very good chance of being stored as fat. Now compare this to the chicken, rice and vegetables, which are more natural and thermic, (produces more heat during digestion) your body will recognize them as fuel and use them for energy and not for storage.

The foods you choose will be more important long term than just the amount of calories you eat. Choosing low fat meats and dairy, high fiber non processed grains, and plenty of fruits and vegetables will aid you much better in losing weight and keeping it off than just eating less.

Look For Part 2 Coming Tomorrow!

Your Fitness and Nutrition Coach,

David Modderman

Yesterday we discussed the first 2 reasons why most are not losing weight. if you missed it you can find it here: 10 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight-Part-1

Below are the Reasons 3 and 4.

Reason 3) Not Exercising Enough

To truly lose weight we have to create a calorie deficit. Therefore we have to focus on burning enough calories each day and week to drop weight. One pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. So to lose one pound of fat a week you must burn 500 calories per day.

To burn calories, I tell clients that you can do this in multiple ways. One way is by having an active lifestyle. This is important and it does count in the calorie burning equation, however, things like chasing your kids, gardening, and everyday movements will not usually be enough to help lose weight and keep it off.

Another option is to exercise the old fashioned way. I recommend 3-4 days of resistance training each week. Resistance training is important for challenging and protecting lean muscle and increasing your metabolism. Resistance training should involve the larger muscle groups like the legs, back and chest. Make sure you give your body a day of rest in between each full body session.

In addition, you also need to focus on aerobic exercise like jogging, biking and fast walking. Aerobic (cardio) exercise is great for the heart and lungs, and using your lean muscle mass to burn calories. I recommend getting 4-5 aerobic sessions in each week at 20-30 minutes per session.

Reason 4) Exercising Too Much

We live in a society where most people assume more is always better. I often get this question asked “Can I exercise too much?” The answer is, “yes, you can!” No matter what your goals are, too much hard exercise can be counterproductive. Why? The right amount of exercise with proper nutrition can help your muscles burn fat at a high rate.

However, excessive exercise and calorie burning can actually prime your body to store fat. The body can only burn fat for a short period of time. Our body has a survival mode where it will try to hold on to fat for survival.

When you exercise too much or for too long your body will stop burning fat and actually shift to breaking down muscle. When we lose muscle we actually lose our ability to burn fat. Muscle is also linked to our metabolism so this will slow down as well. A large calorie deficit of 1000 or more will sacrifice muscle and most likely cause you to store more fat. Try to stick to the 500 calorie deficit per day. This will allow you to lose more fat and hold on to more muscle long term.

Look For Part 3 Tomorrow!

Your Fitness and Nutrition Coach,
~David Modderman