Weight gain vs. Weight loss part 3

Here is the third part of "Why isn't my weight loss where I want it?"

The last two posts were earlier this week and dove into lots of reasons why weight loss might not be where it should be.  Here are some more!

Deficiencies - If you body is lacking proper nutrition or you are not absorbing nutrients like you should  your body will have a hard time shedding extra pounds.  It will want to hold onto the weight to help with the deficiency or lack of energy caused by the deficiency.  You might also experience increased hunger and cravings because of the deficiency.  9-11 servings of fruits and vegetables per day is the recommended amount to keep you from becoming deficient, especially if you are working out.  Take a multi vitamin as well to help with deficiencies.


Gender - As sad as it might be males have a higher metabolism than females.  They have more muscle mass and a higher metabolism because of it.  Females will have to work harder to lose weight and sneak in strength training as much as possible to help boost gains.

Age - Its no secret that as we age our metabolism slows down.  Our bodies do not need as much to survive as we age and are no longer growing so our metabolism is less.  A higher metabolism equals being able to eat all the time and still lose weight.

Medications - The medication alone might not be hindering your success but most medications change our chemical make up, making it harder to absorb essential nutrients and maximize success.  For example: Birth Control hinders Vitamin B absorption.  Vitamin B supplies our bodies with energy and good hormones so the less of it we have the greater the chance you will feel tired and crabby.  Depending on which medications you are on you should also consider vitamin/mineral supplementation to combat the changes happening in your body.

Style/Timing of your workouts - I like doing strength training but not everyone dose.  Strength training is an essential part of your workout program that should not be forgotten about.  Strength training will boost your metabolism longer than cardio and it will help create more muscle which means a higher metabolism all the time.  Steady state cardio will hinder weight loss, for more info on steady state cardio click here. As for the timing, some say workout in the morning, some say workout at night.  I say workout when you have the time and energy to sustain a quality workout.  A workout is better than no workout.

Macro Nutrient Breakdown - Maybe you are doing a great job eating only 1500 calories a day everyday and still not seeing success.  What is in those 1500 calories per day will make a difference.  If you are eating all carbohydrates your body will store a more water and energy levels will be down making you even hungrier.  I shoot for at least 30% of my total calories to come from fats, 30% from protein and no more than 40% to come from carbohydrates per day.

and more......
There are even more reasons as to why your body could not be losing weight but these are the most common ones I see day in and day out.

Hope you had the chance to learn a few new things during these 3 reads!
Part 1
Part 2