What's Really Stopping You From Losing Weight
Weight loss should be simple. Burn more calories than you can eat. That's a simple truth; you do lose weight if you burn more calories than you eat. So if you're burning more than you take in, either through exercise, cutting calories, or a combination of the two, why can't you lose weight? A good weight loss program can help you, but it has to look at more than the basic formula.
You're Still Eating Too Much
One issue is that you're just eating too much. You may think you're eating below your target, but you could really have underestimated and instead been eating at maintenance or above. Remember, if you eat the number of calories needed to maintain your weight, you aren't going to lose weight. If you can track calories, do so for a few days without judgment; you may find your answer. If you hate counting calories, try to do it for a few days anyway while reminding yourself that you're doing it only to see what's going on.
You're Doing Too Much
It is possible to stress your body to the point where it won't let go of any weight. Doing too much exercise, cutting too many calories, using a weight loss scheme that is way too complicated; all of these and more can sabotage your weight loss because your body thinks it's in dreadful conditions (and honestly, if you're doing too much and creating all this stress, it is in dreadful conditions). It's going to preserve all that body fat for future energy. What you need is a moderate weight loss program that lets you eat a little more, rest a little more, and generally relax about it a little bit more.
Your Plates and Portion Sizes Are Growing
A large plate with little food looks rather sad and a bit scary. Do you have enough food, asks the most basic part of your brain. So there is a tendency to load up your plate so that it looks full. The thing is, even if you load it up with lettuce, you're taking in more calories this way. Unfortunately, your dishes may be working against you because a typical dinner plate is now much larger than it was 50 or 60 years ago. CBS 8 in San Diego took a look at the size of dinner plates now and then and found that yes, the sizes have changed; the salad plates of today are the same size as the dinner plates used in the 1960s. This means that if you fill your plate now, using a current "dinner plate," which tends to be about 12 inches across, you're taking in many more calories than you would if you had used a dinner plate from the 1960s, which would have been 8.5 to 9 inches across.
When you look at weight loss programs, get you one that looks at more than just calories in and out or more than just creating some super-intense plan. You want one that keeps portion sizes, body stress, and life in general in mind.
For more information about weight loss, contact a local professional.
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