A weight loss journey can be difficult. Sometimes there are immediate results that seem to plateau. Other times, weight comes back when the person reverts to their old habits. Sometimes the weight doesn’t seem to come off at all. A successful weight loss journey is one that implements new habits that are meant to become lifestyle changes. There is no quick fix that will keep the weight off for good. If you’ve been on a weight loss journey, but haven’t lost weight and kept it off, here are 3 important things to consider.
You’re Drinking Your Calories
People often neglect to consider their drinks the way they do with their food intake. If you’ve been watching what you eat by making healthy swaps and cutting down on portions, but you’re still not losing weight, you may be drinking your calories. If you enjoy coffees loaded with sugar, flavorings, and cream, you are consuming more calories than you think. Reducing calories in other areas is not enough to allow for these types of drinks. If you enjoy coffee, try drinking black coffee or make coffee yourself so that you can control the amount of sugar and cream being added. Other drinks that may contribute to your lack of weight loss include fruit juices, sodas, energy drinks, and alcohol, just to name a few. Make water your main beverage. Try adding lemon slices if you find water boring. Don’t over-hydrate though in an attempt to fill yourself up. This can lead to an imbalance of electrolytes.
You Lack Consistency
Weight loss isn’t easy. When you follow your plan all week, you might feel as though letting loose on weekends can’t do any harm. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. It’s easy to overindulge and consume all of the calories that you successfully avoided during the week. This is how many people end up failing on their weight loss journey. Enjoying a small treat now and then is not going to undo your hard work. Over-indulging is a habit that you want to break for a healthy lifestyle. While it might happen now and then, such as at a holiday or birthday, it shouldn’t be a weekly event. By creating a lifestyle where you are able to practice self control in any situation, you will lose weight and be able to keep it off without worry.
You are Sedentary
Changing your eating habits is a good start, but for consistent weight loss and a healthy lifestyle, making movement a part of your life is important too. If you’ve lived a sedentary lifestyle until this point, jumping into something high-intensity such as running or hitting the gym is going to be overwhelming. Start with something low impact, such as walking. Get into the habit of walking daily, even if it’s just for 5 or 10 minutes to begin with. If you’ve enjoyed an activity in the past such as cycling, swimming, or yoga, make an effort to take it up again and see if it still resonates with you. This is the perfect time to try new activities to see what you enjoy and will participate in regularly. Being active will help you not only lose weight but maintain your lower weight as well.
Your weight loss journey can be a success when you make lifestyle changes. Temporary habits will only lead to temporary results. By considering the three reasons listed above for why you may not be losing weight, you can make adjustments and find your weight loss success.