10 Reasons Why The Weight Won’t Budge

Hi everyone! I want to start off by saying yes, I’m alive. I had a BLAST in Seattle, and then I went right back to work, so it’s been difficult for me to get my baby (my blog) up to speed. This article below was saved for last week, but I didn’t have access to post it, so I’m giving it to you now! I’ll have a recap of my Seattle trip up next week. I have so many fun pictures to share 🙂

Here are my 10 reasons as to why those stubborn pounds won’t come off!

1. You aren’t drinking enough water. It sounds counterintuitive, but drinking more water prevents water retention and bloating. I try to drink up to a gallon a day. If you can’t do a gallon, shoot for half a gallon first. Keeping hydrated helps boost fat loss and fires up your metabolism. Gulp away!

2. You skip meals. NEVER skip meals. Your body will go into starvation mode and then when you eat excess calories, those will be stored as fat. Always eat breakfast it revs up your metabolism for the day!

3. You hoard calories. This is related to reason #2. I know people that will snack on nothing but a few veggies all day and then they go home so they can have a huge feast. It just makes you feel bloated at the end of the day, not to mention you are likely to overeat once you start. If you stay satisfied all day you are less likely to get trapped in this vicious cycle.

4. Your cardio is not as intense as it should be. If you do the same cardio every single day, the body adapts. Try to change it up every now and then to challenge yourself. I’ll throw in intervals to increase my heart rate, or do spurts of an intense 10 minutes, then go lift for a little bit. If you aren’t sweating, take it up a notch!

5. You’re not lifting heavy. The heavier you lift, the more likely you are to build muscle. The more muscle you have, the more calories and fat you burn!

6. You aren’t eating enough. Along the lines of the food reasons above, this is a BIG one. People think in order to lose weight you need to eat a lot less. FALSE. During prep I am constantly eating. It may not be a burger and fries, but lean proteins, lots of veggies, and moderate carbs do the trick every time.

7. Your support system lacks positivity. If you surround yourself with people who support your goals, you are more likely to succeed. Try to kick extra negativity out of your life, or at the least explain to those who do not understand why you want to make a change for the better.

8. You’re stressed. This one is huge. Normal levels of cortisol increases energy and metabolism. Stess causes cortisol levels to increase. When these levels are super high your body goes into a fight or flight response, causing an excess of storage in energy. This unused stress energy can build up around the abdominal organs, causing excess fat. The stress response can also lead to an increase in appetite where you have emotional eating or “stress eating”.

9. You’re not sleeping enough. If you are doing a regular exercise program your body NEEDS sleep. Lack of sleep causes bloating, water retention and muscle fatigue, If you are not getting enough sleep you are also more likely to skip gym days because your body is so beat down. Even if you work like a madman/woman find time to slip in those zzzz’s.

10. You sabotage yourself. In order to see weightloss it takes time. Results do not happen overnight. Unfortunately we live in a “I want it now” society. We want instant gratification and results. If after a week or two you aren’t seeing much change, KEEP going. Don’t quit. When a month has passed, you’ll see change if you’re consistent. It’s hard to see it in the beginning, but if you quit or let loose then your hard work over the past few weeks was ruined and you have to start from square one again. Don’t let that happen.

I hope this helped. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you on Monday!

XOXO With a Cherry On Top,

-Minnie