So much of the time I hear statements like “As hard as I try I just can’t seem to drop any weight,” or “I try to eat right and I exercise but I can’t lose weight,” or something very similar to that. That’s when I want to sit down and have a REAL conversation with them. I have (even as a trainer & nutrition specialist) said those words myself. That’s when honesty with myself comes into play and it must with you as well.
The first thing you need to look at is your actual eating habits. Do you keep track of what you actually eat, how much, and what the macros are? Do you tend to eat more because you have worked out? Do you drink alcohol? If you don’t keep track of what you eat I strongly suggest you do. Take a couple of days and actually write it down…….both what you eat and what you drink. Yes it can be a pain but the information you will get will be quite useful. BE HONEST! If you eat a Fun Size Snickers write it down……you will be surprised by the calories in one of those little boogers. The next thing I highly recommend is that you find out your Basal Metabolism Rate which will tell you about how many calories you burn in a day based on your activity, age, weight, etc. This can really be an eye opener for you. Once you know your BMR it can be very easy to track your calories in a day especially with the technology out there. My favorite app for tracking my daily food intake is “My Fitness Pal”. It is very inclusive……even many restaurants have the food on their menu on this app. Take the time to track your food but realize not tracking our food consumptions is not the only problem we may have.
Is it possible when you work out you are not working as hard as you think? It is very easy to think we are working out a lot harder than we actually are. Are you getting your heart rate up to burn those extra calories and are you lifting the weight you should to get the muscle you desire? The best way to track this is to use a heart rate monitor. There are many different brands out there from Fitbit, Apple, and Polar. My personal favorite is Polar. There are different ones for different activities. My 2 favs are the Polar 600 or the Polar 800. I have both. A heart rate monitor will tell you how active you are being as well ad how hard you are working. I hardly go any where without mine. Here are links for Amazon to purchase either of these 2 monitors. It is well worth the investment.
A couple of other hints I would give is know what your macros should be……protein, carbs, and fat intake. Based on the results you want you should eat certain percentages of each of those. A trainer/nutrition specialist can help you with this or if that is not in your budget you can do the research on your own. The information is out there. Another thing is to stay away from the processed foods if you can. Know portion size….understand just because you order it doesn’t mean you have to eat it all.
Finally, if you have done all of these things and still no results (if you are being totally honest) I would suggest a trip to your primary care physician for some blood work. Hormones can sometimes be the culprit for gaining weight or not seeing progress. A simple blood work-up can quickly answer that question.
I hope this information has been helpful for you. Trying to lose weight can be a very trying and discouraging experience. Understand its ok to not be perfect and that who you are is more important than what you look like. Take getting healthier one day at a time and even sometimes one moment at a time. Be honest with yourself. My final suggestion would be to find someone or a group you can be accountable to. Don’t be afraid to tell them what your goals are and don’t hold it against them when they actually hold you accountable. You are on the right track just by being aware of what your body is going through. You are amazing!!!! Keep fighting the good fight to be healthier and happier for those you love and care about.
