Are you asking yourself this question after several weight loss attempts going in vain??

NOT LOSING WEIGHT, WHY?

Weight loss requires a lot of determination, hard work and most importantly “patience”. There are certain factors which makes your weight loss slow. I am listing them down so that you can understand what’s going wrong.

1. Hypothyroidism– Hypothyroidism leads to weight gain. Even if you have a marginally under functioning thyroid, it can slow down your metabolism. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is decreased in hypothyroidism which leads to weight gain.
2. Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)- PCOS is a common condition that affects ovaries functions.  PCOS leads to weight gain specially in abdominal area.
3. Stress– Every time you are stressed, your body needs extra energy  to escape from a risky situation because of which which adrenaline gland releases extra glucose. Once the threat subsides, your blood glucose spike drops down. This is when cortisol comes in to replenish your energy supplies quickly. Since sugar supplies quick energy to your body, you reach out to sugar dense foods. Sugar gets stored in the abdomen area and the vicious cycle begins : get stressed, cortisol is released, weight gain, crave sugar, eat more sugar and weight gain. Weight is hard to shed once this cycle starts.
4. Unhealthy Eating Practices- When you do mindless eating rather than mindful eating it leads to weight gain. Mindless eating refers to eating while watching television, laptop, mobile etc. This might lead to constant hunger (not feeling full),bloating and not knowing what are you eating. Try to eat without screen, pray before eating as we used to do in childhood and chew your food properly. When you know what you are eating you will eat right and will eat right portion of food according to your hunger.
5. Stress Induced unhealthy Habits–
   1. Emotional Eating
   2. Consuming fast food or convenient foods
   3. Sleeping less
   4. Skipping meals
   5. Less physical activity

All these unhealthy habits also lead to weight gain as cortisol is released which increases your hunger pranks and you reach to junk food and this vicious circle leads to weight gain as mentioned earlier.

I hope now it is clear now why you are not losing weight and what all modifications are required to cut down those extra calories. Stay healthy and fit!

Author

Garima Kapoor
Clinical Nutritionist and Diabetes Educator

InstaGram – nutritionistgarimakapoor