3 Reasons You Are Not Dropping Weight With Exercise

I hate menopause. When you hear people say to make sure that you are in shape and have an active lifestyle by the time you are 40, believe them. The change in metabolism makes it so difficult to lose weight and get into shape. It can be exhausting.

So I have been back and forth a lot this year with my weight. I was stable for a long time and then this winter I really fell off track. Getting back into the routine is tough. But with exercise and better eating habits, I know I can win.

However, as with anything, it takes the body longer to respond the older you get. I exercise and cringe every time I get on the scale

If you’re hitting the treadmill every day and are not seeing the numbers you want on the scale, then you are not alone! Plenty of people exercise regularly and yet they still cannot seem to shed the pounds.

There could be a couple of reasons for this.

A person could have a genetic issue. There are a variety of genetic issues that can make harder for a person to shed fat. However, these genetic conditions are rare and it is far more likely that it is an issue with your diet or exercise. So let’s explore some of these issues a bit more in-depth.

3 Reasons You Are Not Dropping Weight With Exercise

1) You’re doing the wrong kind of exercise

Sure, you may be exercising regularly, but are you doing the right kind of exercise? While cardio is an important part of any good exercise regimen, cardio alone is not really the best way to go about burning fat. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is probably the best way for people to burn fat.

If you are not familiar with high-intensity interval training, it’s an exercise regimen in which a person alternates between high-intensity exercises (like sprinting or high legs lifts, jump rope, etc.) to get the heart rate up more for a small period of time. Most trainers suggest 30 second to 1 minute intervals. Then switch back to your lighter exercise for a short period to recover. Continue switching until the 15-minute session is over.

2) You aren’t cutting enough calories out of your diet

When you really break it down, losing fat is a simple process of calories in, calories out. The problem comes when people try to figure out just exactly how many calories they need to cut.

You need to be careful when cutting calories. If you do not cut enough, you will not end up shedding enough fat, but if you cut too much, then you will not have enough energy to exercise regularly!

Generally, you should aim to burn about 500 more calories than you consume each day. If you haven’t already gotten one of the many calorie tracking apps out there, you should get one immediately.

3) You’re not getting enough sleep

This may seem like an odd reason to be retaining fat, but believe it or not, sleep deprivation can really set back your weight loss efforts. There are two reasons for this.

First off, sleep deprivation causes issues with the two hormones in your body that are responsible for controlling hunger (they are called ghrelin and leptin), which means you will be hungrier than you normally would be.

Secondly, sleep deprivation causes your body to store more fat than it would under normal circumstances.

The truth is, sometimes you can be doing everything “right” and still struggle to see results. Remember, give it time! And don’t forget that you may actually be gaining pounds on the scale thanks to muscle, not fat!

Also make sure to take measurements and not just go by the scale. You may be slimming down without seeing the numbers on the scale change. Look for the NSV – non-scale victories, and celebrate those to help you stay on track!

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