So, you’ve been sticking to your diet, tracking your calories, watching your macros, and strengthening your willpower, but you’re still not seeing the results you’d hoped for. Experts at Halevy Life note that the failure rate of dieting is 95% and most dieters will regain their lost in weight in 1 to 5 years. Not seeing the scale move while you’re dieting is frustrating and demoralizing. Get back on track and crush your weight loss goals once and for all by watching out for these four common reasons diets fail.
Not Exercising
If you’re relying on a diet alone to help you transform your body, you’re only tackling half the battle. Not only will exercise burn calories and boost your metabolism while you’re doing it, but it also provides longer lasting benefits. Studies have shown that you continue to burn more calories in the hours after a workout than you normally would. Additionally, exercise helps you build lean muscle which is essential both for slimming down and improving your physique and for burning more calories even while you’re at rest.
Sleep & Stress
Not enough of one and too much of the other can have a seriously detrimental effect on your diet and weight loss initiatives. The reason is twofold. First, lack of sleep and high stress negatively impact all of your bodily functions including those that regulate metabolism. As your metabolism slows, it becomes harder and harder to burn calories effectively - even when you're dieting and exercising. Secondly, stress and sleepiness can reduce your willpower and trigger cravings making you more likely to overeat or make poor food choices.
Not Optimizing Your Metabolism
Your metabolism determines how many calories your body burns both at rest and during physical activity. If weight loss is your goal, you have to optimize your metabolic function. To boost your metabolic burn always eat breakfast, have small meals frequently throughout the day, and include exercise in your daily routine.
Eating More than You Realize
You may be sabotaging your diet accidentally. Often foods marketed as fat-free or healthy options have a high-calorie content. To ensure you aren’t consuming more calories than you realize pay close attention to serving sizes and track your calories. Numerous calorie counting apps are available to help make this process easier. By paying closer attention to what and how much you’re eating will make your diet more effective.
Any of these culprits could be causing your diet to fail. Understanding what impact they can have on your diet and how to overcome them, you’ll be on your way to achieving success. Make sure you include exercise as part of your weight loss routine. Get enough sleep and take steps to reduce stress. Optimize your metabolism by eating smart as well as healthy, and track your calories.
Meghan Belnap is a freelance writer who enjoys spending time with her family. She loves being in the outdoors and exploring new opportunities whenever they arise. Meghan finds happiness in researching new topics that help to expand her horizons. You can often find her buried in a good book or out looking for an adventure.