I hope you are having an amazing day and thank you for letting me teach you a little something today! 🙂
Losing body fat can be a constant battle. If you are like most you probably visit a scale at least 3 or 4 times per week. Constantly battling against that number slightly moving in each direction and you just can’t seem to shake off the body fat for good. Believe me when I say you are not alone!
Before you go on, I want you to prepare to be totally and brutally honest with yourself today…
With the career path that has chosen me it is my responsibility to help you win that battle every time you step on the scale. Let me first explain that I am NOT one to read into the number on the scale because I believe that your body fat percentage is a better representation of health and fat loss. But since we are being honest, body fat is mass and if you are losing fat the scale will tip in a favorable direction.
So here is where your honesty comes in. I am going to give you five different reasons why the scale may not be cooperating with your weight loss efforts. Identify which of the five apply to you and fix them now!
Reason #1 – You Decided to Eat Diet Foods
When you walk into a grocery store you chose the foods that say “fat-free”, “30% less sugar”, “half the calories”. All of these marketing tools are used by the food industry to target those who are trying to lose weight. I want to you absorb the notion that fat-free foods are good for you and throw it in the trash! These terms should read “this product has chemicals”, “toxic to your body”, and “don’t eat this if you want to lose weight!”
Diet foods are a marketing scheme. It may seem like it is something that will help you but when these foods are consumed they cause an array of hormonal imbalances that demote weight loss. The fat, sugar, and calories are replaced with chemicals, artificial sugars, dyes, GMO’s, and preservatives that will slow and even halt your weight loss efforts!
Reason #2 – Eating Too Many Processed Carbs
Processed carbs are processed carbs. Whether you are eating a Cliff Bar or a Ho-Ho the body will treat it the same way. Insulin and blood sugar levels will get thrown off once again slowing your weight loss. Your scale will not lie to you! If you think that any processed carbs will help you lose body fat, think again! It is hard to think that a protein bar can have the same effect as a bag of Lay’s but coming to terms with that notion will help your scale agree with you!
Stay away from boxed or bagged foods! If the food item has more than 5 ingredients on the back it is most likely highly processed!
Reason #3 – Not Eating Enough Calories
It is common to think that eating less will cause you to lose weight, so not true. Severe calorie restriction will cause your body to hold onto body fat. I am sure you have heard of the term “starvation mode”, right? Limiting your calories (to extreme measures) will cause your body to store whatever you are eating as body fat.
This is not a license to go out and stuff your face but only a heads up that too little food will negatively impact your scale’s decision to show you a progressive number!
Reason #4 – Too Much Cardio
Excessive steady-state cardio releases cortisol or the “stress hormone” in your body. Cortisol has proven to promote storage of body fat. So if you are wondering why someone training for a marathon has a lot of body fat, this is the reason!
Interval training is the way to go. Short hard bursts of exercise followed by less intense exercise or rest periods is the best way to lose weight fast.  This is the reason that 15 minutes of Burst Training is more effective than an hour on the treadmill! Now do you know why MamaBurst.com rocks?
Reason #5 – You Are Not Getting Enough Sleep
Working out, nutrition, and mindset are all factors in losing weight. The one most overlooked factor is lack of sleep. During your slumber your body has a chance to metabolize all the bad stuff and use all the good stuff! I recommend sleeping from 6-8 hours per night and getting yourself into a routine.
The difference between success and failure can be as simple as Facebooking an hour less each night 😉
Are any of these five things part of your routine? If so, it is time to make some changes!
