{"id":54757,"date":"2016-12-19T07:15:56","date_gmt":"2016-12-19T12:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=54757"},"modified":"2021-11-18T11:01:36","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T16:01:36","slug":"not-losing-weight-surprising-reasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/not-losing-weight-surprising-reasons\/","title":{"rendered":"The Surprising Reason You’re Not Losing Weight"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
Photo: Twenty20<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Suffering from a stuck scale? A slow \u2014 or plateaued<\/a> \u2014 weight loss rate can be extremely frustrating, especially if you think you\u2019re doing everything right. You\u2019re being careful not to overdo it on calorie-dense \u201chealthy\u201d<\/a> foods (Costco-sized tubs of guacamole, we\u2019re looking at you). You\u2019ve nixed all those sugary margaritas and sports drinks<\/a>. And you\u2019ve stopped kidding yourself that unlimited bacon is fair game.<\/p>\n

So what gives? You probably just need to fine-tune your approach. And surprise: It might not involve diet and exercise. Check out our list of unexpected culprits that could be sabotaging your weight loss<\/a> efforts.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>The 10 Biggest Diet Mistakes, According to Experts<\/a><\/p>\n

6 Surprising Reasons You\u2019re Not Losing Weight<\/h2>\n

1. You\u2019re underestimating how much you eat.<\/h3>\n

Are you sure that glop of cashew butter<\/a> in your morning smoothie is exactly two tablespoons? Do know how much olive oil in your salad or hummus on your baby carrots you\u2019re really consuming? It\u2019s easy to unknowingly add extra calories every time you \u201ceyeball\u201d your portions<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019re eating more than we think,\u201d says Sherry Pagoto, Ph.D., clinical psychologist at the University of Massachusetts Medical School who studies the science of obesity.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t count on those notoriously inaccurate chain restaurant calorie counts<\/a>, either, says Pagoto, who observed the wildly different sizes of her side order of baguette at various Panera locations. Her suggestion: Factor in some error correction when you tally those cals. \u201cIf you think you\u2019re eating 1,700 calories, it\u2019s probably more like 1,900,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>12 Things Nobody Told Me About Losing Weight<\/a><\/p>\n

2. You\u2019re not anticipating all those receptions and special events.<\/h3>\n

You\u2019ve probably guessed all those delicious passed appetizers baked in buttery flaky crusts are not helping your weight loss cause. But one or two won\u2019t hurt, right? An occasional indulgence won\u2019t derail your goal, says Pagoto. But an entire holiday season of \u201cjust a little bit\u201d and \u201cjust a few sips\u201d will pack on a couple of pounds over time<\/a>. \u201cYou\u2019ll always be in catch-up mode trying to get rid of those additional pounds so you never lose the original weight,\u201d she says. \u201cIf people focused on how to get through the next holiday without gaining weight, they would be so far ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. You\u2019re not giving yourself credit for new muscle mass.<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s a dieter\u2019s dream: The scale isn\u2019t moving because you\u2019ve been exercising so diligently that you\u2019ve been replacing fat pounds with new muscle weight. Well, if you\u2019ve been working a resistance routine pretty hard, there is a chance that your sculpted self-improvement isn\u2019t being reflected on the scale, even if you\u2019re looking leaner. \u201cYou think you\u2019re not losing weight, but you\u2019re really gaining muscle,\u201d says Joan Chrisler, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Connecticut College, who studies the effect of weight loss on women. \u201cIt\u2019s so easy to get discouraged.\u201d A better gauge of your progress might be how your clothes fit and feel. (Check out these 19 reasons to work out beyond the perfect body<\/a> for a little extra motivation!)<\/p>\n

4. You\u2019re not getting enough sleep.<\/h3>\n

Lack of shuteye can derail your best weight loss intentions, according to recent research<\/a> that sheds light on this little-known link. And it hits from several angles. \u201cWhen you\u2019re feeling tired, you want to perk up by eating something, and we gravitate towards certain foods,\u201d says Pagoto. (Hint: It\u2019s not salad.) \u201cAnd the last thing you want to do is exercise when you\u2019re falling asleep at your desk at 4 p.m.\u201d Not only does too little sleep<\/a> throw a monkey wrench into your appetite and stress hormones, life just feels harder. \u201cWhen you\u2019re tired, following through with a plan is more difficult,\u201d she says. Be cognizant of that \u2014 and keep some healthier snacks<\/a> on hand \u2014 and you can prevent your slump from downward spiraling.<\/p>\n

5. You might be uncomfortable with the new attention.<\/h3>\n

If you think carrying extra weight is uncomfortable, the process of shedding pounds<\/a> can bring up all kinds of surprising and scary emotions, too. \u201cI\u2019ve had clients who had lost a noticeable amount of weight tell me they were getting lots of compliments. They said \u2018I was the same person before. Why didn\u2019t my coworkers notice me then?\u2019\u201d says Chrisler. \u201cBut they felt uncomfortable with the attention and started to gain the weight back<\/a>.\u201d Be mindful you\u2019re not sabotaging your goals because you\u2019re blindsided by too many \u201cWay to go\u2019s!\u201d Accept compliments graciously and then change the subject if you prefer.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> The 9 Best Things to Say to Someone Who Has Lost Weight<\/a><\/p>\n

6. You\u2019re setting your goals too high.<\/h3>\n

Fitting back into your high school Guess jeans is a noble goal. Just make sure it\u2019s realistic, advises Pagoto. \u201cData suggests that the bigger the goal someone sets, the more likely they will be disappointed they\u2019re not achieving it and want to throw up their hands in the air,\u201d she says. Her advice: Set many small goals. \u201cWhen you get there, you\u2019ll think \u2018I nailed it!\u2019 and want to keep up your efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You\u2019re obsessively tracking every bite you eat and logging daily workouts. But if you\u2019re not shedding pounds as quickly as you\u2019d hoped, try these tweaks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":54762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7,18],"tags":[41,289,51,326,341,380,285],"class_list":["post-54757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","category-weight-loss","tag-diets","tag-exercise","tag-food-choices","tag-portion-control","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2diet-advice","tag-weight-loss"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}