Losing weight is hard, and not seeing results is just frustrating. You may be one of those who have bought fitness books or downloaded fitness plans on your latest gadgets, but still, nothing worked out; the extra pounds you've been wanting to shed off are still there in your body. You're definitely sure that you followed everything, every detail and instruction of the fitness plan, and yet your figure is still the same. Maybe, just maybe, it's not that your fitness plan is ineffective; you might be doing something that defeats the purpose and sabotages the results. Below is a list of things most people do that serves as obstacles in their weight loss programs. Read it to find out what those things are.
1. Your water intake is less than recommended. Water is a good appetite suppressant that when taken before meals, fills your stomach that causes you to eat less. Water too, is an adjunct to an increased fiber intake. Having a diet of fiber-rich foods without drinking enough water can only result to constipation. According to Pamela Wartian Smith, MD, author of "Why You Can't Lose Weight", "If you consume an aggressive amount of fiber, another 8 to 16 ounces a day is a good idea." Therefore, drinking 8 glasses of water isn't enough with that kind of diet; the recommended amount of water will be approximately 12 glasses daily if your diet includes rich sources of fiber.
2. You take in less protein. Studies show that high protein diets are great for weight-losing, body-building fitness plans. Proteins have a property that enhances the feeling of satiety that prevents us to overeat. Additionally, protein takes more energy to be metabolized by the body than carbohydrates and fat, according to Cari Coulter, RD, program director for Wellspring Weight Loss Camp in Kenosha, Wisconsin. In that sense, higher protein diets make the body burn slightly more calories in the process of digestion.
3. You sit all day. Office works can pose a number of health hazards. They seem easy because all you have to do is sit all day in front of your computer; the last thing you can experience is being physically exhausted, but this sedentary lifestyle is one of the major causes of obesity. One study from the University of Missouri-Columbia shows that sitting for a few hours causes your body to stop producing a fat-inhibiting enzyme known as lipase. It will be helpful if you get up and walk for about 2 minutes every 2 hours to burn an additional 59 calories per day. Use your smartphone as a timer to remind you every 2 hours about your 2-minute walk away from your desk.
4. Your computation is inaccurate. Counting calories is the best way to track if you're losing weight or not. Burning more calories than what you take in is a good thing, for you're on track to losing weight, and that's for sure. However, counting calories is not a simple task. More often than not, they are just but approximations. It's really hard to determine calorie intake accurately. Always leave room for margin of error for about at most 200 calories. A huge discrepancy from your calories burned and calories taken in can lead to fluctuations in your weight.
5. You work out regularly. Working out causes your appetite to increase more than usual. People tend to eat more when they work out, maybe because they feel that they have earned it or simply because they have overestimated how much they have burned. The most surprising thing about exercise is that it causes your body to store an extra two to four pounds of water to prevent dehydration. According to Michele S. Olson, PhD, Fitness advisory board member and professor or exercise science at Auburn University in Alabama, "You'll always carry that extra water unless you became inactive; it's not fat or muscle, but simply super hydration."
6. You're always stressed. Whenever you are stressed, cortisol, a stress hormone, is being produced by the body in excessive amounts, which is an appetite stimulant. Cortisol is also a trigger for the production of a brain chemical, neuropeptide Y, which increases cravings for sugar and carbohydrates. Even if you have mastered the art of depriving yourself from cravings, cortisol still can slow down metabolism. Additionally, being stressed increases fat storage in the abdominal area, where weight is harder to lose.
Even the simplest, inconceivable things we do can lead to killing our dreams and aspirations. As soon as possible, try to change the habits that keep you from losing weight and getting in great shape. All it takes is not doing the things that interfere with your fitness plan repeatedly to form a weight loss habit.
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