It's tough. You apply everything you've learned and researched, yet when you step on the scale, nothing ever seems to change.
It's. . . to say the least, disappointing. If you ask me, your weight shouldn't mean much in the big picture.
After all, two people of the same weight can look vastly different. A better indicator is to simply look at the mirror!
But, I understand people still yearn for their weight to go down, perhaps due to exploitive fitness marketing constantly parading weight loss as the sign of success. Regardless of how you choose to see it, let's take a look at some of the reasons that might explain why you're not losing any weight.
Number 1: You've only lost water weight. One might see some initial rapid weight loss.
But most of that early weight loss is likely attributed to water weight. This is especially true of diets where carbohydrates are the first to go, forcing the body to utilize more of its glucose storage, glycogen, notorious for its water retention.
On top of any sodium reduction, which also retains water, or sweat-inducing exercises, the majority of your weight loss in the first 3 weeks is water. After that, if you cease to see any changes on the scale, then it's time to re-tinker your plan to ensure that you are indeed in a calorie deficit, aka eat fewer calories than you burn, so that you continue losing weight, especially fat weight.
Number 2: You're eating too little protein. Although typically you want to eat less during a weight loss diet, having more PROTEIN can help in two important ways.
One, protein increases satiation and satiety more so than the other two macronutrients, carbs and fats. You'll feel full faster, translating to fewer calories consumed per meal, and you'll feel full longer, delaying any additional calorie intake.
Two, protein has a relatively high thermic effect of food, the amount of energy it takes to process the food you eat. For every 100 calories of protein consumed, roughly 30 calories are used in digestion.
