It can be quite challenging to lose weight. There are times when you might feel like you’re following the diets, exercising and making healthy lifestyle choices. Still, things stop you from losing weight! You just need to take out some time and identify the problems. It is essential to know the internal and external factors that need to be considered and managed in your weight loss journey.
Nutritionist Anjali Mukerjee shared on Instagram a list of factors that prevent you from losing weight. Maybe you are facing one of these problems due to which your weight loss goal is going further away from you.
1. Stress impacts weight
If you are highly stressed, there will be a lot of inflammation in your body, and that will stop your weight loss.
According to University Of Utah Health, stress and your waistline are connected. For instance, studies have shown that stress can lead to an increase in your cortisol levels (the stress hormone). If you have higher levels of cortisol in your body, it can cause you to feel hungrier, and crave foods that have a lot of calories, sugar and fat. If the cortisol levels shoot up, it can also cause people to build up belly fat.
2. Check for infections
If you have some form of infection in your body, your weight loss journey will get affected. This happens as your body starts to fight that infection. It ends up giving priority to fighting that infection rather than helping you lose weight.
3. Constipation can slow down weight loss journey
It might slow down your weight loss journey. So, it is essential to pass stool. According to Cleveland Clinic, constipation means having less than three bowel movements in one week. However, how often you pass stool varies from person to person. Some have bowel movements many times a day while others have them just one to two times a week.
It is one of the most frequent gastrointestinal complaints in the US, and at least 2.5 million people consult their doctor each year due to constipation.
4. Eating excess sugar and fat can lead to weight gain
There are times when you crave something sweet and unhealthy, but eating in excess will do no good to your body. The World Health Organization suggests to reduce the amount of total fat intake to less than 30 percent of total energy intake to help in preventing unhealthy weight gain.
5. Lack of sleep can affect weight loss journey
A study that featured in the International Journal of Obesity found a connection between insufficient or disrupted sleep and weight loss. As per the study, overweight people who did not sleep well lost less weight as compared to their peers who had no sleep issues.
So, in addition to eating well and working out, it’s important to lead a stress-free life, sleep well to reach a safe weight zone!
