First, I want to explain the principle, “Get healthy to lose weight, not lose weight to get healthy”. We all know that it’s possible to lose weight in an unhealthy way. You could lose muscle mass and feel like crap :(
We should also remember that losing weight is not a normal thing for the body, it is “anti-survival”.
It’s important to evaluate and assess the entire body before you begin making changes to your weight loss program after you hit a plateau.
When you get healthy, your body goes into repair mode. It fixes the structural part of the cell, using protein. If your body is repairing itself, it won’t necessarily mobilize fat first because the more pressing priority is to repair the cell structure. And protein is heavier by volume than fat.
If you aren’t losing weight, take a look at your energy, strength, and vitality. Did your cravings go away, and are you less hungry? Those are signs your body is repairing. Focus on them by asking the right questions.
As well, change takes time. Often, people give up too soon. It took years for the condition that is causing your weight gain to develop; you’re not going to reverse it immediately. This goes for insulin resistance, fatty liver disease, thyroid problems, cancer, and even adrenal problems. Menopause can also be a significant reason why you struggle with weight loss. So, increase your estimation of how long you think it will take to lose weight.
Be sure to differentiate between fat and muscle atrophy. This is especially important at menopause. Your adrenal glands are a backup to your ovaries. If you’re going into menopause with adrenal fatigue, you’re more susceptible to muscle atrophy. Rebuilding muscle can take a significant amount of time.
Passive-aggressive people can cause you a lot of stress, too. Just avoid them if you can!
There are many other uncommon causes, so let's learn about 13 such reasons why you may be stuck:
1. Understand what a plateau is: Your progress depends a lot on your metabolism, age, and sex. For example, a 40-year-old won't lose weight in the same way as a 20-year-old. I would say that if there is no movement in your weight for 3 weeks, you can consider that as a plateau.
2. Don't check your weight every day: Instead of checking your weight every day, you should check the most important measure of waist-to-height ratio. If it's> 0.5, you are at risk of Insulin Resistance.
3. Not counting macros/tracking: You can track macros using different apps to understand for a few weeks or a month. It can give you an idea about what gaps are there.
4. Carb creeps: There can be times when you may not know about hidden carbs. This could interfere with your progress.
5. Don't trust big-food names: They often round down carbs, manipulate serving size, use misleading wording and use sugar and sugar substitutes. Be aware!
6. Decrease Stress: It goes without saying that you must do everything you can to eliminate cortisol so that you can sleep better.
7. Optimize Sleep: As discussed above, you need to ensure good sleep else you can raise cortisol.
8. Heavy Whipping Cream: It is an interesting one that can stall your progress. It contains 0.6g of carbs & 0.8 protein per serving.
9. Too much protein: Too much protein can actually cause it to turn into glucose and fat via the process of gluconeogenesis.
10. Too many sweeteners (even keto-approved): You don’t need sweetness in your meals.
11. Try the Carnivore diet short-term: It can kill the carb-loving bacteria in your gut.
12. Try Fasting: This will help trigger autophagy, which can speed up the process of fat burning.
13. See a Doctor (if nothing works): There could be some medicines that can also slow down your weight loss or raise your blood sugar.
Let me know your thoughts below.
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