Have you ever wondered that with all the exercises you’ve been doing, that your weight still remains the same? You might be asking yourself why things are not working as they are supposed to.
There’s More Required of You
If exercise is not helping, perhaps there are things that you still need to do. Don’t be discouraged. The truth is: you are closer to your goal, but there may be some changes that you need to do so that your fat-burning strategies will take off.
1. You are insisting that cardio is the way to go
The typical cardio workouts are not really that effective in losing fat. It can’t burn enough calories, and the more cardio workouts you perform, the more your body gets used to it.
In other words, the longer you stay in this program, the lesser will you be able to burn fat. A better alternative is to perform intervals. These exercises will burn more fats with the same time that you spend on cardio. They develop a big metabolic effect that can increase the rate of fat burn even after you’ve finished doing the exercises.
2. Cheating sometimes is OK, but you’re doing it wrong
Cheating on your diet plan is OK but don’t do it wrong. If you have a deficit in calorie, you reduce your body’s leptin level. It is the hormone that controls your body weight and checks starvation. If your leptin level is very low, reducing your weight will be more difficult – thus leading to more fat build up.
You can restore your leptin level to normal by eating an occasional meal high with carbs. But the thing is: the meal must be high-carb, not high fat. If you eat high carb and high fat meals, you will send the nutrients to your fat cells, compromising your fat reduction program.
3. There’s a lack of protein in your diet
If you skimp on your protein intake, you are slowing the rate of your fat loss. When you do this, you are actually burning more calories to digest the small amount of protein you take in. Protein will also keep you feeling full while maintaining your muscle mass and shedding your body fats.
The Journal of Nutrition published a study that showed high protein diets improve body composition, insulin levels and cholesterol markers more than diets consisting of moderate protein. If you are on a weight loss diet, the best way is to take at least 1 gram of protein for every pound of your body weight.
4. Your strength is not increasing
Don’t ignore strength training while you are on a fat loss diet. When your body experiences calorie deficit, you will lose muscle strength. But you can prevent this from happening if you will continue doing heavy strength training.
By adding more muscles, you will also increase your basal metabolic rate. That will boost the amount of calories you will be able to burn in one day. So, focus on building your muscle strength and size in your workouts by using higher weights and lower reps.
5. There’s too much stress in your life
Both physical and mental stress can compromise your fat loss program because it increases your cortisol. If you have increased levels of cortisol, there will be interference in the production of your testosterone and growth hormones. This will lead to reduction in muscle growth, which will lead to more fat gain and will weaken your bones.
You need to relax and reduce your stress levels. This can be done by doing some meditation, yoga, and breathing and stretching exercises. Scheduling a day of rest every week will help tremendously. Remember to stop by your favorite gym such as In-Shape or Planet Fitness to being your journey on a healthier life.