10 Reasons You Can’t Lose Weight, and What to Do About It
Category:
Raise your hand if you’ve ever said “I can’t lose weight no matter what I do!” You’ve tried everything , but nothing works, and you’re beyond frustrated.
As a busy, midlife mom, you’re eating salads for lunch, tracking your steps, and trying to squeeze in a workout after leaving the office. Maybe you’re even suffering through dry chicken and broccoli for dinner.
Agh! So frustrating! If you’re doing all the “right” things, why can’t you lose the weight?!
You’re not alone! I know I’ve felt this way before, and I hear this from clients all the time.
As we get older, especially as we move into perimenopause, losing weight can become more challenging.
But sometimes, there IS more that we can do to kick-start weight loss.
However, our brain is sneaky! It makes it tough for us to see what other solutions and strategies are out there, that we haven’t tried yet.
Here, I’ve identified 10 reasons that you can’t lose weight, and I want to go through each one with you.
Keep score as we go through this “quiz”. (Plus, you can grab a printable copy here!) Because at the end of this, I want to know what your score is!
Ok, ready? Give yourself 1 point for every statement that is true for you (total of 10).
1. You can’t lose weight because your meal plan isn’t specific to your health needs.
Chances are, in your search to lose weight, you found a meal plan on the internet that looked pretty good. It looked easy too, so you went with it!
But if you have health challenges, like hypothyroidism, or are in perimenopause, there’s a strong chance you’re struggling with inflammation. (Learn more about inflammation here).
If the meal plan you grabbed from the internet includes gluten, dairy, and other inflammatory ingredients, it isn’t going to help you lose weight. Even worse, there might be ingredients that increase inflammation, like cane sugar, soy, or alcohol.
Finding an easy meal plan online might make it harder for you to lose weight. Because with thyroid and hormone challenges, you need a plan that will support your health, while also helping you lose weight. (Like this plan here!)
2. You’ve collected meal plans and recipes, but you’re not using them
If you can’t lose weight, even though you have a huge library of meal plans and recipes, it might be because you’re not really using them.
Take a look in your kitchen cabinet, the downloads folder on your computer, or your Pinterest page. How many recipes and meal plans do you already have? And how many of them have you actually used?
It’s a tough pill to swallow, but gathering more information isn’t going to help you lose weight.
Your brain likes to think that you’re doing something to kick-start weight loss, when you have oodles of recipes and meal plans. But, if you’re not actively cooking from them, you’ll continue to struggle on your weight loss journey.
3. You’ll struggle to lose weight if you don’t know how to cook (at least a little)
While takeout, meal delivery, and meal kits seem like the easy way to go, they aren’t going to help you lose weight.
For life-long weight loss, and overall health and wellness, you need to learn how to cook. Even if it’s just a few things!
This is especially true if you struggle with hormonal issues like hypothyroidism or perimenopause. For weight management and better health, you need to be in complete control of what you eat.
A good meal plan (like this one) will teach you how to cook the right meals for your needs. This gives you FREEDOM later on, and the flexibility to cook what you want, and what you and your family truly enjoy.
4. Not losing weight? You’re not actually following the meal plan
Ugh, this is a tough pill to swallow! Maybe you have a good meal plan that works for your needs. But, are you only following it M-F?
Maybe the plan calls for no sugar, but you’re sneaking in dairy-free (but flavored and sweetened) yogurt? Sure, it’s yogurt and that’s on the plan. But with the added sugar in there, it’s actually taking you far off the plan.
In order to lose weight, you have to follow plan that works. And that means following it 100% of the time (because a good plan will have already built in some wiggle room and room for error).
5. Your weight loss recipes and nutrition approach aren’t realistic for your life
Early on in my healing journey, a nutritionist told me to cook liver 3 times/week, make my own bone broth every week.
In that season of life, I was a single mom, working 60+ hours/week, and traveling for work. There was no time for cooking liver and simmering bone broth!
The meals you eat have to be realistic to your schedule and your obligations. If you have carpool and sports practices 3 nights a week, the meal plan has to work with that schedule.
If you’re traveling frequently for work, you need a plan that helps you lose weight while eating out, and eating on the go. Any other kind of plan won’t help you reach your weight loss goals.
6. There’s no way to ask questions on your weight loss journey
A free resource from the internet is always great. But if you have questions, is there someone you can turn to?
If you’re new to an anti-inflammatory diet, you’re bound to have some questions!
Maybe you need help changing ingredients in a recipe? Perhaps you’re curious about substitutions, but want to be sure that they’re anti-inflammatory? Or, maybe you need some support sticking to the plan, because it’s feeling challenging.
No matter what your question, it’s hard to lose weight if you’re trying to DIY your way to your goal, without having any support.
7. You have no idea how to calculate your portion sizes
Believe it or not, but it’s absolutely possible to overeat healthy food. (I’m looking at you avocado!)
Years ago, I worked in a busy, downtown Denver office building. On the main floor there was a delightful salad bar. They offered tons of different choices. All of the items were so fresh, to I filled up on everything! (Plus, I frequently got double dressing).
Salad can be a great choice for weight loss, but it can still be TOO much. To lose weight, it’s essential to know what your portion sizes should be, especially when it comes to things like avocados, nuts, and dressings.
Plus, with an anti-inflammatory diet, the perfect amount of the “right” foods is so important. When you have a good balance, you’ll feel full, have fewer cravings, and finally start to lose weight.
8. Workouts aren’t helping you to lose weight
If your workouts are working for you, we need to dial in and see what’s going on.
Sometimes, I work with women who are doing workouts that are too intense, given their hormonal challenges. All-out workouts like HIIT, intense cardio, and sometimes crossfit and running, can be too much.
These types of workouts actually increase inflammation, which is the opposite of what we’re going for. When you increase inflammation, your body dives into survival mode. That won’t let you lose any weight (and can sometimes cause you to gain weight).
However, it’s more common that I work with women who aren’t working out enough, to actually trigger weight loss. Gulp, I know it’s not fun to admit, but it’s contributing to your weight loss challenges. You have to move enough everyday to burn calories, so that you see a change on the scale.
The goal is to aim for just the right amount (let’s call it the goldilocks amount!) You need the right amount of physical activity to burn calories without increasing inflammation. Hint: my favorite combination is weight lifting and walking. Read more here!
9. The nutrition approach you’re using isn’t meant for long-term
Sometimes, in desperation to lose weight and have more energy, you might try a specialized plan. Perhaps you’ve tried or researched low FODMAP, AIP, elimination diet, Keto, or intermittent fasting
Most of these plans aren’t meant to last forever, unless you have a unique situation.
I’m not going to get into Keto and intermittent fasting in this article. But, I will say I don’t recommend them for women who are trying to reduce inflammation. These particular diets tend to increase inflammation, by bringing stress to the body. That is going to make it harder for you to lose weight.
With the other approaches, like low FODMAP or an elimination diet, it’s essential to reintroduce some (if not many) of the off-limits foods eventually. These plans can be difficult to manage, both in the elimination and reintroduction phases. It’s best to tackle these with a qualified professional
10. You’re not losing weight because you need something more
I talked earlier about collecting a bunch of recipes and meal plans, but not actually using them.
Have you asked yourself why you’re not using them?
This is where mindset work comes in. What’s holding you back from trying the new recipes? What feelings come up when you try a new anti-inflammatory recipe or dish, but you and your family think it’s terrible?
I remember one night, shortly after I got divorced, trying a new recipe for dinner. Jack (my son) and I took one bite, and both decided that it was terrible!
I recall thinking that I had “never been a good cook” (I only knew how to make 2 different casseroles!). I wondered if I was ever going to figure out how to cook new meals. I felt like I wasn’t doing a good job as a mom. I know it might seem irrational, but sometimes that’s where our brain goes.
Maybe you can relate. Maybe you think that you’re a terrible cook too. Or that you can only make something if it’s easy.
Really, this is just your brain’s way of keeping you from doing something that might be hard at first, or keeping you from looking foolish.
Remember, just like we teach our kids, the more practice you put in, the easier things get. But you have to tackle your mindset first, so that you can keep pushing through the challenging parts, to get to the good stuff.
10 reasons you can’t lose weight – what’s your score?
Ok, what’s your final point total? If it’s 3 or higher, you have some areas to work on.
Your brain wants you to believe you’re trying EVERYTHING to lose weight. However, when you go through this quiz, I hope you see some areas where you can dial in, so that you can ACTUALLY start losing weight.
The food you eat, how much you eat, and how you feel about it is ultimately going to predict whether or not you lose weight.
My goal is to help you learn to be OK with being in control of what you eat. Because once you recognize that the choices you make actually get you to your goal, you will finally start losing weight.
About the Author
Ashley Malik is a health coach specializing in anti-inflammatory nutrition for women with hypothyroidism, perimenopause, or both! As a business owner, wife, and mom of two, Ashley is passionate about showing you practical, sustainable ways to eat for life-long health and wellness.
