Losing weight tends to start easy; you’re motivated to get the job done and the initial changes to your diet and lifestyle pay dividends, but before you know it, the scales start to slow down, and eventually your weight loss grinds to a disappointing halt.

When this happens, you’re often left wondering, scratching your head – you seem to be doing all of the right things, so why aren’t you losing weight anymore? Could it be that one of these things are preventing your weight loss?

You’re Gaining Muscle

If, as part of your weight loss efforts, you’ve been stepping up your exercise efforts, then it could be that your body is building muscle and, as a result, you appear to be staying the same or even gaining weight. Measure your inches, and if you’re still losing in that department, there’s no reason to worry!

You’re Eating Lots of Carbs

A diet that is high in carbs simply is not optimum for weight loss. Not only is it easy to overeat carbs because they are less satiating, but they tend to cause cravings more often than proteins and fats, which can lead to overconsumption, and carbs can cause your blood sugar to spike too. All of these things make it more difficult for you to lose weight. So, if you’ve plateaued, it might be worth looking at the best low carb diet to lose more weight. Give it a try, and you’ll probably notice that the scales start moving again.

You’re Eating Too Little Protein

Forget wheatgrass and goji berries, proteins are the real superfoods, especially when you’re trying to lose weight. Why? Because protein is extremely satiating and it can reduce cravings significantly due to the fact that it is able to act on hormones such a ghrelin which control the appetite. If you choose lean proteins such as turkey and chicken, protein is low in calories too. So, increase the amount of protein you eat throughout the day, especially in the mornings, replacing less optimum foods with it, and you will feel less hungry and therefore eat less throughout the day.

Your Calorie Consumption is Too High

Counting calories is far from the best way to lose weight – eating a clean diet high in proteins, fats and vegetables is – however, it is still possible to eat way too much of the good stuff and end up with a caloric surplus that will cause you to gain weight, or at the very least not lose it. If you’re eating optimally and you aren’t losing weight, try cutting the amount of food on your plate by a quarter, if that doesn’t work, cut it by a third and see what happens.

You’re Not Getting Enough Sleep

If you seem to be doing all of the things that should lead to weight loss of at least a pound a week, but you aren’t seeing those results on the scale, are you getting enough sleep? If you aren’t, then your body may not be functioning optimally and it could be hampering your weight loss efforts. In fact, you are 88 percent more likely to become obese if you don’t sleep well. So, start practicing better sleep hygiene practices and if that doesn’t work, see a doctor, and hopefully, your weight loss will pick up again.

You Snack Mindlessly

You’d think that we would all be aware of everything we eat, especially when we’re actively trying to lose weight, but unfortunately, that simply is not the case. Numerous studies have shown that many of us eat mindlessly without ever really being aware of it. We taste the spaghetti sauce as we cook for the family, nibble on cookies at our desk and consume sugary drinks without ever thinking about it and it can stall our weight loss significantly. So, start logging every bite you take and being more mindful of your actions when there’s food around.

You’re Drinking Your Calories

A lot of us pay a lot of attention to the food we put in our mouths, but none whatsoever to the stuff we drink, which is pretty unfortunate really because most of the things we drink that aren’t water contain calories and sugar. Everything from your morning coffee to that apple juice you drink after hitting that gym, and especially those sodas you consume contain sugar and empty calories, and if you aren’t taking them into account, there’s a very good chance that they are responsible for the lack of movement you see on the scales.

Are you doing/not doing any of the above? Change that and hopefully you’ll start losing again. Good luck!

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