Top Reasons You Can’t Lose Weight
For many people, weight loss is a very difficult process and requires much more than just eating less and exercising more. There is a third element involving lifestyle, emotion, stress and motivational factors that can prevent you from reaching your ideal goal. Often, dieters will quickly lose 5 to 10 % of their body weight and reach a plateau which can’t be broken, regardless of their best efforts.
Using Diet to Control Weight, Improve Health
Healthy diet and regular exercise are essential parts of any sensible weight loss plan. The results of a study published in the journal Circulation underscores the importance of following the American Heart Association sponsored DASH diet which places emphasis on copious quantities of fresh vegetables, leafy greens, fruits, whole grains and meats such as chicken and turkey, while reducing red meat, sugar, refined carbohydrates, hydrogenated fats and salt.
Providing Extra Help Beyond Diet and Exercise
This research confirms that altering our diet away from processed junk food is the best way to regain our health. The DASH diet lowered blood pressure by 20%, improved blood lipids and triglycerides and allowed participants to lose weight as a natural consequence, even though it was not the primary goal of the study. Still, some people require additional help to reach their weight goal and overcome a weight plateau. Here’s a list of the top reasons that may be preventing you from shedding weight.
Reason 1 - Sleep Deprivation
Lack of sound sleep is the number one reason people can’t lose weight. The body requires 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night, and sleep is not cumulative so you can’t play catch up for past indiscretions. Our body has a long list of maintenance chores to perform while we sleep, and needs energy during that time. Eating too close to bedtime means our fat stores aren’t tapped during the overnight hours, a critical time to burn excess fat for energy.
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