10 Reasons You are Not Losing Weight

​So you have been doing all the 'right things', but can't seem to drop the weight.  Or maybe you have hit a plateau and have no idea what to do next. 

Either way, there are hidden saboteurs that may be messing with your health goals.  Let's begin by taking a look at the metabolic system. 

Understanding the Metabolic System and Weight Loss
The body’s metabolic system is an complex network of chemical processes responsible for converting the food we eat into energy, building and repairing tissues, and regulating numerous hormonal functions.
The metabolic system includes:

• Resting Metabolism
  • The base amount of energy used for involuntary processes like breathing and heartbeat.
• Thermogenesis
  • The heat produced from digesting food, which contributes to daily energy expenditure.
• Energy for Activity
  • The calories burned through exercise and other movements throughout the day.

Weight loss, under normal conditions, happens when you continuously expend more energy than you consume, prompting the body to tap into fat stores.  Problems with this process arise if certain factors disrupt metabolic function such as hormonal imbalances, chronic stress, or nutrient deficiencies and losing weight can be difficult.

Below are 10 reasons that commonly contribute to weight loss resistance, along with insights on how they can affect your metabolic system.

1) Chronic stress:

• Stress activates the fight-or-flight response, which is the body’s involuntary response to a threat that makes your heart pound and your breath shorten. The main hormone released during this response is the stress hormone Cortisol.
• Today’s modern, deadline filled, over-scheduled lifestyle can overtax the adrenal glands, which causes stress and causes the body to produce way too much Cortisol.
• Raised Cortisol boosts your insulin levels, which can cause you to pack on the pounds, especially around the midsection. 
• Cortisol automatically kicks up your appetite, prompting you not only to want to eat huge quantities of food, but to want sweets and simple carbohydrate foods in particular.  These foods ultimately make insulin levels spike and then plummet, which will leave you caught in a vicious cycle of feeling hungrier than ever-and eating again.  It is a vicious cycle.

2) Artificially sweetened diet foods and drinks:

• A huge mistake many people make is thinking that artificial sweeteners are the answer. On the contrary: studies have shown that those who consume foods with artificial sweeteners have a 41% increases risk of becoming overweight or obese. The reasoning is that artificial sweeteners confuse the body’s ability to recognize that it has had enough food and it causes more cravings for sweet food to make up for the calorie deficit.
• When your body is not fed nutrients, it asks again and again for more food, triggering the heavy-duty cravings.
• Artificial sweeteners can also cause havoc with your metabolism in the same way sugar does. The best bet is an all-natural sweetener, like stevia.

3) Undetected food sensitivity, or intolerance:

• Chronic inflammation from undiagnosed food intolerances or sensitivities can stress the immune system, disrupt hormone balance, and affect digestion.  This makes weight loss more challenging.
• There are distinct signs to watch for when eating foods. These signs can include fatigue, bloating, weight gain, diarrhea, gas, and other digestive issues.
• Blood tests diets can confirm food intolerances and sensitivities if you suspect you are having issues with a certain food.  
• Once you identify the offending food in your diet and learn to avoid it, your body and health will begin to change. As a result of identifying a sensitivity to gluten or dairy for example, many people will find they naturally begin to lose weight as digestion improves, and cravings begin to fade.

4) Toxic products in your home:

• Toxic chemicals from common household cleaning agents, cosmetics, plastics and more are being stored in the fat tissues of your body fuelling disease, slowing your metabolism, and adding up to unhealthy weight gain. Chemicals, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), disrupt normal endocrine activity in the body.
• These hormone disruptors can fatten you in many ways, including interfering with the activity of estrogens, androgens, and other hormones that regulate fat metabolism in the body.
• Choosing non-toxic items over toxic ones, using a carbon water filter, choosing glass over plastic and metal, moving towards more natural cleaning products, and being aware of the biggest offenders can go a long way to detoxifying your life and looking and feeling better.

5) Excessive Calorie Restriction

• While cutting calories can be part of a weight loss strategy, severely restricting intake can slow the metabolic rate. 
• This means it reduces the number of calories it burns at rest essentially slowing down your metabolic rate to conserve energy. This is called metabolic adaptation and is a major weight loss roadblock.  You tend to lose weight quickly at first, but it stalls forcing you to eat even less to continue the weight loss, essentially going into full starvation mode. 
• Focus on nutrient-dense foods and moderate caloric deficits. Sudden, drastic reductions often backfire, leading to plateaus and potential nutrient deficiencies.
• By giving your body adequate energy and nutrients, it allows your metabolism to function efficiently, maintain or build muscle mass, and keep stress hormones in check.

6) Hormone imbalances:

• Hormones have a lot of responsibility in the body.  Hormones tell you you’re hungry; hormones tell you when you’re full. Hormones tell your body what to do with that food — whether to store it or burn it as fuel. Hormones tell your body how to consume energy stores when you exercise, hormones control almost every aspect of how you gain or lose weight.
• Imbalances in estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, and other (ie stress & hunger) hormones can hamper weight loss. For example, high estrogen levels can trigger fluid retention and fat storage.
• When it comes to weight loss, having balanced hormones is absolutely crucial.   This can be done through tailored nutrition, stress reduction, and targeted supplementation.

7) Thyroid Dysfunction

• The thyroid gland regulates metabolic rate.
• Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) often results in fatigue, slowed metabolism, and difficulty losing weight.

8) Chronic Low-Grade Inflammation

• Inflammation drives hormonal imbalance, especially the two hunger hormones insulin and leptin, increasing the likelihood of storing fat.
• Chronic, systemic inflammation can be reduced by identifying root triggers like stress, an anti-inflammatory diet, and targeted supplementation. 

9) Imbalanced Blood Sugar

• Large swings in blood sugar trigger the body to release insulin.
• Chronic insulin surges can lead cells to become less responsive to insulin (insulin resistance), forcing the body to produce even more insulin to regulate blood glucose.
• When insulin resistance develops and cells (particularly liver and muscle) resist insulin’s signal, glucose remains in the bloodstream.
• The pancreas responds by pumping out even more insulin in an attempt to bring blood glucose down. This leads to chronically elevated insulin levels.
• Constant high insulin both ramps up fat storage and prevents fat breakdown.
• Chronic spikes and crashes in blood glucose can also create a metabolic domino effect, disrupting hormones, energy utilization, and appetite signals.  The result?  You crave more, eat more, and cause more spikes.  It is a viscous cycle.  

10) Medications

• Weight gain can often be a side effect of some medications. Psychiatric medications to treat bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression, along with heart medications like beta blockers, commonly cause weight gain.
• If you suspect your medications may be behind your weight gain, you may want to schedule an appointment with your doctor to discuss alternative solutions.