I could name hundreds of reasons why people struggle with their weight, but these are three of the biggest.
The biggest problem you’re likely going to deal with while you’re dieting is hunger. Whenever you restrict your calories for an objectively long period of time, eventually you will start to face hunger. So you’ll want to focus on consuming foods that give you more food per calorie.
We call this Volume eating. Before we discuss volume eating, let’s talk about the main reason you’re struggling with fat loss…
1. You have NO idea of how many calories you’re eating daily.
This is pretty straightforward. It’s a good idea to understand the number of calories you’re taking in daily so that you can know where or not you’re in a caloric deficit. Which is the ONLY way to lose fat. If you don’t know how many calories you’re consuming over a consistent period of time, it can be challenging to understand what adjustments you need to make. What gets measured gets managed.
You need data to make good decisions. Is it possible to lose weight without knowing how many calories you’re consuming? It’s also possible to drive to Texas from Florida without a map or navigation.
But why not take the approach that’s guaranteed to produce results, save you tons of time and teach you along the way so that you can make adjustments when needed?
2. You consistenly snack on High Calorie, Low Density foods instead of Eating Low Calorie, High Density Foods.
Unfortunately, Foods like Peanut butter, Oils, candies, etc. are very small in size, but they are packed with calories. As a result, these foods do a poor job of keeping you full over time.
Most of the processed foods people eat are extremely calorically dense.
As a result, people end up having to consume 2-3 times more calories from junk foods to reach the same level of satiety they’d reach from eating fewer calories of whole foods.
Let me simplify it for you, when you focus the Majority of your diet on eating more whole foods, the easier it is to stay fuller, Longer on fewer calories.
Just don’t include too many Nuts and seeds. Although nuts & seeds are healthy and Whole foods, they are really high in calories, low in volume and it’s VERY easy to take in an extra 200-500 calories from these foods.
And that brings us to our third reason why people struggle to lose weight.
3. You Don’t Eat Enough Whole Plant Foods And Protein.
Whole Plant Foods consist of Fruits, veggies, legumes, grains, nuts, seeds, etc.
Whole foods are rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other things that are essential for good health.
Protein is important for building and maintaining muscle.
Both of these things are a big part of getting and staying full too.
Most people don’t get nearly enough whole foods or protein in their diet.
If they do, it’s usually processed fast food or fried in oil.
The ratio of eating a lot of processed junk foods in comparison to whole foods and lean protein is what leads to the second reason people struggle to lose weight.
4. You’re Eating everyday with no Plan or Structure
When people have no rules or structure for eating, they usually end up eating for a plethora of reasons other than just hunger.
Whether it’s eating because of stress, boredom, happiness, or just because there’s food in their face.
Learn to Train your mind and body WHEN to eat.
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
James Clear
Your body will depend on your routine to manage hunger, so when you have no routine in place and no structure for eating, your hunger signals will most likely be all over the place.
Some days you barely have an appetite while other days you just… Literally Can’t Stop Eating.
This usually means eating a normal amount of calories on days when you’re not that hungry and too many calories on days when hunger levels are higher.
Do this consistently for too long, and you end up overeating calories and gaining excess fat as a result.
Awareness is the Name of the game.
There are a lot more problems than these 3, but these are three of the most common, and I’m sure at one point or another, you’ve struggled with one, two, or all three of them.
The more awareness you can create around your areas of struggle, the easier it’ll be to implement strategies for overcoming them.