One of the most common things I hear from girls is that they are eating really well and exercising every day, but just aren’t losing weight. While it could be due to a whole range of issues, these are usually the main ones.
- Consistency
Often we think that we are exercising and eating really well, but if our bodies aren’t showing it, then chances are we aren’t doing as great as we thought we were. Keep a food and exercise diary for at least one full week (including the weekend!). Keep a record of everything eat you and drink (including snacks, coffee, alcohol, juice etc), all of your workouts and then look back at it when the week is done. Did you really eat well and exercise every day?
When you write it down and look back over it, you may be surprised that you’re not doing as well as you think and it can help you identify areas that you need to fix to get your results. I think EVERYONE should try this one!
- You Only Do Cardio
Yes cardio burns lots of calories. But it’s not going to give you the same fat burning potential that doing weights will. If you want sustainable weight loss, weights MUST be a part of your routine. You don’t need to lift heavy, in fact body weight exercises and HIIT are awesome for burning lots of calories and also resulting in more calories burned throughout the day. Cardio only = skinny fat and harder to lose weight and keep it off.
Check out my body weight exercise cheat sheet and example HIIT workout.
- You’re Building Muscle
Sometimes the number on the scale can be mentally confusing. Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you’ve been gaining muscle, you may see this as an increased number on the scales. This isn’t a bad thing! It is great to have muscle. In the long run, it will help you burn fat. So keep up with it and just make sure your diet is also on point to help you with fat loss. Check out my daily diet here.
- You Don’t Eat Breakfast
I know you’ve heard it before – breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But I believe this is true. Most people eat dinner somewhere between 6-8pm, so this means that when you wake up at say 6.30am, you have not eaten for around 12 hours (possibly less).
Long periods without food puts your body into a semi starvation mode, meaning your body will store fat to conserve energy. Skipping breakfast will just make this worse and you will store MORE fat. Eating breakfast literally kick starts your metabolism. It is so important that you eat breakfast if you want to get great results.
- You’re Stressed
Stress can be extremely damaging not only your mental health but also contributing to weight gain. When you are stressed you may eat worse which contributes to weight gain. But being stressed means you have higher levels of the hormone cortisol, which actually contributes to weight gain (especially around the abdominal area), affects your sleep and increases your risk of heart disease and diabetes. I didn’t realise how important stress was for weight loss until recently but it can play a huge part. So make sure you’re trying to reduce your stress levels.
It’s FREE
Hi Rachael,
Great post :)
I understand weight lifting is the key to curing ‘skinny fat’ from what I have read in your blog. A question I have is how it enables you to get a toned stomach if I am already skinny? Do you mean weight lifting with lots of ab exercises as well? My problem is that I am relatively skinny but have an untoned stomach and I store most of my fat there rather than the rest of my body. Thanks!
Hi Dani, thank you! :) Lifting weights helps because it is results in what is known as EPOC so you can continue to burn calories after your workout, regardless of your size. Ab exercises will also help! I try to do ab exercises 3-4 times per week for around 10 minutes. HIIT and weights will help you get rid of excess fat around your stomach, but diet is the most important! xx
Hi rachael! Could you maybe give some tips on how to reduce stress in our everyday life?
Hi Siya, Rachael here. Stress is something that is very different for each individual, but I’ll try to do a post on this for you! xx
hi rachael. i think you have a great body and a good mentality to workouts and everything, but i’m really confused about the diet you’re promoting. you eat animal products everyday, resulting in the need of portion control for weight loss. restricting your calories puts stress on the body and puts it into starvation mode – it holds on to its fat as long as it can. i suggest you look into a high carb low fat vegan lifestyle (youtube “the best speech ever” by gary yourofski or freelee the banana girl) please don’t be put off by the word “vegan” and just educate yourself first. it’s the best diet for the planet, the animals and your own health! xx
Hi Elena, everyone is different and different things will work for everyone. I personally don’t support the high carb diet or freelee the banana girl because other things work for my body better, and I’ve seen results from other people eating the same way I do. I am well educated on nutrition, having studied to become a sports nutritionist, and this is the diet that I feel is best. But I do appreciate everyone’s views and beliefs! I’m definitely not put off by the word vegan, I do eat vegan foods, but this lifestyle just isn’t for me xx