Tag Archives: calorie deficit

Why Am I Not Losing Weight: Exercising and Not Losing Weight

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So You are Not Losing Weight and Want to Know Why!

I just don’t understand; why am I not losing weight? I heard this statement over the week as I watched people eat over the holidays.  There are things you have to come to terms with when it comes to losing weight.  One is that it took months or years for you to gain the weight that you now want to lose and secondly exercising alone is not enough for you lose weight.  Losing weight is not as hard as it may seem but if you find yourself not losing weight it’s probably because of one if these reasons.

Exercising and Not Losing Weight

You are just eating too much

That’s right one of reasons why you may not be losing weight is simply because you are eating too much.  Some of you may think you have made a great deal of changes and that may be true.  However the problem is that unless you are keeping a journal and know how much you are eating it is easy to go over the calories your body truly needs to lose weight.

Not losing weight can come down to not controlling your portions when you eat.  When you eat out at most restaurants they usually provide you with enough food in one meal for 2-3 people.  If you are not losing weight try keeping a journal and counting your calories.  Also if you are going to a restaurant try sharing you meal with your girlfriends so you don’t eat as much.

You Expect To See Results Too Soon

I understand you are working out and eating right but if you are asking the question “why am I not losing weight” and its only been a few days or a couple of weeks then you aren’t being realistic. Some women will complain about not losing weight even though they are losing a pound or two a week.  This may not be what you want but you are on the right track.

What you have to remember is that it takes you burning or being in a deficit of 3000-3500 calories in order to just lose 1lb.  So losing 2lbs in one week is something to be proud of and you should give yourself some credit.  Another thing is that it is easier to keep track of how many calories you ate as opposed to how many you burn exercising.  You have to give you body the chance to respond to the changes being made before you may start to see weight loss.

You Simply Mess It Up on the Weekends!

I’ve said this before and feel as if though it must be repeated because I still see and hear this all the time.  You do great during the week but come Friday, Saturday, and Sunday you mess up all your hard work from the previous four days.  Remember one pound of weight loss is about 500 calories being cut from your diet through calorie restriction, exercise of the combination of the two.

If you do well on the first four days you are almost at a pound of weight loss for the week.  However over the next three days you not only eat over you amount needed for that day but also some for the previous days.  You are basically two steps forward to take three steps back.  On top of the you get down on yourself and say what the point of dieting and exercising when you still aren’t losing weight.

You Just May Have a Medical Condition

Not everyone is lazy or not sticking to their diets or lifestyle change.  For some it’s as simple as you may have a medical condition that is causing you not to lose weight.  I am certainly not saying this is the case for everyone however for some the reason why you may not be losing weight may simply be because you have a medical issue or it could be the medications you are taking are causing you to gain weight.

You Just Don’t Need To Lose Weight In the First Place

There are some women out there that think they have to look like what they see in the magazines.  The fact is that no one is perfect and most of the women you see in the magazines have been airbrushed at some point.  Not all of you need to lose weight and trying to look like someone else is not a realistic goal.  Every woman has her own shape and you can only improve the one you have but you are never going to be perfect so don’t kill yourself trying.

NOTE: I really enjoy hearing your questions and comments so please feel free to post them up. If you want an easier way to enjoy the foods you like while still losing weight try EAT STOP EAT!

Are Your Thighs Fat? – What to do if they are

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Isn’t it amazing how your thighs fat will willingly expand but seems to never want to shrink?  Well if you feel that your thighs are consistently getting bigger while the rest of your body is getting smaller then you are not alone. 

So many women including my wife seem to focus on trying to “work” their thighs to a smaller size.  The problem is working your thighs only does two things: tone the muscles or build muscle size.  Your thighs fat problem is an issue we will carefully discuss in this post.

“Another great photo that has nothing to do with this post but I know how many women who wear wraps around their thighs because of cellulite or because they are simply just not happy with their thighs.  Enjoy life and don’t let your thighs determine who you are or what you do!”

The Facts

Let’s face it we have fat all over our bodies and excess fat will build up on your back, arms, stomach and yes even your thighs.  In today’s world everyone leads a very busy and hectic lifestyle and let’s face it losing weight alone is very hard.  The older we get the less exercise we tend to want to do or rather the less physical activity that is going to cause us to break a sweat. 

We you have to understand Is that it took months if not years to get your thighs to the size that they are and if you are not happy with your body it’s going to take time and effort to get the thighs to the way you want them.

Since women naturally store more fat in their hips and thighs area eating excessive calories and not exercising or being active only causes the problem of fat thighs to get worse.  Getting the leaner slimmer thighs is going to mean getting that extra layer of fat to come off which can only be done by lowering your overall body fat content.

Exercises for Thigh Fat Loss

I have heard so many women discussing which exercises they have or are doing for fat loss in their thighs.  Up to this point I know of no exercises that will work the fat off any particular area of the body.  Thigh fat is no different from the fat that is everywhere else on your body, it “CAN’T BE SPOT REDUCED.”  

As much as women would love to think that they can just walk in the gym and to thigh exercises and the fat will magically disappear it just will never happen.  What will happen instead is that you will spend countless hours and days in the gym to only become discouraged from working out all together.

80% is What You Eat

Just as weight gain comes for eating too much it is proven that majority of a person’s weight loss comes from about 80% or more of what a person eats.  Exercises don’t make you gain weight or really lose weight for that matter but is just an extra tool to in the fight.  The real focus needs to be on what and how much you eat.  If you are gaining weight it simply means you are eating too much and calories are being stored as fat all over your body including those thighs.

“There’s no secret that dieting and exercise are the key to fat loss.  However, exercising and thinking that you will lose weight even if you don’t make changes in your eating habits usually ends up in you becoming discourage.  You simply just can’t exercise enough to burn all the calories you eat.”

What Should You Do?

In most cases I have found that by simply reducing your calorie intake, walking, and working out usually cures the problem.  I know it just sounds too simple and generic that it can’t be the truth but it is.  When I say reduce your calorie intake I am not saying to simply skip a meal or anything but rather if you consistently eat 2000 calories per day try going down to 1750 per day.  Do this for a week and see if the weight loss is occurs.  If not drop your calorie intake down to 1600 and so on, the fact is your body needs less calories than you think it does.

Walking and exercise will give you that extra push you need to get over the hump.  Since you are not going to get your calorie intake measured exactly right the extra calories you burn from exercising will help create a calorie deficit causing your body to burn fat a fuel.

How Long Does It Take

Sadly there is not a time table anyone can give you as to how long it will take to lose the fat in your thighs.  The fact is your body chooses where stored fat will be pulled from to use as fuel.  What you are in control of is how much of a deficit you can create to proper diet and exercise so really how long it takes is up to you and how much weight you need to loss.

For someone who has 25 or more pounds they may see results faster simply because they have more weight to lose than say someone who only has 15lbs.  Remember your thighs fat is the same is the fat all over your body and losing it will only come from creating a calorie deficit.  There are exercises to help tone the thighs but again they have NOTHING to do with the fat loss in that area.

Why is My Stomach Flabby?

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I overheard two women talking and one asked the other, “Why is my stomach flabby?”  I thought about it and realized that if there is one aspect of a woman’s body that she would like to focus on it would certainly be her stomach or waist region.  Women first need to understand that there are no shortcuts to getting rid of belly fat or stomach flab.

“These puppies have nothing to do with this post but I figured everyone would enjoy looking at a picture of some adorable puppies rather than someone else’s stomach flab.  I mean I could be wrong you let me know!”

Reasons Your Stomach Looks Flabby

There could be several reasons that you maintain flab in your waist area.  For starters you could simply just be eating too much.  For women the area around the waist, highs, and thighs are the first place the fats deposits when you eat too many calories.  It also could be that you have lost so much weight that you just have a lot of loose skin around your midsection and it needs to be tightened up.  Another cause could simply be indigestion and your food is causing a bulge in your lower abdominal region.

Common Myths about Stomach Fat

Myth 1:

For some reason people seem to think that doing repetitive sit-ups or abdominal exercises will give you a flatter sexier stomach.  However this couldn’t be further from the truth as performing these exercises does not allow you to spot reduce where you lose fat.  Core exercises will help give definition to the stomach muscles, but there is still a layer of fat that is covering it up.

Myth 2:

Another myth is that you need to do a crazy amount of exercise or cardio so that your belly fat will go away.  This is also false and doing an excessive amount of exercise and cardio will only help create a calorie deficit if you maintain a calorie intake low enough for it to affect your weight loss. In other words eating less and burning more calories is the efficient way to burn lose fat “all over.” Don’t think, for a second, that losing fat around your middle is easier for some and harder for others or that you can’t do it.

Myth 3:

There is no such thing as a miracle health food or fat burner!  Many of the foods that you see promoted are just junk foods that end up helping you gain more weight than you are losing. Don’t waste your money or time on fat-burner pills, supplements.

How to Lose Belly Fat

Do you really want to lose that stomach flab?  Are you going to listen if I tell you exactly what to do?  Okay, well the first step is actually being willing to do what it takes to lose belly fat so that you can have a sexy stomach.  This means that you are going to have to be ready to put in both the time and effort necessary for you to lose the flab since there is no miracle in losing stomach fat.

Secondly, you have to come to terms that getting abs is as simple as eating fewer calories than your body burns.  And for as simple as this sounds this is one of the hardest things for people to both believe and grasp.  Since one pound of fat is roughly about 3000+ calories in order for you to lose a pound of fat in a week your body must be in a deficit of that amount.

This deficit can come from a combination of calories burned through exercise and the deficit from eating less on a daily basis.  Drinking more water and accounting for what you eat through a daily journal are the best ways to lose belly fat.  Drinking water helps avoid the empty calories from alcohol and soft drinks while the journal makes your aware of the things you eat and how much so you know what to cut back on.

NOTE: There are no miracle foods or pills that will help you get rid of stomach flab, however if you want a flatter stomach you are simply going to have to create a calories deficit, this can be done through Eat Stop Eat which is a concept of taking a break from eating by Brad Pilon.