Being a personal trainer in Kansas City, I get the same question quite a bit, “How come I’m not losing weight?!” This can be from someone who has just started or a has been training for a while. The truth is its pretty simple to answer. There are three main reasons people fail at losing weight or reaching any fitness goal.
#1 Reason You’re Not Losing Weight
The biggest and I repeat biggest, is nutrition!! So many times people fail to follow an actual nutrition plan. Some people can get by for a while; but, they eventually will hit a wall and halt their progress. The number of calories in (how much you eat) vs. calories out (how many you burn) is of the utmost importance for most people. Most people do not even know how much they should eat and follow some generic plan they see on the internet. This will only go so far. As a rule of thumb, you should lose 1 to 2 pounds a week for healthy weight loss. This equals burning 500 to 1000 calories more than you eat per day (a total of 3500 calories less a week). If you burn 2500 calories total during the whole day you must eat 2,000 calories to lose a pound a week. The amount of calories you burn will depend on you as a person. Everyone individual is different and therefore cannot eat the same amount.
Another big problem is when someone focuses on the eat less part. Since you need calories for energy, you must eat enough to get through the workouts and the rest of the day! Knowing the appropriate amount of calories you need is the tricky part. Most people will benefit from having a knowledgeable trainer. They can help calculate the right calories for your exact needs. Think of it this way, you have a drag race car that takes exactly 1 gallon to reach the finish line; but, you only fill it up halfway. Even though it may still make it to the finish line it will run out of gas before. This will slow the car’s performance down. Think of your body the same way. If you hit a wall 20 minutes into a 45-minute workout, you are losing out on calories burned/performance. This can make a big difference over time! Just performing better in your workouts can lead to an additional two or more pounds lost in a month. Again, you have to get your nutrition on point! If you really don’t know how to… try working with a knowledgeable trainer. It will make a difference!
#2 Reason You’re Not Losing Weight
Your workouts are weak! A lot of times we just aren’t working hard enough. It’s easy to stroll through a workout barely getting your heart rate up. Not many people like to feel uncomfortable in general so putting themselves through an intense work out isn’t going to happen. Well doing the same thing over and over at the same intensity will only lead to a plateau. If you run one mile every day and never go any faster or add on to the distance, you will burn less and fewer calories. This means each month you will lose less and less weight if any at all! This is not good for motivation! You must push yourself outside of your comfort zone when training. A great way to achieve this is to start personal training if possible. Trainers can create workouts that are actually doing their job. Also, they can motivate you through the tough times when you want to quit! Hard work does pay off; so, make sure you are hitting it hard during every workout to ensure success!
#3 Reason You’re Not Losing Weight
CONSISTENCY!! I can’t stress this enough. You have to be consistent on your fitness journey. Most people do great through the week then falter on the weekend. This may work in the short-term; however, it will not last. I cannot stress enough the importance of keeping yourself in check during the weekend. Now I’m not saying don’t have a cheat meal, just account for it. Keep in mind; if you can only have 2,000 calories and you eat 1,200 for your cheat meal, then you only have 800 for the rest of the day! It can save you weeks of not losing weight or feeling like you didn’t achieve anything. Remember, it takes creating a 3,500 calories deficit per week to lose one pound. So, if you are maintaining your calorie intake during the week and then overeat 2,000 calories on the weekend, you won’t even lose a pound that week! Now imagine that every week for a month. When it comes time to weigh-in you might only lose a little over a pound. UNDER TWO POUNDS for all that hard work and eating great during the week!!?? Now imagine you skip a couple works out that month. It adds up to even less weight loss! That would be very frustrating and demotivating. That is why you must keep consistent. You will literally more than double that amount by being consistent. This is where hiring a personal trainer can come in very handy. They will keep you accountable all week. That means you will not be able to slack as easily!
Here at Maximize Life Fitness And Nutrition in Kansas City, we offer a personal training program that works, plain and simple. We get clients results through hard work and proper nutrition. Check out our testimonies of clients who were actually trained by the trainers at Maximize Life Fitness And Nutrition.