3 Reasons Your Workout Is Not Helping You Lose Weight

Ask fitness experts what you need to do to lose weight and the most common answer would be exercise and diet. If you’re in the gym at this time of year you’ll find a lot of people working out as part of their New Year’s Resolution to lose weight.

So, before you throw your gym gear into your bag and head out the door, (or head out to your garage to workout:) let me share with you three surprising reasons why your workout may not be giving you your desired weight loss.

“What’s wrong with my workout?

Why aren’t I losing weight?”

If you’ve experienced this, don’t worry, you’re not alone.

Let’s have a look at some common causes of this and consider what we can do about it. 

1. You keep doing the same exercise over and over again

   Love yoga? Love running? They’re both highly beneficial exercises but do you find yourself doing the same yoga workout or exactly the same run every time? Unfortunately, doing the same thing over and over again conditions your body to the point where your body expects it. What was once a considerable workout for you becomes second nature and enables you to complete it using less energy than before? Our bodies are very smart so we need to continually challenge them in new ways and with new routines. Get out of your comfort zone continuously by changing up your workouts! If you swim, then throw in some HIIT workouts. Exchange a yoga workout for some weights. Mix it up and keep your body guessing!!

2. You’re doing too much cardio

   1. One misconception I hear constantly from clients is that cardio will help you lose the most weight. Sorry, to break it to you ladies, but this is just not true!  Heading out for a long bike ride or a run is wonderful of course, but don’t make the mistake of underestimating the impact that strength training will have on your weight loss. Strength training will change your physique, boost your metabolism and enable you to see progress faster than doing cardio alone. If you’re a regular gym-goer, then get some instruction on weight training and incorporate into your routine. If you work out at home, then include some push-ups or other body-weight training into your routine.Recent research completed by Penn State showed that weight trainers shed more pounds that aerobic trainers and all those pounds were almost pure fat while others lost fat and muscle. That’s one big reason to pick up those weights regularly!

      3. You’re pushing yourself too much (overtraining)

      We all know how hard it can be to find the motivation to start our workout but have you also noticed that it can be hard to stop? I’m guilty of overtraining and it’s not something that we should be doing regularly if we’re serious about losing weight.Have you ever felt your body feeling heavy and tired after a workout? This could very well be a sign of overtraining. Don’t feel bad if you take a few days off from working out. Your body needs to rest. Remember that exercise is a stress on your body. It’s good stress, but it’s still stress that needs to be recovered from with rest. This is particularly true if you do HIIT workouts regularly. You can still move your body by doing low-impact workouts like pilates or long walks. Just remember that your body needs rest as much as it needs exercise. Lack of rest may also give you food cravings which can defeat the purpose of your weight loss. Never underestimate the value of sleep and rest!

      Please remember ladies; if something isn’t working, re-access what you’re doing, adjust, and get moving again. You should never be too proud to ask for help, no matter what your level. If you think you might need some help with HOW to mix it up...think about joining me.  SCHEDULE A WORKOUT, join my virtual library, or contact me directly to have a chat.

      I guarantee you will see fitness results...