What is weight loss resistance?
Can’t seem to lose weight? It is often annoying to hear another party testifying about how a routine has worked for them in their weight loss journey while the same has not worked out for you.
The truth is some have to work extra hard to trim their weight, and some don’t. If you belong to the former group, it could be you are experiencing weight loss resistance.
WHAT IS WEIGHT LOSS RESISTANCE?
Weight loss resistance is a condition that occurs when you have a physiological or metabolic imbalance, which makes it extremely difficult for you to trim your weight no matter the efforts you put forth.
This condition is most common in women.
Weight loss resistance may be caused by pre-existing factors or cases such as hormonal imbalance but are caused by both factors.
Until addressed, this condition will continue making it hard for you to trim that weight you have always wanted.
WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON CAUSES OF WEIGHT LOSS RESISTANCE?
1. HORMONAL IMBALANCE
If you are 35 years and above, your progesterone and estrogen levels may start depleting.
To preserve fertility for a bit longer, your body will hang on to extra fat, especially in your belly, because this fat can make estrogen.
Also, Dr. Sara Gottfired, New York Times best-selling author of The Hormone Reset Diet, points cortisol as the typical hormonal imbalance that causes your body to hold on to that extra fat, despite your efforts to fight it off.
2. THYROID IMBALANCE
According to a Women’s Health Network piece, when your thyroid hormones are low, major chemical messengers, including leptin and serotonin, are mixed up.
This will disrupt your eating behavior. These changes can increase your cravings, discourage the sensation of fullness, lower your mood, and lead to weight gain.
3. ADRENAL IMBALANCE
In times of stress, your adrenaline glands produce cortisol and adrenaline, too, in turn, produce enough energy to either fight or flee your stress factor.
However, more often, the modern definition of stress is not one that can enable you to fight or flee physically.
As a result, the extra energy produced will be stored by your body in the form of fat. In the case of long-term stress, your body will hang on to every fat produced.
On how to overcome this resistance effortlessly, consider the following effortless ways.
WAYS TO OVERCOME WEIGHT LOSS RESISTANCE
1. GET ENOUGH AND WELL-TIMED SLEEP
Sleep is essential when it comes to the proper functioning of your body. It helps restore your metabolism, allowing your body to repair, regenerate, and regulate hunger mechanisms.
The hunger mechanism, as mentioned before, is very key to weight loss.
A study published on Health and Human Services Public Access has indicated connections between lack of enough sleep and weight gain.
The study summarized the recent evidence linking decreased sleep duration and poor sleep quality to obesity.
2. KEEP ON EXERCISING!
Even if you have tried this without any success, do not lose hope. Go for more general exercises that you enjoy doing, rather than difficult protocol exercises.
These general exercises will be good for channeling back your metabolism in the right direction.
3. CONSIDER A LIVER DETOX
The liver is an extremely vital but underlooked part of weight loss. It plays a vital role in detoxifying blood and metabolizing fat in your body.
However, it could be that this function of your liver has been compromised, subjecting your body to weight loss resistance.
Your liver may be burdened with numerous toxins from your fatty diets over a period.
These toxins force your liver to work overtime in an attempt to keep up with their rising amount. As such, your liver ends up becoming sluggish and grows fat.
A detox will clear the toxins from your liver, boosting its ability to function properly.
4. ADDRESS YOUR FOOD INTOLERANCES
Addressing your food intolerances may be the single most important thing you need to do to overcome your weight loss resistance.
Your food intolerances can create inflammation, insulin resistance, and weight loss resistance. This is because your intolerances will propel inflammation to creep up your body, creating a conducive environment for chronic diseases and weight gain.
5. IMPROVE YOUR DIGESTION
When everything seems to be working exceptionally smooth for you, Healthwise, your digestion too is to be thanked.
When your digestive tract is out of order, it jeopardizes your weight loss journey.
This is because gastrointestinal and digestive issues affect how you eat, how your body digests, and absorbs food. This can clearly affect your body’s or weight loss journey.
6. DECREASE YOUR STRESS LEVELS
Practice daily gratefulness and avoid stressful factors as these have a role to play in your weight loss journey.
7. TRY INTERMITTENT FASTING
Through this, you will be able to improve your insulin insensitivity, lower your inflammation, improve your levels of leptin, and eventually overcome weight loss resistance.
Through this fasting, you create fast blasting windows for your body.
8. AVOID SUGAR
Some of the healthy foods you eat contain a lot of sugars. A pile-up of these foods will lead to an increase in sugar in your body over a period of time.
Addressing and eliminating such foods is one of the ways of fixing weight loss resistance.
9. AVOID ALCOHOL
Alcohol intake may hinder your weight loss process.
This is because too much of it will tamper with your decision making, exposing you to risks of poor food decision making such as overeating.
It also suppresses fat burning, leading to the accumulation of belly fat.
10. DRINK MORE WATER
Water has been considered to boost metabolism by 24%- 30%. This translates to the loss of weight after some time.
Also, it will help overcome your stagnant weight loss through hormonal weight loss.
Consuming water before food will activate your leptin hormone, giving you a fullness sensation, hence reducing your food intake.
11. INCLUDE VEGETABLES IN EVERY MEAL
Vegetables are an ideal way to overcome weight loss resistance. Over time, diets with vegetables have produced the greatest weight loss. Consider adding them to every meal, including breakfast.
12. CYCLE YOUR CALORIES
If your weight loss diet of 1800 calories a day suddenly stops working, avoid reducing the amount.
Try alternating high and low calories. For instance, you could try and alternate 2000 calorie days and 1200 calorie days.
You need not worry about your survival during the low-calorie days.
This is because the high calorie you take during the other days will keep your metabolism intact, preventing it from responding because of the sudden reduction of calories.
This method is efficient because, in weight loss, it is not always about the cut in calories. Rather, your hormones have a critical role to play too.
Hormones are the reason why your metabolic fails at one point when it is trying to adjust to a reduced intake of calorie and low-fat diets.
As mentioned before, mixing up your diet will keep your metabolism on your toes.
As you alternate your intakes, try as much as you can to keep the records (including your weights).
In case of any mix-up, you will know where to pick it from.
A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that those who recorded what they ate lost twice as much weight as those who did not.
This research was geared towards improving strategies for a long- term weight loss.
CONCLUSION
All in all, weight loss resistance is a stage in the weight loss process. At one point, your body will get used to your weight-loss strategies, causing a stagnation in the curve.
The ways explained here should help you activate your curve once more. However, consider staying positive throughout this process as, again, everything depends on your mindset.
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