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annalouisecoaching

Why can't I lose weight?

Updated: Dec 18, 2023




You are NOT just ‘greedy’ or ‘lazy’ and DO NOT let anyone tell you otherwise.


To gain weight we must increase our energy (calorie) intake above and beyond the energy we require to maintain our body weight from day to day based on the normal functioning of our bodies but also all of the activity that we undertake. This increase is referred to as a calorie surplus. It therefore goes without saying that in order to lose weight we need to eat and drink below this maintenance in order to be in what we call a calorie deficit.


Easy peasy, right?


In theory, yes. In practice, no.


You may have noticed that your body doesn’t like you losing weight too much – there are a number of hormones and mechanisms within the body trying to keep it at some kind of ‘balance’ or happy medium if you like.


Calorie balance is not deniable – we cannot store energy that isn’t consumed; however, your body does its best to make things difficult for you sometimes. Who can relate?!


You probably know as well as I do that your body is really good at resisting weight loss but not so much the opposite, right?!


As we evolved and food was scarce at times our bodies liked to hold onto as much weight as possible, but now our living environment is drastically different, meaning that food that is much more palatable and calorically dense is way more readily available and we lead much more sedentary lifestyles generally creating what is often referred to as an obesogenic environment.


The body does have some mechanisms to resist weight gain, but as previously mentioned, these mechanisms are not nearly as efficient as the ones trying to prevent us from losing weight.


It may seem that friend that you have that can eat whatever they want and never put on weight is immune to this but upon closer inspection I can imagine they move a lot more, probably have fairly erratic eating patterns so actually consume less than it may immediately seem but also probably has a different mentality around food to you. Neither is right or wrong but it’s just the way that individuals’ bodies work – science is crazy!


So, when we try to eat less and less in a bid to lose weight it is important that you work with a coach that understands the body in this way in order to manipulate your methods in order to make the whole process as seamless as possible.


The body will work to increase hunger, make your muscles more efficient so that you burn less energy, increase your food cravings and decrease energy and gym performance generally – all things that aren’t going to help your cause in your weight loss goals.


Fortunately, though there ARE things we can do to help but for now it’s important to control your nutrition, be aware of your maintenance intake levels and control the magnitude of any surplus you may find yourself in to avoid weight gain


Shout if you would like a chat about how I can help you.


Peace and love, A x

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