It can be super frustrating when you’ve come so far and those last stubborn kilos of stored fat seem to be hanging on for dear life!
There may be a few reasons behind this …
1. Complacency:
While it may not be a conscious decision, if you’ve already lost weight, it’s common to become a bit complacent. All of those lovely compliments from your friends, family and colleagues have you feeling pretty pleased with yourself – and rightly so! Unfortunately, you may have simply fallen into a comfort zone and the desire to shift those last few kilos is now on the backburner. You’ll be pleased to hear that the amount of tweaking required to start burning off stored fat again are relatively miniscule. It’s all about consistency and mindfulness … so get out that food diary and start holding yourself accountable for your commitment to preparing healthy meals and regular exercise and you’ll soon see the scales start to shift in the right direction.
2. Some minor tweaks required:
As mentioned above, the smallest change can have a significant impact. Whether it’s reigning in your serving sizes, eating your evening meal earlier, setting new challenges at the gym or curbing your alcohol intake, you’ll likely find even applying one of these changes will have a positive impact. You’ll be amazed at the things you have likely let slide a little when you’re honest with yourself. No more procrastinating – start today!
3. Patience and understanding:
Fat loss and health improvements are not a race! While it’s great to see the number on the scales improving, it’s also important to acknowledge the health benefits of your positive lifestyle changes and possibly even some lean muscle gain along the way, which may slow your ‘weight’ loss, despite fat loss. Fat loss does not follow a perfect trajectory – it will trend up or down over time. Weighing yourself too frequently is not accurate (unless you’re interested in the weight of your digestive tract and bladder!), so weigh once a week to track the ‘trend’ rather than the normal ‘up and down’ fluctuations of your bodily functions.
4. Factors that may interfere with fat loss:
The primary factors that interfere with fat loss, cause excess fat gain and occur as a result of metabolic dysfunction, are those which are addressed and successfully improved upon, or corrected entirely, over the course of our 28-day program:
- Insulin resistance - high insulin causes fat deposits - particularly around your mid-section
- Type 2 Diabetes - Type 2 diabetes is strongly associated with obesity
- Obesity itself - insulin resistance is commonly behind obesity, causing further fat deposition
- Fatty liver - commonly associated with insulin resistance
- Dysbiosis (poor gut flora) - an overgrowth of opportunistic (bad) bacteria can impact fat loss
- Iron deficiency - low iron can cause excessive hunger in an attempt to increase flagging energy levels
- Poor adherence to circadian rhythms (ie: shift work, poor routine) - it's not just about what you eat, but when!
- Poor sleeping habits - poor sleep can negatively influence fat loss
- Heightened stress levels - high stress = high cortisol, which increases insulin levels
- Inactivity/poor strength & muscle tone - a smaller 'engine' burns less fuel.
