Losing weight is not only physically challenging, but can be a mental battle as well. I am going to provide you with two common reasons as to why you aren’t dropping the weight, along with some actions you can take to make sustainable progress.
You’re Prioritizing Cardio Over Weights
When it comes to losing body fat, cardio is an inferior option. Although cardio does burn a lot of calories, it is placing a stress on the body, this stress is telling your body to go into preservation mode. Which means you metabolism is going to slow down, as your body looks to preserve the energy stores it already has (fat), you will have a hard time losing weight if you are only running or jogging.
The best way to speed up your metabolism is to build strength and muscle; you need to lift weights. Although strength training doesn’t burn as many calories in as running. By building a strong and muscular body, your metabolism will speed up. As you add muscle to your frame, your body will burn more calories at a resting state.
Now I’m not saying you need to completely ditch cardio, however if the goal is weight loss, prioritizing strength training will be key. If you really enjoy doing cardio, an effective way to gear your cardio sessions towards fat loss is going HIIT training. Short bursts of a sprint, followed by an equal amount of time spent resting will cause your heart rate to rise and fall, over and over in a short period of time. This is a much more favorable when doing cardio for weight loss.
Your Sleep Sucks
Your lack of sleep is going to send a stress signal to your body, it’s telling your body that metabolism needs to be slowed down, energy needs to be stored, appetite needs to be increased to attain more energy, and worst of all, its going to be hard to put on muscle. Since muscle burns more calories (energy) your body is in no condition to place an more stress on itself. Essentially, your body is turning into a preservation state (much like the effects of long-distance running).
If you’re like me and have trouble with your sleep as well, here at my top 3 tips for better sleep.
- Get in the sun/fresh air during the day
- No eating 2-3 hours before bed
- Have a night time routine, stretch, journal, or read.
