Why You're Not Losing Weight

Dieting can be a frustrating endeavor, especially if you're not losing weight, but it doesn't have to be complicated. Become proactive, stick to the basics and learn which changes you should make in your current diet to encourage the weight loss you desire. Your ultimate goal is to lose weight and keep it off, which requires patience and perseverance but is worth every pound of effort.

Components Of Weight Loss

Prior to beginning a weight loss program you should see a doctor to ensure the diet is healthy and you have no compromising health issues. Once that is accomplished, you can focus on the task at hand: losing weight. There are three basic components to weight loss: nutrition, calorie expenditure and your personal calorie requirements. Without a proper balance of each you won't be able to lose weight.

Nutrition

Your nutrition includes the number of calories you eat daily as well as the quality of the foods you eat. Keep a food diary to log every morsel you put in your mouth, including beverages. There are online databases able to calculate the calories, fat and other important nutrients for you so you are aware of what you're really putting in your body. Learn about portion sizes so that you can enjoy your favorite foods, within limits.

Calorie Expenditure

Calorie expenditure is the number of calories you burn each day. You should keep an activity log to track how many calories you burn during the day. For example: if you currently weight 150 lbs. and sit at a desk for 7.5 hours a day you burn 765 calories during that time. If you exercise, be sure to log that activity and how many calories you burn during your workout. Knowing how many calories you actually use up per day is crucial to losing weight.

Personal Calorie Requirements

Your basal metabolic rate is the number of calories your body needs to sustain life at your current weight. All of your bodily functions, such as heart beat, breathing, digestion, and brain activity, require energy, or calories, to do their job. Your BMR is the starting point for monitoring calories because it gives you a baseline to build on.

Putting It All Together

Starting with your BMR, calculate how many calories you need each day. Consult both your food diary and activity log to see how many calories you're actually eating and how many you're burning. If you're not losing weight, it may be that you're eating the same number of calories that you're burning. Reduce your calorie intake, or increase your calorie burn to promote weight loss. One pound of fat equals 3,500 calories. If you are able to eliminate 500 calories per day, by eating less or through exercise, you can lose about 1 lb. each week. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says losing 1 to 2 lbs. per week is a realistic and healthy goal for lasting weight loss.