9 More Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight
A few years back, I wrote an article explaining 17 possible reasons why you’re not losing weight. It was a troubleshooting guide of sorts, aimed at helping people identify some of things they may be doing (or not doing) that’s causing their stalled fat loss. The etiology of obesity and weight gain is multifactorial, and can be complex. Additionally, we’re all unique human beings. So it can be difficult to pin down one simple cause – or even seventeen simple causes. While unwanted fat loss comes effortlessly to most people that eat according to the Primal eating strategy – as the success stories and hundreds of thousands of positive user experiences indicate – sometimes we inadvertently sabotage our best efforts, stray from best practices, or don’t fully grok what we need to do to become efficient fat-burners. So let’s take a look at nine more possible reasons, shall we?
1. You’re engaging in too much mindless eating.
If you asked most people what made them overweight in the first place, it was that sneaky, tricky combination of eating and, well, doing everything else but focus on the food. It’s eating while watching TV. It’s eating while driving (I’ve seen a man eat a bowl of cereal on the 405). It’s eating while cooking (not tasting to stay abreast of the dish; full-on eating). It’s popcorn at the movies. It’s beer and wings and more beer during the game. In other words, it’s mindless eating. Eating that feels like breathing, like something you just do. You take a few chews, rarely enough to qualify as real mastication, and down the hatch it goes, with a follow-up handful close on its heels. Since increased frequency of eating (i.e. mindless eating or snacking) is strongly associated with the United States’ steadily increasing average energy intake, it’s plausible that mindless eating leads to eating more food.
Be more mindful when you eat; practice mindful eating. Eat food with others, sit down to dinner, take the time to appreciate the food you’re eating. Just because you’re scarfing down grass-fed beef and pastured eggs doesn’t mean you can get away with mindless consumption.
2. You’re eating too many “pleasure foods.”
Paul Jaminet really has a knack for coining phrases, doesn’t he (“safe starch,” anyone?)? A lesser known one is “pleasure foods.” These are things like nuts, dark chocolate, and raw honey – all foods that have gotten the stamp of Primal approval in the past, all foods that are calorically-dense and easy to overeat. This is hard to grasp, because these foods also confer some health benefits. Nuts are rich sources of micronutrients like magnesium, vitamin E, and selenium, and multiple studies suggest that nuts help weight loss. Dark chocolate got an entire post devoted to its impressive polyphenol content (and its fatty acid profile isn’t too bad, either), while honey is quite possibly the best sweetener around. At the very least, it and its bevy of bee-related compounds outperform other sweeteners like maple syrup and plain sugar and result in fewer metabolic issues. All that said, these foods are delicious, packed with calories, and can be overeaten, particularly because they have the reputation as “health foods.”
If you’re not losing weight, moderate your intake of these foods.
3. You’re eating too little.
It’s well-established that prolonged dieting – taking in fewer calories than your body expends – will eventually lead to a downregulation in the basal metabolic rate. This is simple stuff, really. Reducing your food intake will lower your body weight, usually, but it’s not a simple matter of dropping them lower and lower as you lose weight. The body isn’t a passive thing that you’re merely adding to and subtracting from. Instead, it’s a living, breathing, reacting, adapting entity that responds to the lowered caloric input by lowering its energy expenditure. Since you can’t lose weight forever (you’re not just going to waste away into nothingness), perpetually lowering your caloric intake will eventually work against your desire to lose weight.
Instead of sitting at a chronic caloric deficit, consider cycling your caloric intake. Eat less one day, more the next. You might also look into periodic refeeds, which may be able to kickstart a stalled weight loss.
4. You’re under “hidden stress.”
In the previous article, I explained how stress can make us gain weight, or stop losing it. Cortisol – which we release as a part of the stress response – inhibits weight loss, catabolizes muscle, worsens insulin resistance, and promotes the storage of fat. Although back then I was referring to the obvious sources of stress in our lives, like bills, traffic, jobs we hate, bosses we hate, relationship strife, there are other “hidden” types of stressors that result in the very same physiological responses as obvious stressors cause. Foremost among the hidden stressors is the lack of nature exposure. In the literature, researchers often speak of “forest bathing,” or spending a day or two or three in a forest setting to reduce cortisol, enhance immune function, and improve glucose tolerance. I prefer to look at this a different way. Instead of nature exposure being a positive anti-stress agent, urban living is an active stressor. Spending a day in the woods is a return to normalcy rather than an “intervention.”
If you’re not doing this already, take a day or two out of the week to get outside, preferably amongst unkempt, wild nature. It needn’t be a forest or a craggy cliff. The beach, the desert, or even a park will do just fine. In a pinch, you can even listen to nature sounds and look at nature scenes on your computer.
5. You’re too focused on diet to the exclusion of all else.
When you realize the wool that’s been pulled over the collective eyes of society regarding nutrition, it’s easy to become obsessed with your newfound knowledge. It’s easy to stay up late, night in, night out, perusing nutrition blogs, reading comment sections, devouring PubMed articles. You’ll hear about some arcane but totally essential nutrient and think that it’s the Answer. Am I getting enough magnesium? What about boron – I need some boron, right? How about vitamin A? Should I go for the preformed retinol or rely on the conversion from beta-carotene? Should I drive fifty miles out of town to get goose liver, or should I just take a vitamin K2 supplement and call it a day? Choline – that’s the stuff! Nothing but liver and egg yolks from here on out!
Diet is the obvious primary arbiter of body composition, but there’s more to life than worrying about what you put in your mouth. It’s counterintuitive, and there aren’t any randomized controlled trials showing it, but you might have more success just enjoying life, getting some exercise, and hanging out with good people instead of micromanaging your nutrient intake. Relax.
6. You’re getting too much exercise.
Although regular exercise is a necessary component of a healthy lifestyle, and smart training that includes lifting heavy things, walking lots, and sprinting occasionally can speed weight loss and improve body composition, there is such a thing as too much exercise. After all, effective exercise is effective because it’s stressful, because it challenges our physiology and propels us to rise to the occasion and improve ourselves by getting stronger, faster, and with more lean mass and less body fat. Taken to the extreme, exercise becomes a chronic stressor and a steady source of cortisol release (which as we discussed above makes us insulin resistant and promotes the accumulation of belly fat). Chronic stress in any form can also induce a hypothyroid-like state, where metabolic rate is lowered and weight loss slows or stops altogether, and exercise-induced chronic stress is no different.
Try to stick to the 4,000 calories a week (soft) limit, especially if you find your weight loss stalling.
7. Your macronutrients and training are mismatched.
For most people who stay reasonably active, doing lots of low-level movement as well as some lifting, a low-carb Primal way of eating is generally the most effective way to lose body fat. It tastes good, it’s easy to stick to, and, most importantly, it works. But some people like to push the envelope. They like waking up early and going for a run, then coming home at night and hitting the weights. They’re avid CrossFitters. They like seeing how far their bodies can go. They’re concerned with performance, above all else, and they want to maximize every last drop of physicality their bodies can muster. In that case, more dietary carbs are probably called for – especially if they’re trying to lose weight at the same time. Certain activities just require glycogen. I do plenty of activities that use up glycogen, but I’m not doing them day in, day out, so I don’t need to eat a lot of carbs.
If you are, if you’re doing WODs every day and playing in a basketball league on the weekends and doing jiujitsu twice a week, you’ll need to replenish those glycogen stores more often or else risk that chronically-stressed state that stops weight loss.
8. Your eating schedule is too disordered.
I tend to get hungry at different times throughout the day, and I have no issues eating meals at different intervals depending on when hunger strikes. That seems to be pretty typical. Although many Primal eaters relish the freedom from having to keep snacks on hand in order to stave off hunger and enjoy the fact that they can skip a meal or two and just rely on their hunger signals, there is a considerable amount of evidence that maintaining a regular eating schedule can improve the metabolic response to meals in some people. Women in particular seem to benefit most from a “regular meal pattern.” In one study of lean women, an “irregular” meal pattern resulted in lower postprandial energy expenditure than a regular meal pattern. In another study, lean women who ate meals on a regular schedule had better insulin sensitivity and improved blood lipids. And in one other study of healthy obese women, regular mealtimes increased postprandial thermogenesis, insulin sensitivity, and blood lipids.
Sometimes, you might need a little order to your eating, whether you’re IFing or not. And that’s totally fine.
9. You’re actually at a healthy weight and your body is “keeping” you from dropping any more.
I know, I know: your body is a huge jerk and he says mean things to you. But sometimes the body knows best. Sometimes, our current body composition is where we’re supposed to be, even if we only have a four or a two-pack (or none at all). Recall the natural bodybuilder who, upon dropping from 14.8% body fat to 4.5%, also dropped his metabolic rate, his body temperature, his heart rate, his testosterone levels, and his moodiness. Recall that women deposit fat differently than men and actually need some body fat for optimum fertility and health. Instead of obsessing over a few more percentage points on the body fat scale, think about how good you’re feeling, how your health issues have cleared up, and how you enjoy movement more. And if you want to alter your body composition, focus on addition – lifting heavy things, sprinting – rather than subtraction. You might be right where you’re supposed to be.
One final point: Note that I’m not saying eating too few calories or exercising too much or focusing too much on diet to the exclusion of all else will make you gain weight. I’m saying that it can lead to or exacerbate a stall in your weight loss. It’s a small distinction, but an important one.
That’s it for today, folks. Anything look familiar? Anything jump out at you? What have I forgotten? Be sure to skim the last article after reading this one to make sure it’s not something I’ve already covered.
Thanks for reading!
Grab a Copy of The Primal Connection: Follow Your Genetic Blueprint to Health and Happiness Today!
Posted By: Mark Sisson
I’m with the menopause group who are mentioning the weight gain , but most noticeably the huge change in body shape without any gain. Back and torso fat the biggest culprits for me.
I have exercised my whole life (pool manager/swim coach for 13 years) hiking, walking, kayaking, plus garden and yard work with remodeling thrown in the mix. Most days do some body weight exercises (have to be careful now with too heavy a weight and need to modify overhead exercises) squats, lunges and such.
Also I have eaten low carb for close to 18 years with emphasizes on primal since Mark’ first book came out. I have moved around calories, meals and times, and composition to no avail. I know I’ve become the food watcher Mark described. Trying to enjoy the golden years but when I look in the mirror and try to dress this beast……
Just feel we need to help the over 60 year old female more. Not enough information out there except the “take this drug/hormone/whatever and shut up”. What do you expect? you’re old and have lived your life. But you try to find clothing for the mature body that isn’t a printed sweatshirt or sweater. I can sport skinny jeans, but “the girls” need more support (yeah, they have “grown” or should I say doubled since menopause) and I don’t need to be flashing them to the world even though they are still fairly perky, it’s just not a pretty sight. You’ll say buy a bigger size, but it doesn’t work because it doesn’t fit elsewhere and looks like a sack or worse like I’m pregnant!
In other words, I need help in getting this torso weight off. And NO I don’t drink alcohol or eat snacks. I also eat grassfed, pastured, organic whole foods. Thanks for letting me vent. It has been building for awhile.
If you like reading, Primal Body, Primal Mind by Nora Gedgaudas. She doesn’t discount us elders (I’m almost 60).
Dragonfly -
How much are you willing to spend on clothing? If the real problem is that you’re not happy with the garments out there, then it can be solved if there’s money to throw at the problem.
I’m about 99.9% sure you can find a bra with proper support, but it might not be at Wal-Mart. You may need to shop at a real lingerie store either in person or online. A specialty store would be used to accommodating weird band/cup combinations. (For the record, I have a hard time with bras, too My band size is very large compared to my cup.)
Ditto with the clothing. I’m going warn you that it’s extremely expensive, but tailors can make you custom clothing. The upside to spending ridiculous amounts of $$$ on clothing is that the clothing should last a long time with proper care.
Something to think about, anyway, if the real issue is that clothes shopping is no fun anymore.
I’m going to second the bra fitting. I went from flat at the end of 6th grade to DD by the end of 7th. Mom got me a professional bra fitting, with a lady who also showed me how to measure myself and pick properly fitting bras from then on out. When I wasn’t nursing, I particularly liked the Wacoal brand from Dillards, but they are pricey. (Don’t get me started on my nursing bras fitting properly rant. I so wish I could give the industry a piece of my mind on that.) If you find a good solution to postmenopausal women losing weight, let me know. I know several ladies who would pay for the info.
“You’ll say buy a bigger size, but it doesn’t work because it doesn’t fit elsewhere and looks like a sack or worse like I’m pregnant!”
Get fitted at a real lingerie store. (not Victoria’s Secret or a similar place) It should have all sizes from 28-50+; AA-M (or whatever the max size is).. You might need a small band/large cup size like I do, one that isn’t carried by mainstream stores. (I’m a 34FF) A good bra should fit relatively tight around the back but fit the entire breast in the cup. So the solution isn’t simply “a bigger size” but the right cup/band combo.
I’ve got the same figure type, all shoulders and back, with little thighs. It’s impossible to buy womens clothing for me which fits.
Rather than hate my body though, I decided to appreciate it more by learning to alter my clothes. Learning to sew was less frustrating than trying on all the store clothes which never fitted.
One recommendation about diet though, have you given up gluten? I found it messed with my hormones. Giving it up meant I saw the weight suddenly shift from the top half of my body. I don’t store it there anymore.
I’ll agree with the others about getting a real bra fitting. I’m a 34F, also not a size one finds in typical lingerie lines.
Here’s a secret that suits both lingerie and clothing goals: Nordstrom! They still do the old-school department store services that others have cut. They are WORTH IT.
They will fit your bra, and once you know a few brands that work for you, you can look for them elsewhere if you like. And Nordstrom will alter clothing. Look into it if you have one in your area.
Starting to think I’m #9 as well. I’m 5ft tall and have been as large as 145lbs to as low as 110lbs. Current weight is 120. And for the last year I’ve been obsessing over why I can’t seem to drop those last 10lbs. The answer might just be because I’m not supposed to. When I was 110lbs, I was a professional dancer and training 3 hours a day. Just hard to accept that this weight is healthier.
As a woman in her child-bearing years, I have discovered I do best on an eating schedule. I don’t eat snacks, but I eat three squares a day every day. If I go so much as 20 minutes passed a normal eating time, my body lets me know. It’s like, “hey, um excuse me, don’t you know what time it is?”
Thanks so much for this article! It came at such a timely time for me!
It’s good to think of it as a Multi factorial problem because it helps me realise the few areas I really need to work on!
1. Stress
2. Sleep
3. Irregular eating pattern
I’ve just started a new job with crazy hours (just finished 80hrs in 6 days!) so these first three I’m really struggling with.
Have made some healthy paleo meals and left them at work, as well as well as paleo snacks (mobile ones I can carry with me like a handful of nuts/punnet of blueberries etc) and am trying to fit in as much sleep as I can!
5/6 mindless eating and pleasure foods was an issue for me last week because I was stressing about whether or not id be able to eat again that shift and I was snacking on bad foods whilst working and not being accountable for them.
Will practice mindful eating again from today!
I’ve been struggling to get the last 5 lbs off and I think its the nuts for me. I find myself eating to much if I eat them at all. I think I need to learn to eliminate them completely for awhile. Yogurt was another issue. Once I cut that out I was able to lose a little more fat.
This was so timely for me.. I’ve been teetering on the edge of full on primal eating and low carb dieting. Then last night while I was spending forever in the kitchen trying so very hard to create something that was supposed to taste like cool ranch doritos but was chock full of processed crap I thought to myself…. WHY? Here I am spending forever doing this and now I have missed out on an evening that I could have spent time with my husband and my little bubbies but here I am trying so very hard to replicate some crap that is no doubt just going to lead to me wanting actual doritos in the end.. So that’s it.. I’m done.. True Primal starts TODAY!
Good for you Jennapher. You are in the right place and ready to go. Screw the Doritos. In 3 weeks of true Primal, most of those cravings will disappear forever.
+1
I think I’ve suffered from a bit of #4 and I find that #1 tragically goes along with #4. Definitely those have been the hardest for me to overcome. And lack of sleep ties into #4 and subsequently #1. Great points these, I hadn’t considered #9. I often wonder about this because I’ve definitely added on muscle and likely some bone density from resistance training.
Pretty much negates “eat less, move more”.
I had been on primal for about 6 months without much success. I decided to get serious, so I moved from 80/20 to 95/5 but after 3 months of this, I was still gaining and losing the same 3 lbs (I needed to lose about 20lbs). Also I have some digestive issues (indigestion, bloating, constipation, abdominal cramping) that improved greatly after I eliminated wheat and dairy, but were still bothersome.
I am currently breastfeeding, and I had resigned myself to not being able to go further with weight loss until I weaned when I read about ayurveda, and it suggested that eating regular meals would improve digestion, and help my metabolism. I switched from eating whenever I was hungry to eating 3 square meals at the same time every day, and I switched from body weight exercise to just yoga. With just those changes, I have finally moved past my plateau, losing 7lbs and 3 inches from my waist in the past 6 weeks. I still have a ways to go but my digestive issues are now completely resolved, and I am fitting into clothes that I haven’t worn for 3 years! A regular eating schedule has definitely helped.
I had to laugh at #5. That is SO me. Or at least is has been over the past year. I appreciate the reminder to relax. Now that I “know”, it’s time to chill and just live it.
Or….maybe it’s all the toxins in the environment these days. We need lots of detox, or the fat does us a favor and stores it away from our vital organs. Forgive me if others have made this comment~~don’t have time to read them all today!
“all the toxins in the environment these days”
Only young people say this. The rest of us remember the unbreathable air of the ’70s (even inside, thanks to smokers) and there may be a few around who recall when street lights had to be on all day in major cities because the pollution didn’t let sunlight in.
The fact is that we live in a much cleaner environment than our city-dwelling grandparents and great-grandparents.
And if you’re really convinced that our bodies are being taken over by “toxins”, feel free to name those toxins and cite your documentation.
+1
+1. Growing up in So. Cal. in the 60′s I could not even see the mountain right next to our house. The smog was just horendous back then.
Today, the air is cleaner but the food is much dirtier. GMO corn and GMO soy and dwarf hybrid wheat and pesticides galore.
But that’s CW food. Don’t know how much of the crap makes it into Primal.
Read the 100 Year Lie by Randall Fitzgerald and Fluoride Deception By Chris Bryson.
There are worse things out there than Lead and DDT nowdays
I’ve been doing interval training for a pretty long time – 6 days a week at the gym (Body for Life type of stuff).
With the high-stress industry I was in, about 2 years ago I gained 30 lbs that I could never quite shake off. I went from never being able to gain weight and shot up from 165-195 – to the point where the middle of my thighs started touching and it REALLY pissed me off!
Then I recently switched from lifting weights to the exercises you recommended and haven’t felt any pain since I started this new regimen. Next, I went from sprinting 3 days a week (every other day) to jumping rope – eight intervals for 60 seconds each (1/min rest in between each set).
It also forced me to eat less (cause I’m not working out as hard) and still feel just as great!
As of right now, I shed 15 of those 30 lbs I put on – the best I felt in almost 2 YEARS! Even better, I don’t have any pain in my body (joint or otherwise) and spend less time in the gym. Thanks Mark!
Another great one Mark! Definitely struck a chord with 1, 2 and 6. I’ve definitely decreased my mindless eating but I still catch myself completely absorbed in something else while I’m eating. As for #2, my love of chocolate and nut butters might be the death of me. Combine those two and forget it! In fact, sometimes #1 and #2 go hand in hand (ie: mindlessly dipping my spoon into the sunflower butter jar over and over and sadly realizing it half way through). As for #6, I started CrossFit about six months ago. At first I went practically everyday and could feel myself running ragged and my weight loss was stalling. Now, I do 2 or 3 days and 1 day off where I do some steady state cardio and yoga.
Mark, I switched to the Primal Blueprint way of eating last year and lost 10 lbs but then gained 10, lost 10, gained 10. I got nowhere (although, my energy is certainly better!) So, I decided to do something sacrilege and joined Weight Watchers again two weeks ago this past Monday. Since then, I’ve lost 2 lbs. Before you think me a defector from Grok’s camp, not true. I’m following Weight Watchers “Primal Style” or, as I like to a say – I’m following the Primal Blueprint while on Weight Watchers. Fortunately for me, Weight Watchers has stepped into the present and no longer allows for processed carbs to be low-point options. In fact, the only way I can stand this go around on such a gimmicky diet is that they encourage fruits/veggies, protein and healthy fats before everything else. They now ding you hard on the points if you eat wheat products, sugar and processed foods. Gone is the “low fat-low points” philosophy they used to espouse. For the past two weeks, I’ve had less than 5% processed food (I admit to eating some canned soup and frozen yogurt). I truly think it’s the mindless eating that messes most of us up. We think we’re eating less than we do. If you journal everything (EVERY.THING) that goes into your mouth, you’d be surprised how easy it is to simply take in too many calories. I can’t wait to be thin again and tell folks that I followed the Primal Blueprint while on Weight Watchers. Their expressions will be priceless.
The best thing Weight Watchers did for me was teach me to pay attention to why I am eating, and portion control. I would eat because I was bored, or sad, or for a reward, or celebration, or grieving, etc. Food was the go-to for emotions. I had to break that. It’s still hard when emotionally, I want something unhealthy, but I know better.
I always worry about #4. I’ve taken to setting myself a bedtime this month as well as taking time at least a few times a week to meditate for 10-15 minutes. I think this is helping with my overall stress levels and wellbeing.
#9 – I have lost 43 lbs. in about a year and a half and my body seems to like it here, although I still weigh about 27 lbs more than I did when I married 25 years ago. =/ This discussion, however, has made me hungry!
Whatever you do, don’t stop trying. I followed every bit of advice that floated past, but when I finally pried my stubborn fingers off dairy products, I started losing again after a seven-year stall. Also make sure I have a protein breakfast.
I tend to think the reason why veganism works for people at the beginning is precisely because they are forced to pry those stubborn fingers off the dairy. Dairy is one of those foods that I think more people react to at a low level than medical community will admit.
#2 is the reason why I plateaued and couldn’t lose weight for the longest time.I made some changes to my diet and have dropped 19lbs in the last 8 weeks and still going. Thank you for this great article!
4 and 5 for me… actually think I have finally hit 9… not sure how to feel about that.
I think I am a walking example of #4. My husband had a bone marrow transplant in January and we have been in isolation ever since. Spending time in nature is challenging since he can’t even leave the room without an industrial filter mask! I appreciate the idea of listening to nature sounds. That’s something we will definitely try to relieve some of our stress!
I went primal about 6 months ago and lost 13kg in about 11weeks… From there it’s been a battle and I’ve been yoyoing. I have Lupus, SLE, I’m on medication, deal with fatigue daily, pain daily, insomnia at times….. It sux. It is so true that stress, eating too little, and other factors mentioned (my memory is crappy too thanks to my Lupus, lol) I try my best…. If only I could kickstart the weight loss again, I’d love to drop another 7 to 10kg! Not exactly where I’d like to be but close enough
What a great post. I’m going to have to think more on this and will probably have to write something up as well to help me process it all.
I think #3, 5, 6, and 7 apply to me.
Not sure I’m quite ready for refeeding yet!.. but I guess in life sometimes it’s necessary to take a step back to go two forward!
As usual, I appreciate the MDA postings very much. However, I’m a little surprised at #3. Gedgaudas points to research that shows slightly lower intake as extremely beneficial, particularly in ‘jumpstarting’ the anti-aging capabilities of our own bodies. The information appears in Chapter 22. Our Primordial Past.
What say you, Mark?
Mark, I love your website and I love all the articles you have written. I am subscribed to your daily apple and read almost every article. I love learning about PB… but with that being said I STILL HAVE NOT TRIED IT! Why you ask?? What am I waiting for? I simply CANNOT GIVE UP CARBS. I love love looooooove bread. ALL kinds of bread. If I’m being honest, I look forard to the bread/butter at restaurants more than the meal sometimes. (eeeeeek, yup, that bad). I dream about bread (ok ok this is an exaggeration but you get the point). I also love pasta, rice and fruit (but not as much as bread). And, worst of all, I LOVE chocolate (and not just healthy dark chocolate)… I’m talking ALL kinds of chocolate, including, the devil, white chocolate. Chocolate cake, chocolate cookies, chocolate brownies… you name it. In fact, my boyfriend took me to Hershey Pennsylvania on Valentine’s Day just so I can get all the chocolate my little heart desires at the Hershey factory, etc…
Sooooo, I’m a carb-lover and choco-holic. You’d think I’d be morbidly obese… but I’m also a marathon coach and probably engage in “chronic cardio” 6 days a week. After reading more of your articles, I’m starting to think that I “loooooove” bread/pasta/rice BECAUSE I run so much/train so hard (and I do interval training 2-3 times a week so not just monotonous training). What really backs up this thought is that I didn’t really care for chocolate UNTIL I started training for my first marathon (but the bread/pasta/rice obsession was always there).
Soooo…. I visit your site and read your articles and think “maybe one day I’ll stop running/coaching marathons… start with your fitness program (walking/weights/sprints)… and then maybe, just maybe, I’ll stop craving carbsssss allllll the time… and then I can make a major life readjustment…” but, until then, the mere THOUGHT of giving up carbs is like being damned into a world of ETERNAL HELL. Seriously.
But, alas, I still read along and learn… ANY ADVICE FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME OUT THERE?!?!??!?!
If you are not overweight don’t try to lose weight.
Tara, I would say just stop eating one thing at a time and give yourself time to get ready – think about it for 2 or 3 weeks, research what it may be doing to your body, etc. Then when you are ready get rid of say, only grains and give yourself 30 days on that before going on to the next thing….. like beans. Get rid of the chocolate last, muhwahahahahahaha, it’s not as hard to find balance with that after the grains are gone. That’s how it’s worked for me at least. I try to note what I eat/drink the day before when I gain a pound or my knees hurt going downstairs – everyone has a cronic problem usually, unique to themselves. Then eliminate that for a few days before I try it again. You have your own chemical make up so you can find out what your body doesn’t like by the reaction you get after eating something that may be wrong for you. Eat as clean as you can w/o processing other than cooking foods, and when you add something new your body will yell at you or not. The carb craving/addiction withdrawls will come but muscle through and you will be happy to be a free person – woo hoo!!! Ok, enough rambling.
Hi Tara, my latest mantra: Read Nora Gedgaudas, “Primal Body, Primal Mind.” If Mark’s “Primal Blueprint” didn’t answer your question(s), Nora’s book should. It’s really not always about weight. Cheers to you!
Tara, I used to be like you when it comes to bread (pasta/rice I almost never eat and don’t crave). Bread, especially warm pita bread or crusty restaurant sourdough served with butter or olive oil, is something I try to avoid at all costs. Every once in awhile it’s in front of me and I either cave or I refrain, but the desire to have it never goes away. I ride a bike (a lot), so I do allow myself bread if I’m out riding and have no other food choice (which is rare). Instead, I’ll eat a couple of non-GMO corn tortillas the days I ride for extra carbs. That sometimes works in tricking me into thinking I’ve had bread when I haven’t.
Just check http://www.weatbellyblog.com hosted by Dr William Davis.
You are addicted to wheat, and if you think you LOVE bread (as I used to, being half-French who grew up on tons of it), no you don’t, you are just addicted. The gliadin protein in wheat binds to your opiate receptors in the brain and make you crave for bread. Go cold turkey with wheat and after a withdrawal period, you will find out that you don’t care any longer for bread. Easy to say, not so to do …
it is http://www.wheatbellyblog.com
Tara, I can relate about the addicted to bread/butter part. Then I found out I was gluten intolerant and read “The Paleo Answer” by Loren Cordain and Wheat Belly as mentioned above. (I also read Primal Blueprint later) That is what convinced me to go paleo/primal. Just knowing what the food does to your insides makes you think before eating it. I haven’t had one grain of wheat in 8 months and can turn up my nose at it.
I found I still love the butter, probably more than the bread, and when I have a good workout, I look forward to a sweet potato loaded in Farm fresh butter as my once (sometimes twice) a week splurge!
I truly believe in the hidden stress tip and the under eating tip! I notice that when I lack in calories for a little while, I tend to feel a bit heavier (and in my eyes look heavier too)… Of course no one else sees it, but I can tell. The second I start noshing a little more of the good stuff though, bring on the salmon, I feel a different in my weight, and feel lighter
The stress tip also hits home. I do feel as though I have a lot of hidden stress and I know I am stressing when I start to feel heavier too. I just try to calm myself down and think about how my life is NOT going to end if X & Y don’t get done in time!
#10 your intestinal biome is damaged and you need a more targeted dietary intervention (like GAPS) to rebuild your leaky gut and get rid of your small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.
#11 you have an intestinal parasite and don’t know it.
#12 you are forgetting the importance of sunlight
#13 something may be out of whack with your endocrine system, especially if you have been overweight for a long time. Endocrine system probs not limited to just thyroid, of course — could include adrenal and sex glands as well as pituitary, hypothalamus and others. A great resource is http://stopthethyroidmadness.com.
#9 is probably the case with me. According to BMI scales, I’m slightly overweight. (160-165lb, 5’6″) I work out several days a week, and have a mostly clean diet (celiac, so can’t touch most grains; also never touch soda/anything deep fried). I used to weigh about 190lb, but after losing weight quickly, I stagnated at the “slightly overweight” range. Sure, I could probably afford to drop 10-15lb, but just not getting the constant cramps and headaches I used to before cleaning up my diet is worth doing what I’m doing now.
Here’s a trick that works to shift off top-dead-center and restart weight loss. Each AM — skip breakfast and continue fasting until noon/lunchtime. Meanwhile, drink “ketosis essentials”, one scoop, (www.heathy directions.com)dissolved in a glass of water. Next, do your daily exercise routine. After all this, eat paleo-normal the rest of the day. Works really well.
Stress can really hold a person back from their weigh loss goals. When you are stressed you try to find comfort in food or alcohol (for some)…so mindless eating=mindless calories.
I totally agree on all the things that you have mentioned here especially in number 4. I truly believe that stress plays a huge factor why we are not losing weight. We tend to find comforting foods when we are stressed out to feel better which trigger weight gain than loss.