Working Out but not Losing Weight?

Do you exercise often and still feel like you are not maintaining a healthy weight? One of the following reasons could be why you are not shedding pounds: 

You are not eating the good stuff
If you are working out but not losing weight, you might focus all your energy on burning off calories but do not take the time to consider what you are putting in as fuel. You should stick to all natural, whole foods. Look for foods that have the fewest ingredients on the label. 

You are not striking the right balance
If you have been shunning carbohydrates because you think they are making you fat, you might cut out an entire macronutrient from your daily diet which can make you feel deprived and tempt you to binge. 

And so reach for healthy, complex carbs—like sweet potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, oats, peas, beans and whole grain bread and digest them slowly so as to release glucose into your bloodstream more slowly.  A steady diet of simple carbs, like candy, soda, sugary sweets and processed foods with added sugar will not help you reach your weight-loss goal. 

You are eating too much
In order to shed pounds, your body needs to run a calorie deficit, meaning you need to burn more than you consume. That being said, you should not have to deprive yourself either. Life is about balance.   
Eat whenever you are hungry and eat slowly enough so you can stop just before you get full. Healthy snacking during the day will keep you from overeating during meals.   

You are doing too much cardio
Although cardio is a necessary part of your workout routine to keep your heart healthy and boost your metabolism, only doing cardio—or doing too much of it—can actually add to the problem. 

Longer cardio sessions, like staying on the elliptical for 90 minutes or going for regular 10-mile runs, can eat away at your lean muscle mass, which is essential for increasing your metabolism to burn more calories. It causes the body to become more endurance-focused, storing energy as fat to ensure it has plenty of reserve fuel to keep you going for all those miles, not to mention it dramatically increases your appetite, making you more susceptible to unnecessary snacking or overeating. 

The best way to lose weight and build lean muscle is by doing some form of strength training in addition to your cardio. The more muscle tone your body has, the more fat you will burn.

Moreover, give yourself time to fully recover. Recovery and rest are often more important than the workout itself. It is during these periods that your body does most of the actual fat burning.

 
Your body is under too much stress
Exercise is a stressor on your body. When you have a healthy balance of exercise-related stress and recovery time, your body is healthy and can lose its excess fat. 

However, if not giving your body enough time to recover,  you will start to produce an excessive amount of cortisol, a stress hormone. When your body is exposed to cortisol for longer periods of time, it starts to cause negative effects, like stubborn fat in areas you do not want. 

You have plateaued
If you are cutting calories, you may experience a rapid drop in weight initially, as your body burns stored glycogen for energy. You might even lose a little muscle along with fat. Eventually, your weight loss has plateaued. To rev up your weight loss again, you may need to cut more calories or amp up your physical activity.