5 Reasons You Aren’t Losing Weight
5 Reasons You Aren’t Losing Weight
Hey guys!
You know what’s frustrating? When you work out, eat right, are honest to yourself, and yet STILL you cannot lose weight! Ya feel me here? It’s weird! You’re thinking that life’s so unfair and what’s the point of all this suffering?!
Alright, don’t give up! You need to read this article because there are certain things you may be doing that are contributing to your plateau. I’m going to share with you 5 common, but unexpected reasons you may not be losing weight.
1. You’re not eating enough
You read that right. You may not be eating enough and therefore you’re not losing weight. Let me explain. The mentality of eating less to lose weight makes sense, but it’s actually one of the WORST things you can do! Depriving yourself increases the chances of binging later on in the day and you’ll end up eating MORE than you normally would! Not to mention, it totally messes up your metabolism! You’ll have no energy! Your body will go into starvation mode and it will hold on to the weight that you’re currently at because it thinks that it is dying. Over time you’ll find it harder and harder to lose weight or make progress in the gym. Restricting also tends to cause a continuous cycle of under and over eating, which just isn’t healthy. Instead, eat nourishing meals and snacks spaced out during the day. Give your body what it needs to continue to make progress. And also remember, being healthy is a LIFESTYLE. Your current diet needs to be something you can maintain your whole life. Please try not go under 1200 calories a day. But always consult with your doctor or dietitian. 2. You overeat on healthy food Okay, so your problem may not be under eating, but it could be OVER eating healthy foods. Just because it’s deemed healthy doesn’t mean you can eat a crazy amount of it! Calories are still calories and if you eat too much of anything you won’t lose weight. So, you need to practice portion control! Be aware of how much food you’re putting into your body! Some foods may have more calories than you think! For example, nuts, nut butters and avocado are all super healthy, but they still have a high amount of calories per serving! I’m not saying don’t eat those foods – but instead pay attention to serving sizes and your waistline will thank you for it. If you’re interested in knowing how many calories you should be eating in order to get the results you want, here’s a cool calculator.3. You’re not eating mindfully Do you multitask when you eat? Do you eat on the go? Do you eat while you’re watching TV? It’s totally normal to eat and do a million other things at once because let’s face it, we’re busy! (Trust me, I can relate) But this tends to make us eat super fast and we may overindulge without realizing it. Being a mindful eater not only helps us listen to our hunger level, but it also lets us truly enjoy and savor each bite. (And who doesn’t want to enjoy their food, right?!) Try to sit down without distractions and only focus on eating. You may be surprised at how quickly you fill up! You owe it to yourself, your body and your health to be mindful about what and how much you eat.4. You do too much cardio Think you’re going to reach your goals by doing crazy amounts of cardio everyday? If so, you’re missing out on one of the most important ways to exercise – and that’s strength training! It not only sculpts lean muscles, but also boosts your metabolism so you keep burning calories longer throughout the day! Also, if you ONLY do cardio, your body will adjust and eventually you’ll plateau and stop seeing results. So, replace 3 of your cardio sessions with strength training and you’ll soon see the results you want! Remember, strength training doesn’t HAVE to be going to the gym and lifting heavy weights! You can do body weight resistance exercises such as pushups, squats, lunges, and planks. Don’t forget that POP Pilates is also strength training! You’re using your body weight to build strength and sculpt long lean muscles!5. You aren’t surrounding yourself with supportive people Losing weight can be challenging if you’re constantly surrounded by people who don’t support your goals. You’re more likely to cave into eating junk food and skipping workouts if everyone else around you is too. Try to tell your friends and family that it’s important for you to lose weight and reach your goals. They should respect you and who knows, maybe they’ll even learn from your healthy habits! Reaching a goal takes a positive and motivated mindset. Energy is contagious and if negative people surround you, then it can rub off on you! But DO NOT LET IT! Be stronger than that. Don’t be afraid to stay away from negativity. It’s YOUR life and YOUR journey. Do what’s best for you and surround yourself with positive influences ONLY. There you have it – some surprisingly common reasons why you’re not losing weight! You may relate to all or some of these, but hopefully this will give you some perspective into your own fitness and eating habits! Making changes is difficult, but it starts with acknowledging where you can improve! Which one of these reasons can you relate to the most?
102 thoughts on “5 Reasons You Aren’t Losing Weight”
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I have fallen into the trap of calorie counting before and subtracting calories burned out of it to make myself feel better. Finding what works is one of the hardest parts.
I cannot even believe the transformation. I have tried to lose weight many times in the past. Some things were somewhat successful, but it just seemed that I kept hitting a brick wall over the last year or so. I was pretty desperate by the time I made the choice to try this program what helped me lose 21 pounds in about 6 weeks
Watch the video on this website: http://leanbellybreakthrough1.club/lose-40pounds-fast
great informative post. You mentioned some very crucial points in this post. According to one research it has proved that over exercise can worsen overweight problem in some cases. However it is not a rule, but precaution is better. To control overweight it is advised to have a balanced diet full of essential minerals and vitamins but low in fat & starch. http://www.jivansutra.com
I gained 6 pounds after i started working out (its only two weeks) and my goal is lose weight… is it normal?
I had the same thing happen to me. I want to lose 30 pounds and have been doing a combination of cardio and strength training 4-5 days a week for 3 weeks. I put on about 5 pounds. I had a couple good friends that trainers or very active gym goers tell me this would happen for the first month and then the weight would come off. The body is just going through changes and building muscles etc. They told me to stay off the scale for a month (I couldn’t). But since my high i’ve lost 3 pounds slowly. I also decided to measure myself so I can see how my body is changing since i’m doing strength training. Because I know how much I want to lose but ultimately it’s going to come down to how I look and feel because muscle weighs more than fat 🙂
I think the last one is my hardest thing. I obviously am not going to ditch my friends because they don’t eat healthily but a lot of my friends refuse to go with my options. It makes me frustrated. I also wish we ate at each others houses more than going out. I’d love to make them healthy meals! But nobody seems to want to… :/ I also have a tough time saying no because I WANT to meet up with my friends.
Thanks for the insightful post. I especially like that you mentioned that you may not be eating enough if you want to lose weight. Our bodies are very good at adapting and surviving and when we fail to consume an adequate number of calories they compensate by holding on to fat.
This very phenomenon explains why the American Indians were able to survive in the periods when food was scarce.
We can prevent our bodies from going into starvation mode and holding onto fat by consuming an adequate amount of calories.
Another thing I have found that works – and I took this from Bill Phillips “Body for Life” – is to allow myself a free day where I can eat anything I want and as much as I want. This has a psychological effect as well as a physical effect. It makes restricting your diet easier (you are still consuming an adequate number of HEALTHY calories) knowing that you can eat some of your favorite foods once a week and it also prevents your body from thinking that you are starving it.
Love your blog – keep up the good work 🙂
Hy, i’m a new (french) one in this website, so please, excuse my english.
Thanks for this article, is very helping !! i’m gonna think about all you’ve wright.
I’m excepting my Detox Bottle, i’m so excited !
Have a nice day
Especially no. 1: not eating enough, I think it’s THE secret of skinny people. Very unhealthy, so thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much for sharing this! I didn’t think about the fact that I’ve been running and playing volleyball so much, with almost 0 weight training! I’m going to adjust my training and see if I can get past this plateau.
I love you Cassey so much. You’re my motivation and that’s why I changed my body.
Thank to you I put my new blog about fitness, workout and recipe.
If you want to see it welcome!!!
blog:
angelasergotfitness.blogspot.com
Great post 🙂
Oh…. Number 1 was a shock…. how DO you lose weight then? I swim for 2 hours, run, and do your videos everyday. Maybe I could eat more than 700 calories a day – but what else am I supposed to do? Nothings happening….
You need to relax once or twice per week. If you exercise EVERY day your body won’t transform because you’re not giving it the chance and time it needs to build and grow. You definitely need to eat more than 700 calories a day – it can be hard, I know because I suffer from an eating disorder – but you have to try. I used to hate on myself and train extra hard and in crazy amounts if I ever allowed myself cake or something. If you do that, stop. Decide that it’s okay to eat unhealthy sometimes, to not work out every single day and start focusing on health instead of fitness. I did that and when I started feeding myself with things that fit my body I dropped in weight and body fat (I eat mostly vegan). But you decide how you want to live your life, ok?
I have the same problem as you! My doctor recommended doing more yoga as my lack of weight loss was potentially due to stress which stops you losing weight (in some cases). Also, if you starve yourself of calories (less than 1200 on average), your body goes into ‘starvation’ or survival mode where it tries to protect you from starving and becoming ill. So it stores your calories as fat… I think! This is what my personal trainer friend has told me before but don’t take this as verbatim. Think carefully about the foods you get your calories from some small changes could up your calorie intake to 1200 without increasing the amount you eat. Such as eating lean meats and pulses.
When you eat so little, (700 is WAY too low) your body goes into starvation mode and holds on to every single calorie you ingest because it thinks that you are dying, or won’t be able to eat again for a long time. Your metabolism slows to a crawl and you stop burning extra calories. Doing cardio without eating enough will cause your body to burn muscle for energy as well as fat. Please eat.
Wait, so what you’re saying is that you don’t eat more than 700 calories a day? That’s severe restriction if so. If you eat like that you’ll end up binge eating and gain all the weight back. It does NOT work in the long run. And that amount of exercise is too much! at least for that amount of calories. try maybe cutting down on your exercise and maybe do 30-45 minutes of cardio 3 times a week? and don’t forget your strength training.
Personally i’m a vegan and I suggest you’d look into it too. It was the best decision i ever made. I suggest you maybe look up freelee on youtube and keep an open mind to her message. And if you don’t like her way of spreading the message there a tons of other vegans who deliver the message in a different way. If you are maybe more into science i suggest Bitesizevegan on youtube.
And please, don’t be so hard on your self. Weight loss takes time. Rushing it will only give you results that won’t last you for more than 2 weeks. You didn’t gain the weight overnight so don’t expect it to disappear overnight.
Hey Katie I know I’m just a high school at but I probably workout less than u and in health class we found out how many calories we r supposed to eat a day and I was told 4,026 calories a day and u workout more than me which means u should eat more
I also swim for 1 hour on a team for 3-4 times a week, I do your cardio, abs, arms, and leg workout and nothing happens. ( I also eat lots…)
This is really weird, because I just learned this exact thing in nutrition class today.
Thank you so much Cassey for this, I can really relate to all of these, I am off for 6 weeks now as i am on holiday off school, I am going to eat without any distractions, not watching tv or doing work, just concentrating on my food, I do eat quite fast and I am going to change my ways asap! 🙂 xx
I love you cassey
my reasons are #2 and #3 and probalby eating too much junk too XD by junk I mean water-ice because I’m not allowed to eat cream ice anymore though I’d love to but it’s milk 🙁
which takes me to the question: How can I make a protein shake without milk, milkpowder, anything connected with cow-milk-product etc? I am not allowed to eat cow-milk-products, lactose, wheat and some other things for ever… lactose maybe for some weeks until my stomach is getting better (illness from May still hunts me). I use almond/soy milk and spelt instead now.
thanks for answering!!
Kathy
You might want to check out plant based protein.
so weird! I didnt think cardio could prevent you from actually LOSING the weight , because that’s what you would think would HELP the most! Im not really into weight lifting though… Any ideas on how to get more motivated towards building strong tones muscle, because I do want that strong upper body I just cant find the motivation to do the workouts . Much love xx
Hi Cassey,
I understand that this post is about diet, but I couldn’t find any other way to contact you. I was wondering what I can do to make my breasts smaller. I am a healthy weight, yet I am a size 32 I. What do I do? I would love to hear back from you!
my mom and my cousins call me fat 🙁 and im fifteen years old and it hurts so bad to hear that from your own family. i cry my self every night because of that 🙁 im 164 cm and my weight is 64 kg i know right , im such a fat loser 🙁
Geez, you aren’t a fat loser! Your mom and your cousins are just jerks! They should be ashamed for themselves for calling you fat, it’s so mean!
I just calculated your BMI (body mass index) and it’s 23,7. You’d be overweight if you were over 25, which means you have a perfect weight for your size! You’d have a model size if you were under 20, so stop blaming yourself for your weight, you’re absolutely normal!
Try and follow Cassey’s advices and work-outs if you want to tone up and lose some weight and tell your relatives to f..k off!
Im really sad because i’ve been working out and eating clean but i’m gaining weight instead of losing it. I don’t really know whats going on in my body and this makes me feel like my effort is for nothing. Any ideas on this?
Muscle weighs more than fat so maybe thats why. Hang in there it takes time but it soo worth it????
False ! 1 pound is still 1 pound either it is fat or muscle! Muscle is only has less density then fat! You probably have been gaignning muscle weight! Don’t worry the more you gain muscle the more you will burn calories the more you urn calories the more you will lose weight. Don’t worry and keep going !!!
Muscle does not weigh more than fat. If you put 5 lbs of fat on a scale, and 5lbs of muscle, guarantee they will both weigh 5lbs.
I second what Amber say. Just hang in there! YOU CAN DO IT! ^_^
I agree with Amber. You are probably gaining muscle mass, and that ways more than fat.
How do you determine what the right portion size is?
About the size of your closed fist. ????
Thanks for sharing, Long time ago I wanted to post an other side diet article on mt blog, finally I am inspired for that ! I may use some info which I read here! 🙂
I overeat when I go out to restaurants, so I make sure to already know what I’m going to order before I arrive at the restaurant!
This is such a great article. I definitely need to do better with my portions. My biggest hindrances right now to getting fit is my knee and work. How do you keep up your energy and motivation to work out when you’ve done a 10 hour work day? Most days I end up coming home and it’s dinner time. And does anyone have suggestions for a bad knee? I dislocated my knee just over 10 years ago plus 2 other times after that. We think arthritis has set in recently. I have yet to figure what to do about it. For 2 weeks I was great, then all of a sudden one night it just hurt to stand up, and it was after a rest day. I think it’s the rain that’s causing the knee to act up. But I still don’t know what to do. Can you do a video that would be great for knee strengthening?
I know how you feel about the time and the joint issues. I have a really hard time with my wrists. I don’t really know about then knee other than do your best with exercises that don’t use it and take it easy with the ones that do. Hopefully you find something to specifically target that knee problem. As for time, I try to find opportunities for exercise everywhere I go. For example, if I’m on the phone with a customer I might work my core by sitting on the edge of my chair, lean back a bit and pump my legs in and out. If you have a rolling chair then the balance makes this even harder. These quick fixes aren’t ideal and it’s still important to get in a dedicated workout but it certainly helps.
I have bad knees as well (And I’m still a teenager!) My mom has a similar problem, and when she talked with her doctor, he said that doing low impact exercises like swimming or using the elliptical will help strengthen around the knee. I have been doing that along with blogilates and I can walk/jog a lot longer now without my knee hurting.
For joint issues – make sure you’re getting enough fatty acids and omega3’s. Fish oils are good.
Egg shell membrane is also a great supplement to try for arthritis.
Hey why don’t you guys try water running or even just swimming first thing in the morning? I have a bad back – well its not too bad now but a Dr. suggested doing 30mins swimming 3x week. It took my husband to drag me there but the results are so worth it!! You probably need to be dragged there the first 3 times or less & then you’re motivated and hooked! My sister-inlaw has bad ankles and knees and she works out in a heated pool – walks in the pool and does water aerobics – it takes away the pain while you work out and helps tremendously! Give it go – hope it helps you guys!
One more thing I’d like to add as far as too much cardio is concerned is that many people don’t seem to realise that long sessions of high intensity training are a major stress for your body! That stress causes cortisol to rise (that’s your stress hormone) which in turn causes your blood sugar to rise. I don’t know the exact cause-and-effect pattern but I’ve heard this supposedly leads to food cravings (which in itself doesn’t help you to shed your pounds) and not being able to go to sleep. And getting enough sleep is vital for your weight loss. By any means am I saying you should stop doing cardio altogether, just don’t overdo it! Love and good luck to every one of you :))
For me it’s definitely numer 2!
Hey Cassey,
I love all your videos and find that your fun personality is a great inspiration to keep me working hard throughout my workouts. I have been training hard and get heaps of cardio from netball games and training. I have been eating pretty clean but I have struggled to portion my meals when I get back from school. I just stuff my face with food and then an hour later I’ll have dinner with the family. Have you got any tips to reduce my after school cravings because it’s starting to really hinder my goals?
Thanks
Why not replace the food you snack on with lower calorie and more filling foods? For example, vegetables or fruit. Be careful with fruit because it can be more calories than you would think, though, depending on the fruit. I find that one banana by itself will fill me up especially if I eat it slowly. You may just need one banana or so to hold you off until dinner.
Thanks so much I’ll definitely try this!
I think I’ve officially hit the RESET button on my metabolism and fitness because I’m in vacation! I can’t wait to start with a clean slate with all of these recommendations.
At 53yrs old, This is JUST what I needed to hear. I seem to be plateauing now for the past two weeks, no inches just weight loss, I’ve been doing weights day 37 and cardio and eating exactly what I am supposed to, but guess I need to reduce my portion size. As they say, protein size of your palm and complex carbs size of fist….its a good rule. Just wish it would fall off like it did when I was 25, but I refuse to give up and I will make it, its a tuff schedule and my goal is to lose 30lbs by September….crazy, but Ill GETRDONE!
Wish me luck!
Hi Cassy,
I really didn’t know this thing about doing too much cardio.
So my question now is: how much cardio a week is helpful to lose weight?
Thank you so much for your answer
Big hug from Germany 😉
Hi Hanna,
I’d say every second day is perfect to lose weight, because you don’t overdo, but you also don’t do less and for me it works perfectly.
And I am from Germany too 😀
Thank you for posting this! My husband is a personal training and appreciates articles like this. For people who don’t/can’t do their own REAL research, you are the middle man and we need more people like you to expose common misconceptions. Plus you are a great role model, Cassey. Good on you!
It’s important to get your waist circumference down to a healthy level too, so you don’t have toxic fat around your organs.
Hi Cassey, great post! I would add one more reason why someone might not be losing weight – not getting enough sleep! I’d been doing very well with eating well and doing a mixture of strength training and cardio, and also working on top of that. But, I wasn’t losing anything for months! I finally figured out, after it got harder and harder to get through my workouts, that I wasn’t getting nearly enough sleep. I adjusted my schedule to allow for good sleep, and instantly started seeing a change.
When trying to lose weight, my doctor said it simply comes down to “calories in vs. calories out.” If you want to lose weight, you have to focus on the calories no matter what. When I focused on that (keeping a food diary is essential), I lost 20 lbs. Yes, not doing enough strength training is a problem, but exercising is just a way of helping the “calories out.” Portion control and eating right addresses the “calories in.” My doctor said that you can lose weight on a diet of snickers bars as long as you don’t consume more calories than you expend…which is hard to do if you’re eating only snickers bars.
I’ve been hearing a lot lately about how starvation mode is a myth, but I don’t really understand why. I agree that maybe “starvation mode” as a phrase is a bit hyperbolic, but it’s true that eating below your BMR for an extended period of time is a bad idea. Cassie clearly linked to a website that will show you how much you should eat, so it’s not as though she is saying that EVERYONE who isn’t losing weight isn’t eating enough.
From personal experience, I can tell you that when I lost 55 lbs a couple years ago, I had a very hard time losing weight when I was eating only 1300 calories a day (and I recorded everything, there were no extra calories or things I didn’t record with the exception of a once a week cheat meal, which was never enough to cause me to stop losing weight). When I bumped up those calories above my BMR (about 1500-ish) I had a much easier time losing weight. I was eventually still easily losing weight while eating about 1700-1800 calories per day (note, these numbers are for my body and will not necessarily be what someone else needs).
Also, even if eating too little isn’t a problem for you if you do it short term (meaning, sure a couple of weeks at a low calorie diet could help you jumpstart your weight loss), you will still struggle with doing much good exercise during that time (I got majorly burnt out when I was running and trying to eat too little). On top of that, those kind of majorly restrictive habits can in fact lead to an ED. It’s much better to take it a little slower and make sure you’re eating enough calories. I know for a while there I was just way too into recording everything and actually even feeling hungry. It wasn’t until I got more into exercising (running and strength training) that I got rid of those habits and started eating to fuel my body. Now I’ve been regularly working out (min. 4 days a week, avg is 5 or 6) for two and a half years.
TL;DR version: Balance is important. Not too little, not too much, find your Goldilocks zone.
“Starvation mode” is a myth in every way it is presented. Eat less than you burn you lose weight. Period. Otherwise Holocaust survivors, children from Darfur, anorexics and many more examples of starving people would be holding on to or gaining weight. What happens is if people calorie restrict too much then on their cheat day or later that night they’ll binge and eat enough to offset the deficit. People have a bad tendency to not count binges. Eat at a calorie deficit of 250-500 calories and remember that after losing a lot of weight you might find you need less than what your tdee says you do. Weighing yourself every day (if it doesn’t bother you) is a good way to keep track of what you need. What drives me crazy is that our society is actually so far removed from starvation that we come up with weird ideas like this and embrace them even though they’re illogical…
Why nobody mentions hormonal contraceptives?! We women are cursed, we can’t stop using those contraceptives because our lives would be ruined.
I’m not saying it’s impossible to lose pounds, you can! 🙂 but it takes time to see real results.
Hi Cassey,
So, first let me say that I’m a SUPER-FAN. I love all your workouts and appreciate the time you take to help others achieve their fitness goals and also live a healthy and happy life. Truly inspirational. These tips are very good, especially the one on cardio. I now understand why they say your should change up your workout. Also, my favorite part about your videos is how you’re always smiling even when you’re dying. Girl, I don’t know how you do it because I’m on the other side of the screen dying and hurled over on the floor because my abs are screaming. However, I would like to add one suggestion:
So, I agree with others who said that your comments on starvation mode are a little inaccurate. I understand that what you were trying to say is that by not eating enough your depleting your body’s natural energy reserves which can be unhealthy for your body. But it’s not like you’re starving. I think the term “starving” is more extreme than “depleting’. Just something to think about..
-Love, Peace, & Happiness!
So on point! There’s such a Paleo craze that people don’t realize their eating too much, even if it’s heatlhy foods!
Cheers, Mads
http://www.whitewallcollective.com
Happy Monday Cassey!! What a great post! Thanks so much for sharing these facts! I think I need to slow down and eat more mindfully! Thank you Cassey, have a great start to your week! Xo Vivian
http://twoward.com
You won’t go into “starvation mode” unless you are actually starving. Someone who is trying to diet isn’t going to go into starvation mode that easily. That’s just a myth. Also “You’re not eating enough” should be “You’re restricting too much during the day and binging at night/on weekends.” People will read that and think they need to eat more which is already the problem, they are eating too much. Instead, they should space their food out so they don’t feel the need to binge at nighttime.
One of the biggest problems for people trying to lose weight is they don’t consider snacks and alcohol or liquid calories to count. So even if they actually eat decent meals, they snack and/or eat their calories into a surplus. The best thing for me with losing weight was just to track my calories. ALL OF THEM! It got even better once I bought a food scale. I’ve gone down from 180 lbs (5’4″) at my heaviest down to 122 lbs just by doing that. It’s not hard at all.
How many calories is healthy to consume in a day?
It depends 100% on you as an individual. I know nothing about you so I can’t tell you how much you should consume to maintain your weight or how much you should consume to lose weight. Look up how to calculate your TDEE and reduce your calories from there. More than a 1000 deficit is usually not good (many people should not even attempt a 1000 deficit unless they weigh a lot or exercise a lot). Some people will say to just reduce your calories by about 20% of your TDEE to be safe. Keep in mind a 500 calorie deficit a day will result in about 1 pound lost per week. You have to make sure you are still getting proper nutrients though!
Absolutely Sarah! I use MyFitnessPal to track every bite and sip – not everyone likes to calorie count, but it’s the only thing that works for me. If I’m left to my own devices I always take on too many calories!! :-/
So what if u loses inches but not weight does this apply why ur not losing any too.. im jist curious bc im losing inches off every part of my body but weight still stand the same for the two months i work out.
Your weight may stay the same because you’re gaining muscle! Muscle weighs more than fat, so you may be losing fat and gaining muscle. If you go by what you see in the mirror versus what the scale says you will see a more accurate measurement 🙂
Everything Hosanna said is very true!! There was a point where I stopped working out for quite a while and I weighed myself, however I weighed the same as when I was working out. Its because I was losing muscle and that was turning into fat. A large amount of fat is equal to a much smaller amount of muscle. When i looked in the mirror i looked much bigger and weighed the same, but i realized its because i gained fat and lost muscle.
Portion control and mindless eating definitely for me. I’m starting to get better at portion control, but the mindless eating is something I feel like I do too much. I get distracted easily and eat while on my phone or watching TV or am on the computer. Afterwards, it’s like my body/mind forgot that I ate or won’t acknowledge that I ate so it’s convinced that I’m still hungry even though I’m not.
I actually think my problem might also be a lack of cardio rather than too much. I know I haven’t been doing enough of it. I’ve been doing tons of POP Pilates so I’m definitely toning. Now I just need to start running again to get rid of the fat that’s hiding all the work I’ve been doing underneath.
Thanks so much, Cassey! This really helped and it’s super encouraging. 😀
Like everyone else here I love Cassey, her workouts and her positive outlook on life…but Cassey I’m really disappointed to see that you’re helping to perpetuate false ideas about starvation mode…
If you genuinely burn more calories through exercise and daily activity than you consume through food and drink, you will lose weight, no question (with the exception perhaps of genuine metabolic/hormone disorders).
Starvation mode is when that imbalance of calories in vs. calories out is so extreme over a period of time that the body has no option but to start burning its own protein reserves (e.g. muscles) to obtain the fuel it’s not getting through food. Think of those images of famine-starved children in developing countries, or people with anorexia – THEY are in starvation mode. Their bodies are quite clearly not “holding on to weight” because they didn’t eat enough. Your body won’t “think it’s dying” because you didn’t quite eat enough calories for a few days.
Some of Cassey’s other points here, including the bits of #1 that don’t talk about starvation mode, can be summarised as: consuming more calories than your body needs over a prolonged period = weight gain. Overestimating the calories you burn through exercise, and/or underestimating the calories you take in through food and drink are far more likely to be the reason why you’re not losing weight. e.g. Not eating enough in the morning, or spending a few days eating nothing but lettuce makes you more likely to overcompensate later on. Overeating healthy food = eating more calories than you need, regardless of whether the foods the calories came from were ‘good for you’. Not eating mindfully = not paying attention to how many calories you’re consuming (and therefore overeating).
Thank you for this! I think this whole post (and everything Cassey puts out, really) comes from a really amazing, heartfelt place, but that first bit is common and unfortunate misconception.
You’re welcome Kaycee, I absolutely agree that Cassey’s heart is in the right place but I felt really uncomfortable with her statement about ‘starvation mode’ and I had to say something…!
It’s just science! Burn more calories than you consume over time = weight loss, consume more calories than you burn over time = fat gain –> weight gain. You don’t “plateau” because your body “thinks its dying” and “holds on to your weight”, you plateau because you’re either underestimating the calories you take in, or overestimating the calories you burn. The latter especially trips a lot of people up when you’re doing the same workouts all the time, vis a vis point #4, because your body becomes more efficient and burns fewer calories than it used to. The key to this is to change it up! Keep challenging yourself and make it harder! 🙂
Actually, Cassie is correct about starvation mode and you are incorrect. I’ve been recovering from anorexia, and entailed in that was over 6 hours of classes run by a nutritionist and a doctor. I learned all about food and eating and, yes, starvation mode. Cassie’s description is correct. Your scenario is one step PAST starvation mode, when you’ve truly lost all fat resources to burn for energy and your body is then going to muscles.
Burning your fat stores is what your body is supposed to do. That’s what it is there for. You store fat in times of excess food so that when there’s a shortage of food later on, your body still has an energy source. Restricting your calories to make your body burn fat is the only way to lose weight and it isn’t going to put you into “starvation mode.” It’s only when you go into the extremes, such as restricting when you have very little fat reserves left, that “starvation mode” actually happens (it is generally just called “starvation” though).
Caitlin, I’m so sorry to hear about your ED and I hope you are well on your way to recovery. No doubt the advice you received from nutrition experts was accurate in your case because you truly were in starvation mode, or were at least heading that way. As you’ll hopefully now appreciate, that’s a really unhealthy place to be in!! However, the majority of people here on this site are not in ‘starvation mode’ when they find they haven’t lost weight for a few weeks. More likely, they’re underestimating the calories they take in, or overestimating the calories they burn so they have an overall neutral or even surplus of calories.
Hi Cassy
I just started the fit journal 2.0 today, and I’m so exited! I can totally relate to this you are writing about, and you’re right! It’s so easy to eat unhealthy when you are with friends. Today my friend and I went shopping, and I had a burger for lunch. It wasn’t fastfood though. It was at a real and good restaurant. Like you do, I YOLO once a week, but thank you so much for this wake up call. I totally get it now. You are such a huge inspiration to me, and I just wanted to thank you for that. Don’t know what I would do without you. I’m a little different from the rest of my friends. Healthy living is my life, yet I do struggle with it a lot, and I do find it very hard to stick to. But really I love it so much and everyday I learn and become stronger both as a person and training whise. I love you♡
From the Danish girl♡
A great guideline blog for someone to follow. Too many times people just think it is about healthy eating and exercise. Although this is very true, you need to think about what is happening the rest of the day – your ‘unhealthy’ habits, your way of thinking, who inspires you. You can follow me on twitter @BodyBusinessPT and download my FREE e-book http://www.bodybusiness.ca. Thank-you
Great Post Cassey. I increased my calories per day and have switched from cardio to strength training and after LITERALLY 5 months of zero real change, I am noticing a difference in my body! I haven’t been on the scale and won’t until the end of the month but regardless I see and FEEL the changes and that’s what’s most important.
Great job Cassey, never quit.
what should i do if i am not eating enough for a really long time and not loosing wight? how to start eating normal amounts without gaining wight?
I can totally relate to point #2! I am italian and since my childhood I’ve been eating healthy and organic (I’m in the south, here pretty much everyone follows the so called “mediterranean diet”, which is known to be one of the best diets you can possibly follow), but still I have some extra 6-7 kg! Turns out I can’t stuff myself with carrots, peperoni and eggplants since they’re full of carbs….oh my 😛
For months, whatever I do, I can’t lose more than two kilograms. And I need another 5. I ran, did your exercises, reduce portions, cleared from sugar, drank plenty of water, green tea … I don’t know what else to do anymore. 🙁 Any advise?
How are you sleeping? Not getting enough good quality sleep can cause the body to release cortisol aka the stress hormone, which can lead to weight gain and/or increased belly fat. It sounds like you’re doing a lot of good things for yourself already, but sometimes it’s about what we do AFTER the workouts and meals.
Also, I’ve found that when I’m not as focused on “OMG I need to lose x amount of weight ASAP” I tend to see more changes. We tend to stress ourselves out about our goals and how we lookBut sometimes that does more harm than good.
Keep at it. 🙂
I love this post cuz I am gaining weight instead of losing it. And although I do the workout calendars, I binge-eat, which I know is so harmful to me. I just can’t stop! Cassey can you please post something about how to stop binge-eating?? It would be so helpful to me and certainly many other popsters. Thank you so much for all you do!!
Thank you so much. I feel like there are a lot of girls that are starving themselves and it is very sad.
I love your advice and tutorials.
Thanks for the first tip, I was so glad to hear that from you, Cassey! But even 1200 kcal are way too little. Please keep in mind, that a lot of young girls need way more than that!!!
These are on point! I needed this. Just about to start my postpartum workout series and this is a great reminder.
Thanks – Mandie from http://www.yellowdogpinkpig.com
Cassey bring back your water bottles please! I would love to get one in blue 🙁 Thank you
Excellent post-agree with everything you said especially #1 and #2. These two things seem to be what so many people get tripped up on!
Thank you for the great post! It is so true that when one is trying to lose weight, they will do at least one of the above, which actually harm the weight loss progress. I have been there, doing too much cardio and not eating enough – ending up with too much cortisol in my system! Moderation and training smart is key. Winnie x
I love this post, thanks for the tips and advice, i need to put these into practice x
Leanne’s Lifestyle Blog
It helps me a lot!Thank you,Cassey
Whay if your body gets used to running and playing sports and lifting weights? I mean if that’s possible. Will the weight just stay the same?
Make your workouts harder! If you only ever run the same 3 miles, or lift the same weights and the same number of reps, your body will adjust, become more efficient and burn fewer calories during the same workout. So switch it up! Lift heavier, try different moves, run faster, or further, or try speed intervals or hill reps 🙂
This post was super amazing! I would love to request that you make more videos about these nutrition tips–especially starvation mode–and workouts with weights! Not that I don’t like your workouts now, but I wish that you could incorporate weight training again so that your beginner POPsters become more advanced and take their journeys to the next level! I still love you so much <3 and I totally agree with the support system. I think it plays such a huge role in your journey!
Oh my god! Yes, I can totally relate with most of it. I overeat on healthy and unhealthy things. I am not around many supportive people. The only supportive people I have are popsters from the popster community and a few friends. But I feel like I’m not close to them.
Whatever you post is amazing to read! I love seeing you update! It motivates me to keep going!
I didn’t know that thing about cardio! I dance a lot, cause this is my passion, but I feel my body needs more rest. Thanks for that post 🙂
Great tips! You never think of eating too little or doing too much cardio as being the things that are holding you back!
And it’s so funny – once you figure out your algorithm, so to speak, the weight just seems to fall off!
Can you make us about healthy food that we shouldn’t eat too much? And thank you for everything love ❤ you ❤