Anchored

Weight loss might be one of the longest, most challenging adventures to undertake, especially as a woman. There are so many factors that affect weight in any given week: from hormones, water retention, lack of sleep, and stress to biological factors – weight is rarely a steady decrease.

Research has shown that only ≈20% of overweight individuals are successful at long-term weight loss when defined as losing at least 10% of initial body weight and maintaining the loss for at least one year. That doesn’t mean it isn’t possible and you should throw in the towel, but it does mean that we need to approach weight loss with a different lens than we have in the past.

For example, starting a weight loss journey with an expectation for quick weight loss will lead to discouragement – especially if you’ve been dieting for many years. The first adjustment that we need to make when we begin a lifelong lifestyle change is to let go of the ‘diet’ mentality and embrace a self-love and self-respect mentality. From there we need to know that for the first year, yes I said year, you’ll be working on healing your metabolism and hormones. You’ll be focused on redefining food, breaking bad habits and creating new ones.

We’ll address these at the end, but first let’s look at some reasons you may not be losing weight even though you are in a calorie deficit.

Factors that May be Slowing Weight Loss

1. Genetics – Genetic factors contribute to varied weight loss responses. Genetic factors greatly impact your body’s response to weight loss efforts and can make weight loss more challenging for specific individuals. Setting realistic goals, learning to appreciate your body as it is, and living your healthiest life are keys to success.
2. Anthropometry – Factors like height, weight, body composition, size, and BMI are considered. Taller or heavier individuals with more fat-free mass typically exhibit a higher basal metabolic rate, potentially facilitating quicker weight loss with similar calorie intake. Embrace what you have, love it, and treat it according to it’s ability.
3. Biological/metabolic adaptations – Resting metabolic rate can decrease because of hormones, and loss of muscle mass with age, but most commonly because of continued calorie restriction that causes your metabolism to adjust and burn fewer calories at rest.

Some other factors come from health issues:

1. Hypothyroidism and underactive thyroid
2. PCOS – Weight gain and obesity can contribute to PCOS/PCOD development in genetically predisposed individuals. Psychological factors, including depression and low self-control, may hinder weight loss efforts in some PCOS patients. However, a systematic review of 14 lifestyle intervention studies (933 participants) found no statistically significant difference in weight loss between women with and without PCOS. Another study comparing a very low-calorie diet for 12 weeks showed no significant difference in weight loss between women with and without PCOS [58]. Psychological effects seem more impactful than physiological changes, calling for future adequately powered studies.
3. Contraceptive use – Recent evidence suggests no clinically and statistically significant short or long-term effects of oral contraceptives on weight in women with normal or higher BMI 
4. Medications – Insulin blockers, beta-blockers, and antidepressants are among the many that can cause challenges with weight loss.

What Should Weight Loss Look Like

When we enter into a weight loss journey to lose weight quickly and keep it off we are doing ourselves a disservice. We did not gain weight overnight, losing it can be even longer because of the harm we’ve done to our minds and our metabolism.

One of the first steps in any weight loss objective is to renew how our minds think about our bodies and food. It will be best if you stop shaming your body in the mirror and start appreciating it for all it does for you. Thank your legs, your arms, your feet… for the work they do. You’ll be amazed at how your body responds when you begin to appreciate it.

After creating this appreciation habit and rejecting the negative thoughts about yourself, you’ll want to start to label foods as they are – food is not good or bad– it’s food. All foods are allowed, it’s about balance not about restriction and shame.

The second step is to focus on getting the big four at every meal: protein, carbs, fats, and color. Make this a daily habit for 4-6 months before you start to see much of a weight reduction. The reason it will take so long for many is because of the years spent under eating and creating extra stress around food. You will be surprised at what happens to your energy and mental health when you begin eating this way.

Step three will be to listen to hunger and fullness cues. If you’re hungry, eat, if you’re full, stop eating. This is one of the hardest steps because we’ve trained ourselves to ‘drink water’ when we’re hungry, to reject hunger, and to over eat because we’ve spent so much time rejecting hunger that we just can’t take it anymore and we overindulge.

Within step three, you’re also going to start to pay attention to how you feel after you eat. Identifying foods that make you feel lousy (even if you like the way they taste) might mean they should be had more sparingly, if not limited completely.

Step four will include a larger focus on exercise. This will be something you start right away, however, you’ll want to tweak and adjust your exercise plan that is right for you and your lifestyle.

Conclusion

Weight loss and goal weight have many factors that are often pushed to the side or end up causing a lot more stress and pressure than is necessary. Trying to get to some ‘number’ on the scale could be shortening our lives, decreasing our joy, and causing more damage than being overweight causese.

I think we should all stop trying to be a number and be a woman instead. A woman who loves her body and honors herself with positive self-talk, balanced and healthy eating habits, and a desire to live life to it’s fullest.

If you are struggling in any of these areas, please reach out. I’ve been there! It’s hard, frustrating, heartbreaking and defeating. Together we can reignite the full-of-life woman that is deep inside calling to come out and radiate!