Why Can’t I Lose Weight? The Truth About Weight Loss & Exercise

You’ve been exercising regularly but the weight just doesn’t seem to be dropping like you expected. The truth is exercise alone won’t help you lose weight. Exercise is critical to being healthy, but if you want to lose weight  you have to change the way you eat and watch what you eat. Exercise is only part of the equation. You have to create a calorie deficit and exercise to lose weight. Eat fewer calories and exercise more to burn more calories than you eat. Don’t sacrifice nutrition in your quest to lose weight. Cut out the empty calories, such as candy, cookies, chips and soda. Replace those snacks with healthy, low-calorie alternatives including fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts and whole grains. Trade ice cream for fruit sorbet and drink flavored water instead of soda. Small changes in your diet can make a world of difference in your caloric intake.

You can lose weight by dieting alone, but you may regain the weight unless you exercise. Exercise combined with dietary changes can not only help you lose weight, it also helps you maintain your weight loss. Many times people lose weight only to regain it later. Stay active, exercise regularly and continue to eat a low-fat, reduced calorie diet to keep the weight off. Binge eating can undo weeks of diet and exercise. Exercising a couple of extra minutes won’t burn the calories from 2 donuts or a greasy cheeseburger and fries. People often underestimate the number of calories they consume and overestimate the amount of exercise they get. Keep a food and exercise journal to more accurately measure how much you get of both food and exercise. You might be surprised to learn that you are eating a lot more than you thought and exercising a lot less than you estimated.

Don’t rely on the calorie counter on your treadmill or exercise bike. Calorie counters are fairly accurate, but they can vary from person to person. Exercise machine calorie counters don’t take into account the calories you would burn just by breathing and other bodily functions. So you actually burn fewer additional calories than the display estimates. You need to be physically active as much as possible during the day in addition to regular workouts. To lose weight and to maintain your weight loss, you need to change your lifestyle from sedentary to active in addition to changing your diet. If you need help getting on track and staying on your weight loss plan, a personal trainer may be able to help you.