If
you’re hitting the treadmill every day and are not seeing the numbers you want
on the scale, then you are not alone!
Plenty of people exercise regularly and
yet they still cannot seem to shed the pounds. There could be a couple of
reasons for this.
True,
a person could have a genetic issue - there are a variety of genetic issues
that can make harder for a person to shed fat - but these genetic conditions
are rare and it is far more likely that it is an issue with your diet or
exercise, so let’s explore some of these issues a bit more in-depth.
1)
You’re doing the wrong kind of exercise
Sure,
you may be exercising regularly, but are you doing the right kind of exercise?
While cardio is an important part of any good exercise regimen, cardio alone is
not really the best way to go about burning fat.
High-intensity interval
training is probably the best way for people to burn fat. If you aren’t
familiar with high-intensity interval training, it’s an exercise regimen
wherein a person alternates between high-intensity exercises (like sprinting or
squatting) for a small period of time and then switches to a lighter exercise
for a small period, and then continues switching until the 15-minute session is
over.
2)
You aren’t cutting enough calories out of your diet
When
you really break it down, losing fat is a simple process of calories in,
calories out. The problem comes when people try to figure out just exactly how
many calories they need to cut. You need to be careful when cutting calories.
If you do not cut enough, you will not end up shedding enough fat, but if you
cut too much, then you will not have enough energy to exercise regularly!
Generally, you should aim to burn about 500 more calories than you consume each
day. If you haven’t already gotten one of the many calorie tracking apps out
there, you should get one immediately.
3)
You’re not getting enough sleep
First off, sleep deprivation causes issues with the two hormones in
your body that are responsible for controlling hunger (they are called ghrelin
and leptin), which means you will be hungrier than you normally would be.
Secondly, sleep deprivation causes your body to store more fat than it would
under normal circumstances.
The
truth is, sometimes you can be doing everything ‘right’ and still struggle to see results.
Remember,
give it time! And don’t forget that you may actually be gaining pounds on the
scale thanks to muscle, not fat!