Can’t Lose Weight? 5 Reasons Why And How to Fix Them

Author: Dr. Edwards (aka Chatta)

Have you made your New Year’s resolutions for 2014? Did you resolve to lose weight? If so, you’re not alone. Year after year, research tells us that “losing weight” is the number one New Year’s resolution people make. Unfortunately, only eight percent of people will actually achieve that goal. Many people think they’re doing the right things—eating less and exercising more—but they still can’t shed those stubborn pounds. If this describes you, the following five tips may help.

1. You’re Still Eating the Wrong Foods: Some diet programs will advise you to replace your normal meals with shakes, bars, smoothies, or other options that are not good for you for a number of reasons—1) they may have preservatives, chemicals, and other non-food ingredients that could cause health problems;
2) they often lack real food ingredients that your body needs, and
3) they set you up for failure when you do return to real food. I’m all for meal replacements, but what you want to do is replace foods that encourage weight gain with real, nutritious foods that encourage weight loss. Instead of saying you’ll have three rice portions a week instead of seven, replace all white rice with quinoa instead. It provides more
fiber and will break down more slowly in your system, helping you to stay satisfied and resist snacking later in the day. It also aids in digestion and has much more of the vitamins and minerals your body needs. Some other healthy replacements include:

Use stevia instead of sugar—it won’t raise your insulin levels, which means a more steady energy burn and fewer calories stored as fat.

Drink kombucha tea instead of sugar-sweetened beverages—it’s fermented, so it gives you that fizz you enjoy while providing beneficial bacteria for your digestive system.

Eat Daiya instead of cheese—it’s dairy-free and made from coconut, proving healthy fats for your heart.

Replace all white breads, pastas, and baked good with those made from whole grains, which typically take longer to digest and keep you satisfied longer.

Instead of white flour crackers for a snack, eat a handful of nuts—they have healthy omega-3 fatty acids and protein, and will keep you satisfied.
Choose sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes—they are packed with vitamin A and do not spike blood sugar levels like white potatoes do.
You don’t have to starve yourself to lose weight. You just need to replace the foods that tend to convert quickly to fat to those that burn slow and provide lasting energy and satiety.

2. You’re Eating Too Late in the Day:Ideally, we shouldn’t eat after 6:00 p.m. The later you consume calories, the more likely your body is to store those calories as fat. That’s because your metabolism slows down, preparing for sleep, leaving little energy for burning food. A 2008 study, for example, found that nighttime eating predicted weight gain. To break the nighttime eating habit, make sure you’re going to bed at the same time every night, decide not to eat after a certain hour (start with 8:00 p.m.), and satisfy your cravings with a full glass of water, a cup of herbal tea, a handful of veggies, or a piece of fruit. It also helps to take up a hobby you can do at night to keep yourself busy, like writing, crocheting, drawing, assembling models, or similar activities.

3. Your Hormones are Unbalanced:

For many women, especially, weight gain can be at least partially blamed on a hormonal imbalance. If you find that weight loss is impossible no matter how much you diet and exercise, check with your doctor to find out whether your hormones maybe in flux. Natural balancing herbs include Vitex or chase berry, red cabbage, magnesium, and fermented cod liver oil. Make sure you’re getting seven to nine hours of sleep per night (a lack of sleep throws hormones out of balance), and avoid polyunsaturated fats such as corn oil, soy oil, margarine, shortening. Use

coconut oil, fermented cod liver oil, and hemp oil instead, which all have good, healthy fats that provide the building blocks for hormone production. Men who may be experiencing hormonal imbalance can try saw palmetto in conjunction with the above.

Don’t Forget Your Liver: In both men and women, liver congestion can cause hormonal imbalance and make it difficult to lose weight. One of the liver’s roles in the body is to regulate the balance of estrogen. If the body absorbs too many estrogens, the liver will release them through the digestive system in an attempt to maintain a healthy balance. If the liver is congested,however, it has a harder time doing that. Estrogen dominance in men leads to insomnia, decreased muscle mass, hair loss, cancer, loss of libido, prostate enlargement, fatigue, and difficult weight loss. Estrogen dominance in women may lead to fibroid tumors, hair thinning/loss, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, and again difficult weight loss.

4. You Need to Cleanse:

If you’re used to eating processed foods, white flour and rice, unhealthy fats, and too many sweets, and then you try to lose weight, you may be unsuccessful because of the “junk” stored up in your body. A healthy cleanse can help you start fresh. Avoid dangerous celebrity cleanses, however, and go for natural solutions like the following if you’re used to eating processed foods, white flour and rice, unhealthy fats, and too many sweets, and then you try to lose weight, you may be unsuccessful because of the “junk” stored up in your body. A healthy cleanse can help you start fresh. Avoid dangerous celebrity cleanses, however, and go for natural solutions like the following:

Drink lemon water every morning—for best results, juice the entire lemon (with skin) in cold or warm water and enjoy.
Eat more apples, onions, garlic, and artichokes, which can all help flush toxins out of your system.
Eat plenty of fiber, including brown rice and organic fruits and vegetables. Include beets, cabbage, broccoli, and seaweed for extra detoxing.
Drink a cup or more of dandelion tea every day. Other cleansing herbs include burdock and milk thistle.
Drink at least 8 glasses of pure water every day.
Exercise at least one hour a day. Try a brisk walk or jog, biking, jump roping, yoga, or anything that gets you sweating the toxins out.

5. You’re Not Getting Enough Probiotics:

Losing weight depends on a healthy digestive system. If you’re regularly experiencing bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, or other stomach ills, you probably need to help your stomach do a better job. Probiotics are friend

ly microorganisms that provide health benefits, including improved digestion. This can help you better process the foods you do eat, which can encourage weight loss. In addition, some studies have suggested that probiotics may encourage your body to drop extra pounds. Research published in the British Journal of Nutrition in 2013, for example, linked one probiotic strain to fat loss. Natural food sources of probiotics include yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, microalgae, misosoup, pickles, tempeh, and kombucha tea.Healthy eating isn’t about depriving yourself or battling with your own will power. Instead, simply choose foods that are healthier and easier for your body to process, and you’ll notice the pounds coming off almost automatically!

Author: Dr. Edwards (aka Chatta)

Picture courtesy stock images via freedigitalphotos.net