Find Your Focus – Achieve the Body You Want

As anyone who struggles with their weight knows, dropping a few pounds can be incredibly difficult. Even if you’re working out regularly and your diet is great, you may still find it hard to get to an ideal weight. Our bodies and metabolisms are complex, working out isn’t always enough, and you need to address all of the issues that may be affecting your body. Here are a few reasons you might not be shedding pounds even if you’re working out.

YOU’RE NOT EATING THE RIGHT FOODS.

People tend to focus all their energy on burning calories without considering what they’re eating as fuel for their bodies. A great tip is to look for all natural, whole foods. These will have all the nutrients you need, whereas processed foods have little to none.

YOU’RE EATING TOO MUCH.

Your body needs to burn as many or more calories than you consume. Don’t focus on counting calories; instead, focus on eating when you’re hungry, but eat slowly enough to where you don’t get too full too quickly. This way you can find a healthy balance between what your body needs versus what you want.

YOU’RE DOING TOO MUCH CARDIO.

Though cardio is an important part of a workout routine, it can’t be the sole focus. It keeps your heart healthy and boosts your metabolism, but if you’re doing too much, it can have side effects that reverse your progress. Long cardio sessions can eat away at lean muscle mass; your muscles are important for your metabolism to burn more calories. Try to keep cardio on the lighter side. That way you can also focus on other major muscle groups.

YOU’RE NOT TAKING RECOVERY DAYS.

When you feel that afterburn and soreness following a workout, it is the prime time to take a recovery day. Recovery and rest are important steps in a workout routine, because most of your fat burning will be done in that period. Make sure after working hard that you listen to your body and give it the break it may need before your next workout.

There may be many reasons you aren’t making as much progress on your weight loss goals as you’d like. But you can do many things to help you lose weight in a safe, sustainable way.