At any given time, more than half (52%) of the world’s population is trying to lose weight, and the key word here is trying. Weight loss is a frustrating endeavor under the best of circumstances, but it’s an effort well worth pursuing given all the health and wellness benefits that lie on the other side.
If you’ve been trying to lose weight and there's frustratingly little to show for your efforts, there are any number of issues that may be standing in the way.
To give you an idea, Lafferty Family Care’s own Dr. Scott Lafferty, who specializes in healthy and sustainable weight loss, outlines 4 common reasons why you may not be losing weight as quickly as you’d like.
The main key to losing weight is fairly simple — burn more calories than you take in. This simple goal, however, can be tricky to achieve.
Everyone builds muscles and burns calories at their own rate, and it’s important to figure out what works for you. For example, one person can lose weight by staying under 1,500 calories a day and exercising for 30 minutes. Someone else may have to stay under 1,300 calories and exercise for 45 minutes to achieve the same results.
So, if you’re not losing weight as you wanted, it might be because you haven’t struck the right balance in calorie burning.
Researchers have uncovered a link between poor sleep and obesity. If you’re not getting 7-9 hours of good, restorative sleep each night, you can have a metabolic imbalance that favors gaining weight.
More specifically, the production of your hunger hormones is altered when you’re not getting good sleep and you have higher-than-normal cortisol (stress hormones) levels. These imbalances can lead to feeling hungrier and overeating. Not to mention, you may not be exercising enough if you’re feeling tired due to lack of sleep.
If it feels like it's harder to lose weight than it once was, you’re not imagining it. There are several age-related processes that can make losing weight more difficult.
For example, for women who pass through menopause, weight gain is common, as is fat redistribution. Men, too, gradually lose reproductive hormones (testosterone), which can lead to muscle loss and weight gain.
In both sexes, metabolism can slow with age and lean muscle loss is also common.
This last point is a big one — people who try to lose weight on their own, without guidance, oversight, and accountability, often fail.
We’ve found that the key to success is to enlist some medical help. For example, as part of our weight-loss services, we offer:
Not only do we give you the right tools to lose weight quickly and safely, we offer ongoing support to keep you on track.
So, rather than following the latest fad diet, which is long on promises and short on results, we strongly suggest that you come see us for a tailored weight-loss plan that caters to your goals.
To get started, please contact our office in Rogers, Arkansas, to schedule a consultation.
