Why Am I Still Fat?

It happens to the best of us; you're training hard, your diet is clean and healthy, you're supplementing right and everything in place seems to be correct but you're just not seeing any results. What could be wrong? It's a few weeks or even a few months down the line and you still aren't seeing the results you should be. The fat you've been trying to lose quickly is still there and you're losing motivation by the day. Sound familiar? Well don't despair. This problem is a lot more common than you think and one of the main reasons people decide to give up.

I'm going to tell you some of the main factors that stop you from reaching your weight loss goals and what you can do to change that and make sure there's nothing between you and achieving them as quickly as possible. Whether it's your summer holidays, a wedding, special event or just to lean up in general, address these factors quickly and efficiently and you'll unlock the ability to control your weight loss issues as well as improve your knowledge base. Let's get started!

Not being in a calorie deficit

A calorie deficit is having less calories than your body needs normally to function throughout the day. This is known as your maintenance level. Most of the time, when dieting people will cut out any food that's bad for them and eat mainly healthy foods but they still don't see any results.

How many times have you heard someone say “I'm eating really healthily but I just can't seem to lose weight”? When you find out more about what it is exactly they're eating it may be “healthy” but when it all adds up by the end of the day it's an excess of calories that don't support their weight loss goals.

If you're serious about losing weight then it's basic science that needs to be applied when it comes to achieving this, but don't worry as there are many free tools online to help achieve this. Firstly, you'll need to go online and search for a 'calorie calculator'. Secondly, once you've found one this simple tool will ask for some basic information about you such as height, weight, weekly activity level, etc. After you've filled it out your details it will provide you with calorie requirements for your maintenance level as well as basic levels for fat loss and weight gain.

If for example your daily calorie requirements for maintenance are 2,200 calories then you should lower them gradually so that you start to see a difference. Start with a 200 calorie drop for the first week and if you start to see good results keep it at that until you reach your target weight. If you don't see results then week by week reduce your calories by 100 until you do. Do not go lower than around a max of 700 calories below your maintenance as you'll struggle to ensure an adequate amount of nutrition to fuel your body with quality foods when dieting.

Not counting your macros

As well as being in a calorie deficit, you also need to count your macros. Macros is short for macro nutrients, which is the term used to describe the three key food groups we all require for our bodies to function: carbohydrates. fats and proteins. This is where a bit of maths is required as you'll need to use the nutrition labels on products to make sure you're getting the right kind of nutrition with none of the bad stuff. Plan your meals and write down the macros from each meal, ensuring that your total calorie intake for the day will be met without being exceeded by unnecessary calories.

As a rule, 1 gram of protein yields 4 calories, 1 gram of carbohydrate yields 4 calories and 1 gram of fat yields 9 calories. It's also important to note that 1 gram of alcohol yields 7 calories. Alcohol, although not one of the main three, is a macro nutrient and a common cause of excess calories as they are not usually factored in when people set up their diets!

It might seem like a lot of effort to do this but it is an extremely important part of your diet and will mean the difference between eating healthily and actually setting out to achieve your fitness goals. You can factor into your diet everything that you eat and drink in a day and ensure that you meet your daily calorie requirements. Your diet will need to be evenly balanced with quality nutrition that meets your needs and if you want to eat or drink anything not part of your diet, save it for one evening at the weekend when can afford a few extra bad calories.

Not training intensely enough

Training often is great but it's not enough. You can train 5-6 times per week but if the intensity isn't there you'll just be going through the motions and all that hard work and discipline will go to waste.

A lot of people don't actually enjoy the process and see exercise as a means to an end. This is fine, as it's not for everyone but if you don't give it 100% then you'll have even longer to go and will be even more disappointed when you don't reach your weight loss goals.

If weight training, your rest in-between sets should be kept to a minimum and you should be aiming to do your workout as quickly as possible. This will keep your heart rate up which will burn more calories. Focus on adding lots of drop sets, super sets and pyramid sets to your training plan or add some circuits if they seem a more attractive option. As well as a few sessions of steady state cardio, be sure to add a few sessions of HIIT cardio into your workout as it will greatly increase your metabolism and speed up your fat loss.

Hormone Imbalances

These will not only cause you not to lose any weight but can also prevent you from adding lean muscle and can even cause weight gain! Factors such as not getting enough healthy fats, low testo-levels or high stress can cause water retention, slow down your metabolic rate and increase oestrogen levels.

In order to balance these out your diet will play a major part with supplementation also beneficial. To start with, try consuming healthy fats on a daily basis such as avocados, nuts, olives, salmon, egg yolks, seeds and various oils (olive, coconut and flaxseed oils are best).

To boost your testosterone naturally you should be taking a testosterone booster such as Norateen Heavyweight II. This will aid lean muscle growth quickly without any nasty side effects. It works even better when paired with Estro Star as it will prevent the build up of estrogen and allow the body to focus on testosterone production in order to build lean muscle quicker.

Finding ways to lower your stress levels can also play a big part as rest and relaxation are extremely important factors with many functions in the body. Reducing stress levels will help the body to recover quicker as an elevated mood will increase your quality of sleep and aid muscle growth and weight loss.

Intolerances

In recent years there's been an increased focus on intolerances in the body. Gluten, wheat and dairy are common intolerances and there is substantial evidence that ridding them from your diet will not only substantially improve your health but it will also boost your performance and lifestyle.

Famous athletes have featured heavily in articles stating how ridding gluten or dairy from their has helped them get fitter than ever and helped them reach the peak of their respected sports.

But how does that help us? Well the best thing to do would be to have an intolerance test and then you will know exactly what it is you're eating and drinking that is stopping you reach your weight loss goals. Chances are if you are eating or drinking something and then feeling bloated or nauseous later that you have an intolerance to it.

If for some reason you can't take a test or want to get started before that then start by removing foods from your diet that cause negative side effects such as bloating, nausea, dizziness, etc and you'll be surprised at the difference this will have on your body. Not only will you feel better but it will do wonders to your internal systems and boost your metabolism.

There you have it, these 5 factors are key to you achieving the physique of your dreams and as long as you address them and keep working hard then you'll achieve it all in no time!