You might be following a strict diet, yet still notice your weight going up. Before this worries you, here are the main reasons your weight increases even though you're on a certain diet.
First: You’re too focused on dieting,
Diets don’t work long-term. Studies show people on long diets actually gain more weight over time. Instead of aiming to lose weight, focus on being happier, healthier, and fitter. Feed your body well instead of starving it, and let weight loss be a natural side effect.
Second: You’re still drinking sugary drinks,
Sugary drinks have the highest calorie content in foods by far. Your brain doesn’t account for the calories in them, so you don’t eat less of other foods.
This doesn’t only apply to sugary drinks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi - it also applies to "healthy" drinks like smoothies loaded with sugar.
Even fruit juices cause problems, and you shouldn't drink them in large amounts. One cup can have as much sugar as several whole pieces of fruit.
Third: You don't do cardio exercises
Cardio, or aerobic exercises, are any kind of exercise that raises your heart rate. These include running, cycling, and swimming.
Cardio is one of the best ways to improve your health. It's also great for burning belly fat, the harmful "visceral" fat around your organs that causes many diseases.
Fourth: You overeat (even healthy food)
Eating too much is a common side effect of dieting. It means eating large amounts quickly, often way more than your body needs.
This is a big problem for many. Some overeat fast food, while others go overboard even on relatively healthy foods like nuts, nut butters, dark chocolate, cheese, etc.
Even if something is healthy, calories still add up based on how much you eat, and bingeing often messes up a whole week's diet.
Fifth: You might lose weight without even realizing it
If you think you’re at a weight plateau, don’t worry yet. It’s very common for the scale not to move for a few days or even weeks at a time, but that doesn’t mean you’re not losing fat. Body weight tends to fluctuate by a few pounds. It depends on what you eat, and hormones can greatly affect how much water your body holds onto, especially for women. Also, you might be gaining muscle at the same time as losing fat, which happens often if you’ve recently started working out. This is actually good because what you really want to lose is fat, not just weight.
It’s also a good idea to use other methods besides the scale to track your progress. For example, measure your waist, check your body fat percentage once a month. How your clothes fit and how you look in the mirror can say a lot. Unless your weight is stuck at the same number for more than a week or two, you probably don’t need to worry.
Sixth: You’re not tracking what you eat
Being aware is very important if you want to lose weight. Many people have no clue about how much they actually eat. Studies show that tracking your diet helps with weight loss. People who keep food diaries or regularly photograph their meals lose more weight than those who don’t.
Seventh: You don’t do resistance training
One of the most important things you can do when losing weight is some form of resistance training, like lifting weights. This can help you keep your muscle mass, which often burns off along with fat if you don’t work out. Weight lifting also helps prevent your metabolism from slowing down and keeps your body toned and muscular.
