18
May
By Tiarna – 3 years ago
29244 Views
Why Your Diet Isn't Working
Reading time - 10 mins
When you kickstart a new diet, it can be disheartening when you don’t see the results you had hoped for. Whether you’re trying to lose weight or gain it, there are many factors that go into a successful body re-composition. From the foods and supplements you’re consuming to how often you’re exercising, it’s important to understand how this effects your body!
We’re here to tell you not to lose hope. When you understand how the body works, reaching your goals becomes much easier. So, together let’s break down exactly why your diet isn’t working.
Daily Calorie Intake
Everybody has their maintenance calories, which is the number of calories you need to consume to maintain the weight you’re currently at. When you consistently decrease or increase this number, you’ll begin to see results.
When you start a new diet, whether that be via a purchased meal plan or on your own, although you might be eating ‘healthier’ you could still be eating the same number of calories.
This is completely fine if your goal is to have a healthier diet, but if you’re trying to reach a certain body composition, you must consider your calorie intake. Before dieting, track how many calories you’re eating on average per day. You can easily do this by using apps like My Fitness Pal! If tracking calories isn't something you're interested in, try using apps like 'Ate Food Diary'. This app allows you to track your meals based on how they made you feel, rather than how many calories they had. However, once you change your calorie intake accordingly, you’ll start to see results!
Stress
Believe it or not, stress can impact your body even more than it effects your mind. When you’re feeling stressed more often than not, your body will let you know by presenting various symptoms.
Some of these being weight loss or weight gain, despite your dieting efforts. When you begin a new diet during a stressful period of your life, it can be much harder to achieve the results you’re wanting.
Of course, this shouldn’t deter you from trying to make a positive change in your lifestyle, just keep in mind that this could be a reason as to why you’re not seeing results straight away.
Managing stress is extremely important and your body will thank you for it. If you're struggling to sleep due to external stress factors, try incorporating Adrenal RX by ATP Science into your routine. This will support your body in developing a healthy stress response and promote nourishing and deep sleep. So, before you dive headfirst into a drastic change in your diet, try getting your stress under control first. Nourish your mind and your body with good food and good company.
You're Going Hungry
It’s easy to quit a diet prematurely when you’re not satisfying your hunger. These diets will be short lived and will probably only provide short term results.
Instead of eating smaller meals and leaving yourself feeling hungry, eat nutrient rich foods that are low in calories. This way, it feels like you’re eating more (and you are) but the calorie intake is actually less or the same.
If you ate a huge and nutritious chicken salad versus a small takeaway cheeseburger, you’re eating around the same calories, but the salad will leave you feeling fuller for longer, whilst keeping you on track with your diet.
On top of this, making sure you have enough protein in your meals can help drastically. Protein keeps you feeling fuller for longer and will help stop those before bed cravings. However, sugar cravings can be pretty hardcore and when this happens, having Maxine's Burn Custard in your pantry is a must. This protein packed dessert that feels like a cheat meal will trick your tastebuds! Replace this with your usual cheat snack and you’ll be thanking yourself for it. No diet should make you feel miserable and leave you feeling ridiculously hungry.
You’re Exercising but You’re not Active
If you’re smashing out an intense cardio session in the morning but then spending the rest of the day on the couch, you’re not doing yourself any favours. Although this workout was great, it’s important to keep moving throughout the day.
This could be the simple things like taking the stairs, going for a walk or bringing in your groceries from the car.
This unintentional exercise counts just as much as your planned exercise. So, if your HIIT class at the beginning of the day tires you out so much that you can’t do anything for the rest of the day, it’s not worth it.
Be consistent with your training and don’t burn yourself out! It’s easy to give it your all at the beginning of your diet that your tire yourself out and quit before you see any results. Slow and steady wins the race (usually) so be realistic with yourself.
You’re Paying too Much Attention to the Scale
There’s much more to going on a diet than checking your weight every single day. It’s also about how you feel, how you see yourself and how consistent you’re being with your training and nutrition.
Of course, it’s great to see proof of your physical change, but don’t get too caught up in it. You can actually become leaner but remain the same weight. If you lose 1kg of fat and then gain 1kg of muscle, you’ll still show up as the same weight, even though you’re becoming leaner.
Before dieting, really think about what you want the outcome to look like. Do you want to see a physical change? Do you just want to eat healthier? Are you trying to change your lifestyle? Create millstones around these things instead. Focus on your trajectory and not your current results. Your diet is working, but these things can take time.
Recommended Products
Burn Custard by Maxines
Satisfy your cravings while supporting your body composition goals with Burn Custard by Maxines.
Adrenal RX by ATP Science
ATP Science has crafted Adrenal RX to help support the body during periods of stress.
Freak3d by Anabolix Nutrition
The preworkout you need to perform your best each and every time you step foot in the gym.
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