Healthy diet and exercise not working? There might be a simple solution (Picture: Getty)
Weight loss is meant to be a simple process: eat less and move more.
However, if youre regularly hitting the gym and eating healthily, but not seeing the desired results, youre probably wondering where youre going wrong.
So, weve called on womens health platform The Well to give us some tips.
Founded by three experts former Team GB rower Baz Moffat is The Coach, Dr Bella Smith is The GP and Dr Emma Ross is The Sports Scientist it aims to break the taboos in womens health and fitness and support women on their fitness journeys.
Heres what they had to say
Not all calories are equal when it comes to weight loss and the macro and micronutrient balance of food is as important as the energy balance, says Dr Emma.
Chicken nuggets and a Coke have about the same calories as some mixed nuts and dried fruit with a smoothie so, energy is the same, but the nut and fruit snack has an abundance of micronutrients, which help our overall health, whereas the calories from fast food are empty.
Calories should not be the only focus in a healthy eating regime. Also, if you remove the ritual of eating (sitting down at a table and having a meal), its really hard to know how much youve eaten and food brands make tracking a lot harder as they supersize everything.
We snack and eat on the go more and this doesnt give our brains the time to register what weve eaten, which can be why we overeat. Try using a tracking app like MyFitnessPal.
Women shouldnt train hungry and this includes after an overnight fast, says Dr Emma. Our hormones work in a way that relies on having a constant supply of blood sugar (carbohydrate).
If we exercise in a depleted state, it triggers our stress response and this leads us to store fat around our middle, as opposed to losing it. If youre trying to lose weight dont cut your intake of carbs around your workouts.
And dont be fooled by healthy/sports foods a protein bar can have the same amount of protein and sugar as a wholegrain slice of bread with jam and be ten times the price. Milk or chocolate milk is the perfect post-workout drink and doesnt cost the earth, like branded recovery shakes.
If you are working out hard your body will need more time to recover from that workout, says Dr Bella.
Research shows that if we dont get a good nights sleep we produce more ghrelin, the hunger hormone, and less leptin, the hormone that tells us we are full. This is a bad combo for our appetite and eating habits as well tend to feel hungrier and are more likely to eat more before we feel full.
Lack of sleep has also been shown to activate parts of the brain that are important in feeling good when weve eaten food. When were tired, we might increase our snacking, as our body craves high-energy foods, which stimulate these reward centres in our brain. If youve had a bad nights sleep, make sure you eat every two or three hours to keep blood sugar stable and combat the rise of your hunger hormone. High-protein snacks keep you feeling full.
We can often misinterpret thirst as hunger, particularly when tired, so stay hydrated, too.
Many women love the burn of an HIIT session, but too much is not recommended, says Baz. High-intensity sessions activate the stress hormone cortisol and excess cortisol gets stored as fat around your abdomen.
Every other day for a hard session is fine but you must fuel your workout. You cant not eat, which tends to happen when restricting calories. Your body needs time to repair and recover or the workout wont be effective. If you must train every day then have at least two active recovery days where you do something completely different to restore your mind, body and soul.
Monitoring your workout and aligning where you are in your menstrual cycle will give you information about how your hormones are affecting your mood, motivation, energy levels and appetite, says Baz. Were not machines there will be plenty of peaks and troughs so dont worry if youre not improving day to day.
You should, however, see some changes by weeks six to eight. If youve been going to the same class for months with no change, then its time to mix things up. It doesnt have to be anything too drastic, it just needs to be different. That creates resilience, reduces injury risk and gets results over time.
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Five common mistakes that might be stopping you from losing weight - Metro.co.uk
