Weight loss is an energy equation. If you burn more than you consume, you gain.
If you burn less calories than you consume, you lose weight. If its seems so simple why do many struggle? We will deal with the 5 main reasons below.
1. Not Enough Physical Activity to Put Yourself into a Caloric deficit
The incorporation of Physical activity is needed for weight management otherwise you'd have to keep restricting calories which becomes unsustainable after a certain point. This can be achieved by direct cardio, hitting daily step counts (try for a minimum of 7000), increasing Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) or lifting weights to build muscle which is more metabolically active. Don't overestimate your physical activity but track it if you need via things like step trackers, (Smart watch calorie trackers are inaccurate). If you want to burn the most amount of calories fast, click here
2. Consumption of High Calorie Dense Foods that don't Satiate your Appetite
Foods high in fat or carbs per gram wont fill you up and they're easy to overeat which leaves you hungry and more likely to eat again. Simple carbs don't fill up your stomach and Simple sugars, oils, sauces, pastas etc are easy to consume versus a bowl of broccoli. This is due to fiber, complex carbs, protein, water etc like in the picture below. Click here for a list of stomach filling foods!
3. Trying to Follow Unsustainable Diets
Fad diets don't have good long term results for most because they aren't sustainable.
This is due to inconvenience, expense, toll on energy levels, non palatable foods etc. This often leads to bingeing because you crave too many foods or you revert to old habits. Eliminating whole food groups or macro-nutrients without sound evidence leads to failed experiments. The keys to a successful diet are sustainability via satiety for the least amount of calories.
4. Underestimating How Many Calories are in Foods
The biggest mistake is thinking that food volume always correlates to calories.
Its imperative that you eat plenty of low calorie dense foods that take up more space in your stomach and take longer to digest. A dish may look small but can be calorically dense.
5. Eating fake "health" foods or thinking Healthier Ingredients will Automatically Lead to Weight Loss.
Swapping out vegetable oil for coconut oil or butter will not lead to weight loss. Switching out granola bars and cookies for keto versions will not lead to weight loss, in fact keto versions usually have higher calories. Eating higher quality cheese wont lower calories etc. No matter what the displays say, you have to look at the nutrition label, consider the calorie content and/or how full that food makes you feel. Check out this article for a list on popular fake "health" foods
What to Do
Choose foods high in fiber, water, protein, complex carbs
Follow a volume\high satiety diet which is to say, eat more foods that fill your stomach. (Monitor fat which is 9 calories per gram)
Portion size! Portion size! You can still eat whatever you want BUT smaller portions/calories of high calorie foods will make a big difference
Count, weigh and/or learn to estimate calories in main foods
For a complete list of tips check out this article
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