Overweight and obese people want to lose weight. Many try and succeed. But there are some unfortunate souls who try but cannot achieve the set goals of weight loss. Nutritionist Angela Borges was one of them. She did yo-yo dieting before she realized where she was wrong. Angela has opened about her weight loss journey and shared the 8 probable reasons why a person cannot lose weight.
Angela Borges -weight gain/loss story and her yo-yo dieting
Nutritionist from Melbourne, Angela Borges had a tough time with her excess weight. She started gaining weight in her teen years. She was desperate to shed the extra pounds. Hence, over the last 18 years she consulted several nutritionists and sought their advice on losing weight.
Angela Borges before and after (Source: Daily Mail UK)Her dietitians told her to lessen the carb intake in her diet, eat more green salads and carry out regular body cleanses of few days duration. Angela diligently followed all that was told to her. But the results were far from remarkable. She used to lose a few pounds and regain them back again on cessation of the prescribed diet for weight loss. It led her to binge eat and the outcomes were disastrous.
Angela’s realization
It took Angela some time before she realized that she was not doing the right thing. She came to know that diet is not a simple formula of calories in and calories out. It is much more complex than that. On her Instagram, Angela posted:
‘Sustainable weight loss is achieved when you create healthy eating habits you can maintain and put on autopilot for permanent success,’
Angela shared 8 likely reasons for the failures:
You are not eating healthy for fat loss
Angela said:
‘You can follow a healthy diet, cook everything from scratch and have the healthiest snacks but you still need to create a calorie deficit in order to lose body fat whether your diet is healthy or not,’
The ideal way is to calculate online your basal metabolic rate. Then find out your daily calorie requirements based on it. And then minus a bit so that you create a calories deficit. That will help weight loss.
Eating too less
Angela explained:
‘Not eating enough to fuel your body appropriately can cause your metabolism to slow down (adapt) and you will stop losing weight,’
‘Not eating enough can also lead you to overeat and ultimately gain weight.’
Angela Borges (Source: MSN)Inadequate sleep
Seven to nine hours of good sleep is essential for weight loss. She added:
‘Insufficient sleep can have a huge impact on two important hunger hormones,’
‘To be more specific, ghrelin (our hunger hormone) rises and leptin (our satiety hormone) lowers.’
When you are relaxed, you make healthy choices including of food.
You are eating hidden sugars
Keep sugars intake low and check for hidden sugars in ready-made products including in sauces.
You surrender fast
Angela feels that the journey of weight loss is not a sprint but it is a marathon. Slow and steady wins the race. She assures:
‘Expect ups and downs, which are a totally normal part of the process,’
Progress could be non linear. Let it not affect you.
You are stressed
Chronic stress could raise your cortisol and make you feel hungrier. Hence do a proper stress management for it.
Do not over rely on exercises
Exercise alone cannot make you lose weight. Diet is also equally vital in it.
Angela Borges (Source: Daily Mail UK)Protein intake is less
Read here: 4 best high-protein snacks for people above the age of 50 years!
If you are not having enough protein intake in the daily diet, it might adversely affect weight loss. She explains:
‘Protein is essential for weight loss because it helps to keep you full and satisfied, preventing overeating,’
‘In the process of digesting protein, your metabolism also speeds up.’