Weight:Why am I exercising but still not losing any weight at all?

Many of us put “lose weight” on our list of resolutions. But how many actually manage to shift the flab? Merely really wanting to lose extra kilograms isn’t enough to get to rid of them. You need to adopt a healthier lifestyle and then stick to it if you’re to remain slim and trim. Still, what happens if you do that but still aren’t losing weight? What if you’ve started running almost every day and are now drinking more water and nothing’s happening? In this case, you need to realise that exercise isn’t the magic weight-loss bullet. As it turns out, if you’re wanting to slim down, it’s all about what goes on your plate. 

Weight, in versus out

Think of it this way. Every single kilojoule you put into your body comes via your mouth. But only a part of them is burned off via exercise. In fact, the majority of kilojoules you consume – between 60 and 80% – will be burned up when you’re not doing anything at all. This is your metabolism in action. For most people, just around 10 to 15% of their kilojoules will be burned via actual exercise. While this is definitely better than nothing, it’s definitely not equal nor close to the percentage of kilojoules you’d take in

Something else to keep in mind? It takes a lot of hard work to burn kilojoules via exercise and all this can be undone with just a few bites. As an example, if you weighed 55 kilograms and jogged 5 kilometres, you’d burn around 1 100 kilojoules. This would take around 35 to 45 minutes to do, but then you could put them straight back in within 3 minutes if you ate a Magnum ice cream. Add a pizza to that and you’d suddenly way over your deficit. In fact, you’d then have to run more than 10km to burn that off.

When you still can’t lose

If you feel like you’re very aware of what you’re eating but still aren’t getting results, consider chatting to a doctor. There might be an underlying condition as to why you’re unable to shift stubborn fat. Often, it’s insulin resistance. This is when your body no longer uses the sugar in your blood into energy. Instead, it’s converted straight to fat. Fortunately, this very common condition is easy to diagnose and can be reversed with a doctor-designed low GI diet.

Another way to get rid of fat that refuses to budge, even when you’ve hit your goal weight, is via knife-free body-sculpting procedures. These include painless fat-melting laser and light treatments like VelaShape, iLipo Ultra Laser Lipo and Exilis Elite. You could also consider Cryolipo Fat Freezing. This involves freezing the fat pockets so that they become crystalised, disrupt and are expelled from your body the same way you’d metabolise fat through diet and exercise. Another way to target a specific area is via a combination treatment like RAIL-THIN. This involves injecting an all-natural fat-dissolving solution into the area you want to blitz. Next, a radiofrequency treatment is administered to help break up the fat deposits. Again, the fat is then metabolised as per usual.

The bottom line with weight

As the saying goes, abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym. So while exercise is great, never underestimate the importance of a weight loss-focused diet if you’re wanting to lose. Should you find you’re still struggling, reach out to an expert who can help you see where you’re going wrong. Also, if you’ve reached your goal weight and find there are still wobbly bits you’d like to trim, a non-invasive body-sculpting treatment could be just the ticket for your best body yet.