Why don’t I lose weight? I eat little and I don’t lose weight! I do sports and I don’t lose weight! Why?
Often, despite doing a lot of sport, we are unable to obtain the desired results: losing weight, toning, cellulite reduction seem like impossible objectives to us and, discouraged, we end up throwing in the towel. Deciding to do sport is only the first step, then you have to do it well…
Why I don’t lose weight: the main mistakes to avoid in sport
If you’re in the “I’m not losing weight and I’d give up everything to hug a jar of Nutella” phase, we can help you! Here’s what you need to do, and not do, to succeed in losing weight without losing your sanity.
When training doesn’t make you lose weight
Don’t always train the same way. Our body is a perfect machine that records everything. By always doing the same workout, the process becomes increasingly simpler for the body, the metabolism registers the movements and learns to use fewer and fewer calories to carry them out. This is why training must be mixed and diversified with different weights and aerobic activities.
At what intensity do you train to lose weight?
Don’t lengthen the times but the intensity. Intensity is one of the most important variables. They have been proven to work better:
- Intense workouts performed over a short period of time rather than those that are slow paced but last hours.
- Workouts that alternate a “sprint” pace with a more moderate pace rather than those that do not change intensity. HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) training . Repeated. Sprint. Or whatever other name you can find or want to give it, it really is the most effective method to burn more calories and speed up your metabolism.
How many calories to eat to lose weight
Don’t put too much emphasis on calories burned just during training. It is true that cardio makes you lose weight but it should not be forgotten that weight training increases muscles and therefore activates a higher caloric expenditure to maintain them. More muscle corresponds to more calories burned even at rest!
Too much cardio doesn’t make you lose weight
Don’t overdo the cardio. It may seem incredible but it can happen that by exaggerating with cardio activity, the body undergoes stress that affects hormones and the ability to burn fat. We often spend hours in the gym sweating on step machines and treadmills or go running very long distances every day without managing to lose fat and cellulite.
This is because it is true that aerobic activity promotes the consumption of fat and improves microcirculation but it is equally true that excess can lead to the opposite result.
Training sessions that are too long and too tiring for the body cause excessive production of cortisol, called the stress hormone, precisely because it is produced by the adrenal glands as a result of conditions of excessive fatigue such as prolonged aerobic training. It is a sort of signal for the body that indicates an emergency situation, of excessive fatigue.
The body responds to this alarm by slowing down the metabolism to limit the damage caused by too much sport. Overtraining, also called over training, causes an increase in cortisol and therefore:
- Insulin (the sugar hormone) increases and the storage of fat in the abdomen is stimulated. The increase in insulin in turn causes an increase in hunger. The body has burned calories and is now tired and hungry. Result? Maybe we burned 300 calories and eat for 400.
- The metabolism slows down to defend the body from excessive fatigue
- Increases water retention
- Catabolism (undesirable effect of tissue turnover characterized by an imbalance between muscle demolition and consequent restoration) of muscle mass increases,
- Increases general tiredness.
Cortisol
An effective weight loss workout must first prevent cortisol from rising. How to do?
- Do not perform cardiovascular activity for more than 20/40 minutes
- Maintain a moderate intensity: We should always be able to talk to training partners.
HIIT training: What it is and what are the benefits
Lose weight with weights
Often women, for fear of swelling their muscles, avoid toning activities. Nothing could be more wrong:
- Muscles grow due to the presence of male hormones which are obviously scarce in women.
- To grow muscles, you need a diet that is adequate for this objective (hyper-calorie and hyper-protein) without which the body does not have the necessary resources to grow muscles.
- The training should be very heavy to make the muscle grow, which develops only if it is forced by exercises that push it to the maximum.
Just think of all the effort that men go through to develop muscle mass to understand that it is absolutely
impossible for a woman who does not have a favorable hormonal profile and does not take special care of her diet to develop enormous muscles simply by doing some toning exercises.
Toning work is important
Here are the two main reasons why toning is important for losing weight:
- Obtain firm muscles and thus have a toned, healthy and harmonious appearance
- Lose weight! Greater muscle tone increases basal metabolism: therefore greater caloric expenditure at rest and at any time of the day. If the muscles are more toned the body burns more!
For these reasons it is important to carry out toning exercises two or three times a week and do it with commitment, given that they are the most important part of the training given the double result they lead to.
A girl who starts lifting weights shouldn’t worry if after the first few workouts her jeans feel a little tighter, remember that it’s just a phase! In fact, muscle volume can increase but this is only one effect and is very limited. The toning process is in fact quicker than the slimming process, therefore the thigh grows moderately because the muscle develops slightly and the adipose tissue on top and any cushions created by water retention have not yet been consumed. This will happen more slowly. You just have to wait for this second process to happen to get the desired circumferences.
For a woman who wants to lose weight or tone up, it is important to dedicate at least 60/70% of your training to toning work to obtain firm muscles and keep your metabolism high as well as strengthen bones, tendons, ligaments and prevent joint pain such as back pain.
What to do to lose weight
Every woman who wants to lose weight must therefore:
1 Train consistently but without exaggerating in terms of quantity.
2 Vary the exercises often and do not constantly repeat the same workouts
3 Provide toning exercises with dumbbells and barbells to be carried out with loads that make the muscles feel tiring
4 Carry out an aerobic activity without ever exceeding.
If you decide to go on a diet, find out what and how much to eat
By working in this way the body will lose weight, reduce cellulite and the muscles will become firmer, enhancing curves and femininity more.
