If you’ve ever asked, “Why am I not losing weight with exercise and diet?”, one of these 7 reasons might be the culprit. Here’s how to fix it so you can hit those weight loss goals!
I started this blog when I had 2 kids under 2 years old, and I wanted to change how we ate so my kids could be as healthy as possible.
At first, my clothes started to fit just a little bit looser. As someone who has always been slightly overweight, that was a fun side effect of clean eating!
But over time, my clothes stopped being loose and started to get tighter, and tighter, and tighter…
WHY AM I NOT LOSING WEIGHT WHILE EATING HEALTHY?
I was turning 40 and doing “all the things”: exercising regularly, taking walks, prioritizing clean eating and the 80/20 rule. But I wasn’t confident in my skin or my clothes.
There was even a point when I honestly thought my metabolism was broken!
But then, just before my 44th birthday, I lost 11 pounds and 12 inches.
And after I turned 45, I lost another 16 pounds and 15 inches.
The difference? I realized that “eating healthy” on its own isn’t enough to lose weight.
HOW TO BREAK A WEIGHT LOSS PLATEAU
When your goal is to eat healthy (or focus on “clean eating”), you’re focused on WHAT you’re eating.
Which is important! Food quality DOES matter.
But when your goal is to lose weight, you have to focus on HOW MUCH you’re eating too.
Because you can absolutely eat nourishing foods AND unintentionally overeat.
That’s exactly what happened to me.
I was eating whole foods, but simply put, I was eating too much for my body.
Too many calories, no matter where the calories come from, will lead to weight gain. Your food intake matters more than an exercise routine.
WHY AM I NOT LOSING WEIGHT IF I’M EATING HEALTHY?
If you feel like you’re doing all the right things, including strength training and getting quality sleep, but have hit a weight loss plateau, here’s a simple breakdown of what you’ve been led to believe versus the actual truth, with a little bit of real life vs science.
1. HEALTHY FOODS STILL HAVE CALORIES
Avocados are healthy. Nuts are healthy. Olive oil is healthy. Granola is healthy-ish.
But healthy doesn’t mean calorie-free.
- a handful of granola fresh from the oven (138 calories)
- an extra drizzle of olive oil to roast vegetables (120 calories)
- the last bit of avocado leftover from dinner (40 calories)
- a few leftover nuts from the kids’ plates (42 calories)
The number of calories add up, and they add up fast.
This alone is one of the biggest reasons why women are confused when they switch to clean eating and are still struggling to lose weight.
They think, “But I’m eating clean!”
And you probably are!
But fat loss still requires an overall calorie deficit. Those extra calories might be sabotaging your efforts. You must eat fewer calories without undereating to maintain muscle mass.
2. YOU’RE NOT EATING ENOUGH PROTEIN
I see this with my clients often.
- They’ll have toast & fruit for breakfast. Maybe an egg.
- Lunch is a salad with a few chickpeas, maybe some leftover bacon.
- Dinner is pasta with red sauce (because that’s what the kids will eat).
- After dinner, they might grab a few crackers, maybe a homemade muffin.
To be clear, there is NOTHING wrong with any of these foods.
But when protein is too low…
- Hunger goes up
- Cravings go up
- Fullness goes down
- Satiety goes down
- Fat loss feels harder than it needs to
You find yourself reaching into the cookie jar, wondering why you don’t have willpower, when you’re simply not eating enough protein.
Not eating enough protein makes fat loss feel harder than it needs to.
3. YOU’RE ELIMINATING FOOD GROUPS.
Fat loss is easy when your meals are satisfying, and that means eating all the macros – protein, fat, carbs – and also making sure you’re eating fiber from produce.
- Your body needs carbs for proper metabolic function.
- You need fats for hormones, brain health, and vitamin absorption.
- You need protein as the raw material for every single cell in your body.
- And you need fiber for regulating blood sugar and a healthy digestive system.
When you remove one (or more) of these, your body sends warning signals that something is missing, and you feel that signal as hunger.
4. WEEKEND EATING IS CANCELING WEEKDAY PROGRESS
If Monday through Friday looks like:
- Salads
- Meal prep
- Walking
- Lots of effort
And weekends look like:
- Restaurant meals
- Drinks
- Snacks
- “I deserve it” mode
- Less physical activity
Then your weekend habits are erasing your weekday progress.
The goal is consistency, not swinging from one extreme to the other.
Give your weekends a TINY bit of structure, or sprinkle some weekend fun on a Tuesday, and you’ll see that progress continue toward your long-term weight loss goals.
Sustainable weight loss includes lifestyle changes like this!
5. YOU’RE GRAZING MORE THAN YOU REALIZE
This could be a side effect of #3 above, but it could also be habits.
- A bite (or three) while cooking
- Finishing your kid’s food
- A kitchen drive-by for trail mix
None of these feel like “real eating” because they’re not meals, and often you don’t even realize you’re eating these little bites, licks, and tastes (BLTs). But they’re calories, and all calories count (yes, even when you’re cooking from scratch).
6. STRESS IS DRIVING YOUR FOOD CHOICES
Stress impacts your hunger cues, ability to manage cravings, energy levels, and decision-making processes.
Yes, you know WHAT to eat…
… but when life goes sideways and you’re overwhelmed, your brain wants comfort, so you turn to food that makes you feel good right now, like cookies, chips, and brownies.
Those quick little fixes – even if they are homemade – add up and can cause a weight loss stall. Stress management goes a long way when it comes to weight loss efforts.
7. CHASING HEALTHY INSTEAD OF HELPFUL HAS YOUR WEIGHT LOSS STALLED
Many women choose “healthy foods” because of how they’re labeled:
- Organic
- Natural
- Gluten-free
- Low sugar
- Clean ingredients
There’s nothing wrong with these labels, and they are a step in the right direction if you’re used to eating heavily processed foods, but words on a package don’t lead to results.
You need to look beyond the buzzwords on the labels to see what’s actually inside. If you find your weight loss stalled, flip the package over and check the ingredients and nutrition information.
WHY AM I NOT LOSING WEIGHT WITH EXERCISE AND DIET?
If your goal is weight loss, clean eating isn’t enough. WHAT you eat matters, but HOW MUCH you eat matters too. Your energy expenditure is only a part of the picture.
Counting macros is by far the most efficient way to lose fat, but if that feels a bit daunting and out of reach, I would suggest making a few minor shifts to your habits:
- Put everything you eat on a plate; no kitchen drive-bys!
- Make sure ¼ of your plate contains protein
- Make sure fat is limited to one thumb-sized portion
- Stop eliminating food groups altogether
- Make weekends look a little more like weekdays
- If your “protein” isn’t meat or dairy, read the nutrition label (what you learn might surprise you!)
Try these small shifts and see how being aware of HOW MUCH you’re currently eating is impacting your weight-loss plan…
If you want to continue the DIY route (like I did myself for years), download my free Fat Loss Formula and learn my proven 3-step process for losing your first (or next) 5-10 pounds.
If you’ve “been there, done that” and need accountability and a more hands-on approach, apply for 1:1 coaching. As a board-certified fat loss and nutrition coach, I help women 35+ lose weight – and keep it off – without giving up the foods you love. Apply for coaching here.
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