These 5 reasons you aren’t losing fat are going to help you accelerate your weight loss. But weight loss is a misnomer. Fat loss is the goal of a healthy weight loss plan because you don’t want to lose muscle. Muscle keeps your metabolism running at a good level, you want that! It’s possible to lose weight and not lose much fat. I am going to take you through my top 5 reasons you aren’t losing fat so that you can start to make changes in your own fat loss journey.

1. You’re not eating enough protein

I believe in the power of protein. It’s the best type of food for weight loss and it’s so effective in managing your appetite that it can actually help anyone with binge eating disorder. If you don’t eat enough protein, you risk nutritional hunger. This is a type of hunger that is very difficult to satisfy unless you eat protein. Ironically it makes you crave sugar and carbs which can be detrimental to any weight loss plan. Eat more protein for fat loss.

In the Protein Priority Diet (the clue is in the name) we focus on making protein the most important macro. We have tools like Protein Priority Meal©, which makes sure that members start the day with a protein rich meal. This is proven method for eating less throughout the day because your body gets a big heap of protein in your first meal. Protein is a great way to get natural appetite suppression in a healthy way.

2. You’re adding too much fat

This is one of the most common reasons you aren’t losing fat. A tablespoon of mayonnaise, a drizzle of olive oil, a knob of butter, they all add up. Fat is really tasty and makes everything feel richer in a meal. However in every gram of fat you are getting 9 calories. That adds up quickly!

If you don’t count your calories, you can seriously underestimate how many you are eating from fat. Track everything you eat over a couple of days to see how many of your calories are coming from fat.

3. You’re guessing your calories

Just like tracking your fat calories, tracking your total calories is essential if you are a long term dieter. We have been so conditioned to ignore feelings, especially of hunger. We push through those feelings so that we miss important signals of fullness. You might eat by sight, finishing everything on your plate or get so hungry that you overeat when you do have a meal.

This process is not necessarily about controlling or restricting calories, it’s a way to understand how much you eat versus how much you need to eat to feel full. Nearly everyone I work with eats more than they need to, to feel full. The only way to work this out for yourself is to count your calories.

4. You’re not drinking enough water

Dehydration makes you crave carbs. I know it sounds strange but it’s true. Carbs that are found in nature, like fruit and vegetables, are full of water. Think about a cucumber and how much water there is in that. However, when you crave carbs you tend not to crave cucumber, it’s usually bread or sweet carbs like doughnuts or cake.

Water is a natural appetite suppressant for that reason. Water is necessary to burn fat both the fat that you eat and stored fat. The process of metabolising fat is called lipolysis. The first step of this process is called hydrolysis. This occurs when water molecules interact with triglycerides (fats) to create glycerol and fatty acids. Drinking plenty of water is vital for healthy fat loss.

5. You’re not managing your stress

Unmanaged stress causes so many issues in our bodies and is a top reasons you aren’t losing fat. It can cause inflammation, immune issues, sleep issues, energy issues and stops fat loss. Chronic stress means that the hormone cortisol is continuing to be circulated through your body. Your body keeps hold of your fat stores because cortisol means that something dangerous (stressful) is happening so it’s not safe to lose fat.

Stress can also drive hunger making you eat more than you need to. Any excess food converts to fat. This means that instead of losing fat, you gain fat instead. Stress management can be as simple as going for a walk, listening to music or meeting a friend for coffee. The important thing is that you don’t feel like you’re adding to your to-do list. It should be something that you enjoy or is fun to do. Here is a list of 62 Stress Management Techniques to help you get started.