Top 5 Reasons You’re Not Losing Fat
(FOR MOST PEOPLE, IT’S #3)
1. Snacking and mindless eating.
I never realized until I became a parent of a toddler how easy it is to rack up a few hundred extra calories just finishing my daughter’s plate. You know how it goes… an extra piece of toast she didn’t finish at breakfast, a few bites of mac and cheese, and I’ll always be a sucker for a peanut butter and jelly. It doesn’t feel like much, but over the course of a week or month it’s often just enough to keep you stuck.
2. Untracked / unmeasured calories.
It’s really easy to pour 4 tbsp of half and half into your coffee. At 80 calories, that doesn’t seem like a big deal… but now it’s two cups a day. Then it’s the extra tablespoon of olive oil on your vegetables, or the almond butter you swear you measured—but I see the picture of your toast and it’s closer to three. These things add up fast.
3. You WAY underestimate meals out.
Most of my clients live busy lives and eat out more than they realize—whether it’s for work or just convenience. Even when you’re trying to make a good choice, you’re usually getting way more fat than you think. Egg whites at a diner? They’re drenched in oil so they don’t stick. Pro tip: order them poached. Dinner is usually worse. Most dishes are finished with oil or butter, so when you log “grilled chicken,” you’re missing a big chunk of calories—and then often eating more to try to “hit your numbers.”
4. You stopped moving.
The simplest, most effective thing you can do is make sure you’re consistently hitting 7,500–10,000 steps per day. I can’t tell you how often we audit this and find that outside of the gym… there’s just not much there. It’s ferry, desk, ferry, home. Training 3x per week is great, but it doesn’t make up for being mostly sedentary the other 23 hours of the day.
5. You’re not actually pushing hard enough in training.
This one stings a bit, but I see it all the time. Same weight, same reps, same sets—for 4–6 weeks straight. If you want your body to change, you have to give it a reason to adapt. Why would it build muscle if nothing is being asked of it? You don’t need to set PRs every workout, but somewhere along the way you should be squeezing out an extra rep or adding a little weight. You need to get close to failure—within a rep or two—to send the signal that it’s time to change.
If you’re reading this and seeing yourself in a few of these, that’s normal.
Most people just need a little structure and accountability.
