Weight Loss Failure, Five Most Common Reasons For Failing

I scheduled my usual appointment at the hospital, which had been postponed for a while. Each time I step on the scale for my medical records, it either records the same weight or shows an increase, which stresses and demotivates me.

I’ve been questioning my approach to weight loss. Seeking advice, I consulted with my endocrinologist, who enlightened me. He explained the reasons behind my unsuccessful attempts to lose weight despite engaging in regular walks and maintaining a healthy diet.

For those who might not know, I suffer from two primary health conditions, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Thyrotoxicosis, both of which are autoimmune disorders.

I was first diagnosed with hyperthyroidism at the age of seventeen, thirty-eight years ago, and Rheumatoid Arthritis at the age of 35, twenty years ago.

Throughout my fifty-five-year journey, I’ve attempted to lose weight numerous times, with only one success in 2011. That year, after reading Kalli Puri’s book, “Confessions of a Serial Dieter,” I chose to embark on the Atkins diet, which led to my weight loss success.

The Keto Diet.

Yes, it did work, and it overwhelmed me to see a seven-kg weight loss in one week. I literally cried seeing the scale that day.

I was highly motivated to see the scale victory daily, and I thought I would be able to keep following this Keto diet all through my lifetime and stay slim always. Oh boy! How naive I was to think so, as in 2016, I realized that over the years.

I was back at my beginning weight. I was in the dumps. Since that time, I have never been able to lose weight because I lost all motivation.

As I narrated my weight loss journey to the doctor, he explained to me the most common reasons for weight loss failure, which made sense to me.

Today I thought of sharing my experiences with you, thinking that, like me, there might be many ladies who are struggling and failing to see the scale moving.

Common reasons for weight loss failure ignored deliberately

Medical reasons
Incorrect food choices
Inaccurate calorie calculation
Eating too often or too little
Focusing on scale victory

Above all, those who are suffering like me need to do some self-analysis, keeping in mind the five reasons as mentioned earlier. Believe me, I did the same and understood my reasons for my weight loss failure.

If you are not understanding what the doctor was pointing out, continue reading, as it will make things easier for you.

1. Medical reasons

You might be suffering from one of the many medical reasons that are making weight loss difficult for you.

- Inflammation can be caused by dietary or environmental factors like medications, smoking, air pollution, and foods like dairy, sugar, and wheat. If not taken care of can cause cellular damage, which impairs normal body functioning. Inflammation and cellular damage have been observed as reasons for weight loss.

- Hypothyroidism causes weight gain due to the slow function of the thyroid gland, causing failure of all efforts to control weight.

- Stress makes one indulge and eat without thinking sanely about health. If you are undergoing lots of stress, you will do a lot of comfort eating, which will soon show up on the weighing scale.

- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS/PCOD) is a very common modern-day health issue that can lead to unexplained weight gain, making things difficult for young women.

- Hormonal changes, like during puberty or menopause, can make women gain weight, especially around the midsection of the body.

As far as my concern, my doctor ruled out thyroid as the reason for my weight gain, as the reports were showing mild TSH issue, but yes, I know that my belly fat was never there, and I gained all the layers on my lower belly after I started having early menopause at the age of forty.

2. Incorrect food choices

After doing a lot of introspection, I realized that I was not making the right food choices. Since I am very fond of sweets so inadvertently I was going for Muesli as my favorite breakfast choice.

Nowadays, being mango season, I go for mangoes. So I knew that I had to make deliberate efforts to cut down on sugars in all forms.

3. Inaccurate calorie calculations

This is one of the most difficult tasks to do. However carefully one calculates the calories, it is impossible to do the correct calculations. The calories of one medium apple will depend on the right kind of medium apple.

I belong to Himachal Pradesh, and I know that the normal medium apple of Himachal is larger in other parts of the country. Furthermore, how many of us are ready to weigh each morsel and eat the right amount of calories?

4. Eating too often or less

I generally start eating around 12.30 pm and stop at 8 pm max. Most days, I am eating one meal a day, which makes a major difference in my calorie count.

If I eat my regular three meals and two snacks, I feel that I am eating too many calories. I don’t know about you, but I need to work on this and decide to go for really small portions.

5. Focussing on scale victory

Now, this is one reason that I can understand and identify with. Most people who are on a weight loss or health journey focus on the scale. We have several targets in mind, and we strive to achieve them, but at what cost?

We eat less, work out more, feel weak, do cheat meals, overeat, stress, and spoil our health. Do you also go through this cycle?

I have realized that I need to pay attention to some of the reason of weight loss failure.