Losing Weight The Right Way

Losing weight can be difficult. Even the most determined dieters can have trouble sticking to their weight loss plans. Those who do stick with their diets may reach a plateau where the scale stops dropping. This can be very discouraging.

There are some surprising things that can cause people to fail in their attempts to lose weight. Lack of sleep is one barrier to weight loss. It is recommended that people get seven or eight hours of sleep each night.

When people do not get the proper amount of sleep, it can throw their hormones out of balance. Some hormones affect the appetite. Having the hormones out of balance due to a lack of sleep causes a person to eat more than necessary and keeps him or her from losing weight.

Stress also affects hormone levels. Someone who is stressed may have an imbalance in the cortisol level in the body. When the cortisol level gets too high, it can make a person feel hungry and overeat.

Heredity can be a barrier to losing weight. If a person鈥檚 family members struggle with obesity, it may be difficult for him or her to shed unwanted pounds. The person may have to work harder than most people to be successful on a diet.

Prescription medications sometimes prevent people from losing weight. Certain medications actually cause people to gain weight. People cannot just stop taking the medications they need. This means they will likely have difficulty losing weight.

Getting older also makes it difficult to lose weight. The body loses muscle as people age. The loss of muscle means the body will burn fewer calories, and people may gain weight.

All of these weight loss obstacles are difficult or impossible for dieters to control. There is little that can be done about hereditary issues that prevent weight loss. It can also be difficult to get the recommended amount of sleep or reduce stress levels. There are some road blocks to weight loss that people can change.

One thing people can do to improve their success at losing weight is exercise more. Some people believe that it is enough to simply cut back on calories. Diet alone does not help everyone lose weight. It takes regular, moderate exercise along with reduced calories for some people to achieve their weight loss goals.

People sometimes cut calories too much or stop eating completely in their attempts at losing weight. These actions will keep them from being successful on their diets. When caloric intake is reduced too much, the body begins to think it is starving. The metabolism will sharply decrease, and the person will not lose any weight.

In general, the best approach for losing weight is to burn more calories than are consumed. This diet plan will work for most people. If reducing calories and exercising do not work, and there are no known medications causing a diet to fail, then it may be necessary to talk with a doctor to see if a medical condition is preventing weight loss.

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