1. Not Eating Enough

Not eating enough can actually cause your body to hold onto excess weight, believe it or not. When the body does not get adequate calories, it switches itself over to starvation mode, holding on to any excess weight that it can in order to keep you from starving. So if you aren't fueling your body with enough healthy calories, you aren't giving yourself enough to work from in order to lose the weight. It also can hinder the amount of energy you have, making you feel sluggish and fatigued.


You can help your body get enough calories by consuming the proper amount of healthy food each day in order to meet your recommended caloric intake. Add a few healthy snacks in between meals (some nuts, fruit, or even cheese), and make sure to eat healthy, balanced meals at least three times each day.


2. Eating too Much

Eating too much tends to be one of the main reasons people find their weight loss efforts coming to an abrupt halt. You might think that just because you have been eating healthier foods like raw nuts, avocado, and seeds, that you can eat as much as would like, but that isn't the case. Again, moderation is key, so be sure not to overeat or eat too much altogether, because even though they are healthy calories, they are still calories.


Create yourself a meal plan to help you stick to eating well and in the right amounts. Portion sizes are important, so keep them in mind when dishing out meals. Record the foods you eat daily into your fitness tracker or an app that is made to track calories so that you can get a good idea of just how many calories you are taking in each day. Also, consider proportioning snack foods like nuts to ensure you are always eating the correct portions.


3. Using the Fitness Tracker Wrong

Many of us have fitness trackers these days: they are helpful ways to keep healthier and make better choices in terms of food and exercise. The problem? They're still pieces of technological equipment that can make mistakes and mislead you, especially in terms of the amount of calories burned during activity.


In order to account for any variables, keep in mind that just because your fitness tracker says that you burned a few hundred calories during that bike ride, they aren't always accurate and tend to be just an estimate, so take it with a grain of salt. And don’t use the calorie burn of exercise as an excuse to overeat. They pretty much never balance each other out!


4. Not Drinking Enough Water

One thing that might seem like common sense when you are trying to lose weight is to drink more water, but you would be very surprised by the amount of people who don't actually drink the proper amount of water. Because we are often unable to differentiate between hunger and thirst, not drinking enough water (and the subsequent thirst) can sometime mask itself as feeling hungry and cause us to eat unnecessarily.


If you are working out, be sure to drink the proper amount of water and listen to your body: if you feel thirsty, drink a glass of water. If you are exercising more, drink more water to keep up with your body's need for hydration. If you feel hungry shortly after eating a meal or snack, a glass of water might be the answer, as your body might be mixing the signals.


5. Not Sleeping Enough

When it comes to sleep, everyone is different with the amounts that they need. Some people need eight or nine hours, while others need only six. How much sleep you need depends on your own body, but it is also important to keep in mind that a lack of sleep can cause serious illnesses, conditions, and even cause you to make food choices that aren't exactly positive.


Look at it this way: if you are out all day at work, and then go out for a run, put the kids to bed, and finally have time to decide what you should have for dinner, it might already be 9 p.m. and you might feel too tired to cook, which can prompt you to just order pizza or take out. Instead, cook meals ahead on your days off and freeze them - all you have to do is pop them in the oven when you're ready to eat, and you can have an early bedtime so that you can get the sleep your body needs.


It is important to look at all of these variables when wondering why your weight loss plan isn't going the way you want it to. Between getting enough sleep, working out properly, drinking water, and eating the proper amount of calories each day, it can feel exhausting just thinking about losing weight, so why make it harder? Listen to your body and take care of yourself, and you will end up going a long way in terms of reaching your goals!