Losing weight might feel unattainable at times.
You may be managing your calories and carbs, eating adequate protein, exercising consistently, and doing everything known to help with weight loss, yet the scale refuses to budge.
This is a relatively common issue that may be incredibly annoying.
Continue reading to find out why losing weight may be so challenging — and if it’s worth it to keep trying.
This post is geared toward women. However, the majority of the ideas apply to everyone.
Weight Loss Is a Billion-Dollar Industry
On a worldwide scale, losing weight is an enormous business.
Weight loss programs and products are predicted to produce more than $150 billion in yearly earnings in the United States and Europe alone (1).
Programs that need you to buy specific meals, supplements, and other things are usually the most expensive.
Though “fat burners” and other diet medicines are popular, they are frequently unregulated and may be hazardous (2, 3).
Unfortunately, even people who aren’t severely overweight are eager to risk their health by taking diet medications.
A survey of over 16,000 persons discovered that almost one-third of those who used weight loss drugs were not obese before starting the pills (3).
Many individuals put in a lot of time and money to lose weight.
Even if you don’t join a weight reduction program or buy diet pills or goods, you may spend a significant amount of your spare time and energy on the quest for thinness.
Why Many Women Can’t Reach Their Goal Weight
Many women spend a lot of money, time, and effort attempting to lose weight.
Nonetheless, some appear to be making slight improvements.
Some things influence your capacity to lose weight.
Health Conditions
Weight reduction can be exceedingly difficult in the presence of specific illnesses or ailments, such as:
- Lipedema: This disorder, which affects approximately one in every nine women globally, causes extra fat to collect in a woman’s hips and legs, making it exceedingly difficult to reduce. It frequently causes bruising and discomfort (4).
- Hypothyroidism: Low thyroid hormone levels cause a slowing of metabolism, which can interfere with weight loss efforts (5).
- PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome): This disorder is distinguished by insulin resistance and hormonally induced fat deposition in the belly. It is estimated that up to 21% of reproductive-aged women are affected (6).
Dieting and Weight Loss History
If you’ve lost and regained weight in the past or yo-yo dieted, you’ve probably found it more challenging to lose weight with each consecutive try.
A woman who has a lengthy history of yo-yo dieting will have more trouble losing weight than one whose weight has been relatively steady.
According to research, this is primarily due to changes in fat accumulation during periods of calorie restriction.
When you begin eating more after a time of deprivation, your body stores extra fat to have a reserve accessible if calorie intake lowers again (7).
A new animal study also reveals that yo-yo dieting may trigger an immunological response in fat tissue, making fat reduction more difficult (8).
Gut microbes may also play a role. Repeated cycles of losing and regaining weight appear to encourage changes in gut flora that result in long-term weight gain (9).
Age
Women face several obstacles as they age, including finding it more difficult than ever to lose weight.
Furthermore, even if they follow a healthy diet, women who have never been overweight may struggle to maintain their average weight as they age.
Because of a decrease in muscle mass and physical activity, which results in a slower metabolism, most women gain 5-15 pounds (2.3-6.8 kg) during aging.
Furthermore, weight gain is highly prevalent due to the numerous hormonal changes that occur during menopause. Losing weight during and after menopause can be challenging (10).
Gestational Influences
Unfortunately, your predisposition to carry excess weight may be partly attributable to variables over which you have little control.
Genetics is one of these, but other, lesser-known aspects include the conditions you were exposed to in the womb.
These include your mother’s nutrition and how much weight she acquired during her pregnancy.
According to research, women who acquire too much weight during pregnancy are more likely to have big kids who become overweight or obese as children or adults (11, 12).
Furthermore, a pregnant woman’s food choices may influence whether or not her kid develops a weight problem later in life.
Recent animal research discovered that rats fed a “Western” diet while pregnant had pups with slower metabolisms who grew fat at various periods during their lives (13).
“Ideal” Body Sizes Throughout History
While your food and exercise habits influence your weight, your primary form and size are determined mainly by your genes.
Indeed, research reveals that your unique genetic pattern influences both how much you weigh and where you prefer to store fat (14).
Taking efforts to lose abdominal fat is a great and healthy objective. On the other hand, if you try to push your body to adapt to whatever size is popular at the time, you’re going against nature, and your efforts may end in dissatisfaction.
Throughout history, several body forms and sizes have been regarded as “perfect.”
Being somewhat fat was formerly considered a desirable feminine characteristic in women. Thin ladies even attempted to acquire weight to appear more attractive.
However, gaining weight is just as difficult for a naturally thin person as losing weight is for a naturally bigger person.
During the Renaissance, Dutch artist Peter Paul Rubens became well renowned for his naked paintings of full-figured ladies who he considered the pinnacle of beauty.
Even today, the adjective “Rubenesque” refers to a lovely, full-figured individual.
In the 1800s, the French Impressionists, including Monet, Renoir, and Cézann, portrayed attractive ladies of the day.
Looking at these paintings, it’s clear that many of the ladies there were considerably more significant than today’s runway models.
There’s no doubting that the “ideal” female form has evolved significantly over the last 60 years, becoming thin and toned rather than rounded and soft.
On the other hand, women in the past were not assaulted with frequently unreachable pictures on the Internet and television.
Women nowadays are likewise bombarded with advertisements for programs and goods that help them reach today’s “ideal” physique.
Different Cultural Views of Weight
Although most individuals in the United States and Europe think a slender figure is beautiful, people in other regions of the world prefer a more oversized, more rounded shape.
Carrying some excess weight is connected with fertility, friendliness, happiness, vigor, and social harmony in many cultures.
Surprisingly, the wealthiest countries prioritize thinness, but the converse is true in poorer ones (15).
For example, researchers studying data from many non-Western countries discovered that 81% favored plump or somewhat overweight women, while 90% chose women with broad hips and legs (16).
However, even within industrialized countries, what constitutes the “ideal” figure appears to vary widely depending on personal and regional tastes.
The range of responses was rather startling when 18 graphic designers worldwide were asked to change a plus-size model’s physique into the “perfect” figure.
The modified versions had body mass indices (BMIs) ranging from 17 in China to 25.5 in Spain, which corresponds to weights varying from 102-153 pounds (approximately 46-69 kg) for a 5’5 ′′ (165 cm) tall lady.
Except BMI 17, which is considered underweight, this demonstrates that a broad range of body proportions and forms are perceived as attractive and desirable, regardless of how closely they reflect what is frequently called “ideal.”
If You Truly Need to Lose Weight
If your weight impacts your health, you should keep trying to lose weight.
Obesity, particularly morbid obesity, may raise illness risk and reduce life expectancy. Furthermore, because to restricted mobility, poor energy levels, and social stigma, it can make day-to-day living difficult.
According to research, some of the most significant ways to increase weight reduction include consuming protein at breakfast and avoiding processed carbohydrates, as well as the other tactics discussed in this article.
Here are a few more methods that may assist you in losing weight:
- Joining a support group may give encouragement, accountability, and incentive. In addition to typical weight loss organizations that may be found locally, online, and on Facebook, there are online forums for lipedema and PCOS.
- Recognize progress, however slow: Recognize that you will most likely lose weight slowly, with some weight loss plateaus. Even losing a few pounds every month is a remarkable achievement.
- When choosing a goal weight, be realistic: don’t aim to attain your “ideal” weight. It has been proven that losing as little as 5% of your body weight will boost insulin sensitivity, and more weight reduction can lead to significant advantages (17).
- Celebrate non-scale victories: It’s vital to focus on gains in mobility, energy, lab results, and other positive health changes, even when weight reduction appears excruciatingly slow.
Although implementing these tactics into your daily life cannot ensure that you lose weight, they can significantly increase your chances.
Shift Focus to Optimal Health — Not Weight Loss
Many women’s weight loss objectives are motivated by a desire to appear better rather than improve their health.
Maybe you’ve already lost some weight but can’t seem to get rid of “those final 10-20 pounds.”
Or perhaps you’ve always been a little larger than usual but have been attempting to lose weight to fit into a smaller dress size.
You’re not alone if you’ve tried every diet and weight reduction tip and still haven’t seen results despite your best efforts.
If this is the case, you should focus on being as healthy, strong, and lively as possible.
- Focus on fitness: Studies have proven that being fit is more essential than being skinny regarding health. Furthermore, exercising regularly might bring several other advantages (18).
- Improve your connection with food by focusing on nutritional meals, paying attention to hunger and fullness cues, and learning to eat instinctively rather than dieting (19, 20).
- Consider the outcomes of prior dieting attempts: Keep in mind that losing and regaining weight often results in more significant fat accumulation and weight gain over time (1, 7, 21).
Aside from lowering stress and irritation, altering your focus to prioritize good health may result in natural weight loss over time.
Learn to Love and Accept Your Body
Developing a love for your body may improve your health, happiness, and attitude toward life.
According to research, repeated weight reduction attempts may result in weight gain and emotional changes and an increased chance of adopting harmful behaviors such as binge eating (22).
On the other side, there is evidence that being satisfied with your weight, regardless of size, may result in healthier behaviors and overall health (23).
Here are some pointers to help you learn to love and accept your body:
- Stop letting statistics define you: Instead of obsessing over your weight, measurements, or clothing size, consider how you feel, who you are, and your life’s purpose.
- Avoid comparing yourself to others: Never compare your body to another. You are one-of-a-kind and possess many beautiful attributes. Concentrate on being the best you can be.
- Exercise to feel and perform better: Rather than working out to burn calories, participate in physical activity because it makes you feel good. You deserve to be at your best today and in the future.
Recognize that learning to embrace your body after years of attempting to change it may take some time. That’s very understandable. Take it one day at a time and try to focus on the good.
The Bottom Line
Many women are frustrated by their inability to shed weight in today’s world that glorifies thinness.
And shedding extra weight is indeed critical when it threatens your health and well-being.
However, acquiring an exaggerated size might cause more harm than good.
Learn to love and appreciate your body, exercise and embrace good living habits, and avoid comparing yourself.
This might significantly enhance your general health, self-esteem, and quality of life.
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