3 Reasons Your Diet Isn’t Leading to Fat Loss

Jun 6, 2022
Sheridan Skye

It’s the most frustrating experience, isn’t it? You set out to lose fat, clean out your pantry, and hit the gym. You spend the first few days excited about what’s to come, and then you step on the scale…and nothing has changed! You wonder if the plateau is because of your metabolism. Either way, the results have you unmotivated and feeling like what’s the point? You’re already trying as hard as you can, so you might as well give up now. The scale is not always a true reflection of how you’re doing. It can be frustrating when all the hard work goes to waste because what we see with our eyes doesn’t always match up against numbers on a measuring device.

So before you decide to give up, review these things first: 

Before you do, let’s try a few things: 

  • Be patient. Give it at least two weeks of 100% consistency before you decide it’s not working. 
  • Calories also count on the weekend. If you are consistent 5/7 days or 6/7 days, wait until you achieve 7/7 days before you decide it’s not working. 
  • Be a detective. Do not get high or low on results. If something isn’t working, first see point one and if you don’t see results, think of what you can do next to change your approach.

This leads me to the next point. If you are 100% consistent after two weeks and you don’t notice any change in your average weight, it could be for the following reasons: 

  • You aren’t in a calorie deficit. If you want to lose fat, you need to apply this principle. The principle is that you must eat less food than your body requires to lose fat. You may have overestimated your maintenance calories and therefore, need to make an adjustment to your calorie intake. If you want to learn about your body’s unique requirements you can use our TDEE calculator here
  • You are trying methods without applying the principle (see above). Methods look like the ketogenic diet or the paleo diet. These methods don’t lead to fat loss unless the method puts you in a calorie deficit. This is often the case when people attempt ‘clean eating’. If you aren’t losing fat despite consistency, you aren’t in a calorie deficit and you won’t lose fat. 
  • You aren’t being accurate with your tracking methods. Remember, calories count on the weekends too (albeit an unfortunate reality but nonetheless, a reality). Reflect on where you could improve and start putting steps in place to make it happen. 

Yours in health,

Coach Sheridan