9 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight While Working Out (2023)

Do you eat well, exercise often, and still feel like you're not maintaining a healthy weight? It can be frustrating when you are doing everything "right," but still not feeling or looking how you want to.

Total-body wellness is a lifestyle. Weight loss happens from a combination of maintaining a calorie deficit, eating nutritious, delicious foods when you are hungry, moving your body consistently, be it cardio, Pilates, or walking, and having a positive mentality about it all.

No matter who you are or what your background is, chances are one of these nine reasons could be why you're not losing weight.

If you're working out but not losing weight, the first place you should be looking is the kitchen. Some people focus all their energy on burning off calories, so they don't take the time to consider what they're putting in as fuel.

A good rule of thumb is to stick to all-natural, whole foods. (Think: foods that grow in the ground or on trees instead of produced in factories.)

Tip: Look for foods with the fewest ingredients on the label and shop the produce section of the grocery store.

You’re Not Striking the Right Balance

If you've been shunning carbohydrates because you think they are the weight-gain culprit, you might want to reconsider. Cutting out an entire macronutrient from your daily diet (not to mention that carbohydrates are the body's main source of energy) can make you feel deprived and tempt you to binge.

Instead, reach for healthy, complex carbs, such as:

• Beans
• Brown rice
• Oats
• Peas
• Quinoa
• Sweet potatoes
• Whole grain bread

Of course, sweets are fine to indulge in, but a steady diet of simple carbs, like candy, soda, sugary sweets, and processed foods with added sugar, won't help you reach your weight-loss goal.

Tip: Go for starchy carbohydrates, which are digested more slowly and release glucose into your bloodstream more slowly.

If you've already refined your diet and are still not losing weight, it may be that you're simply eating too much. In order to lose weight, your body needs to run a calorie deficit, meaning you need to burn more than you consume. That being said, you don't need to deprive yourself either.

Eat whenever you're hungry and eat slowly enough so you can stop just before you get full. And don't be afraid to eat the foods you crave from time to time in a healthy amount. (For example, instead of eating three cookies, stick to one. You can satisfy the craving for that chocolatey chip goodness without overdoing it.)

The moment you start depriving yourself is when you start to feel like you're missing out on something, and you want to binge.

Tip: Healthy snacking during the day can help will keep you from eating too much during meals. Grapes, cucumbers, bananas, and apples are all great whole-food snack ideas.

You’re Doing Too Much Cardio

Yes, cardio is a necessary part of your workout routine. It keeps your heart healthy, boosts your metabolism, and gives you a good sweat (you should try to break one daily).

However, only doing cardio—or doing too much of it—can actually add to the problem. Longer cardio sessions, like staying on the elliptical for 90 minutes or going for regular 10-mile runs, can eat away at your lean muscle mass, which is essential for increasing your metabolism to burn more calories.

It causes the body to become more endurance-focused, storing energy as fat to ensure it has plenty of reserve fuel to keep you going for all those miles. Not to mention it dramatically increases your appetite, making you more susceptible to unnecessary snacking or overeating.

Tip: Federal guidelines for physical activity suggest that adults do strength training, focusing on all major muscle groups, two or more days a week.

This one goes hand in hand with too much cardio. It's not that you shouldn't do cardio—if you love to run or bike for reasons other than losing weight, then by all means don't stop. But if you're working out but not losing weight and your primary goal is fat loss, there are other forms of exercise that give a much better bang for your buck.

The best way to lose weight and build lean muscle is by doing some form of strength training in addition to your cardio. The more muscle tone your body has, the more fat you'll burn.

If you're not ready to give up your cardio routine just yet, try adding some interval training by performing short bursts of all-out effort mixed into your regular session. These workouts are much more effective at promoting hormones that target stubborn fat. Then, start adding some resistance training to your routine.

Tip: Body weight exercises like push-ups, squats, and lunges are a great place to start to help build up to lifting actual weights.

You're Working Out for Too Long, but Not Hard Enough

There's no exact equation to working out and eating healthy—it's a matter of trial and error, finding out what works specifically for your body. And more time spent in the gym doesn't always equal a more fit person. Unless you're an athlete, bodybuilder, or marathoner-in-training, the average person shouldn't be working out more than an hour a day.

Your workouts should be intensity-dependent, not time-dependent. Keep this fact in mind: The harder you work, the shorter your workout time may need to be.

Tip: Maximize time spent at the gym, in a fitness class, or in your at-home workout routine to achieve that coveted afterburn effect, which keeps your metabolism revved for 24 to 48 hours afterward.

When you achieve that afterburn, and you're feeling your workout the next day, those are the days to focus on different muscle groups. Or, if you prefer to work out your whole body, establish a workout routine where you work your entire body one day and then take the next day to do light cardio, stretching, or complete rest.

Recovery and rest are often more important than the workout itself. During those periods, your body does most of the actual fat burning.

Tip: Give yourself time to fully recover, so you're ready to work hard the following day. Most importantly, listen to your body. Push yourself, but also give your body some love, too.

You Are Under Too Much Stress

Exercise is a stressor on your body. When you have a healthy balance of exercise-related stress and recovery time, your body is healthy and can lose its excess fat. However, not giving your body enough time to recover can also be a negative (see above) as you'll start to produce an excessive amount of cortisol, a stress hormone.

Cortisol is both normal and important when working out; it's involved in processes that give your muscles the energy needed to get moving. But when your body is exposed to cortisol for longer periods, it starts to cause negative effects, like stubborn fat in areas you don't want.

Exercise isn't the only stressor that can produce excess cortisol. A stressful personal or professional life can also make your body produce too much of this hormone. When you stop exercising, your body stops producing cortisol; however, it may not be quite as easy to turn off the mental stressors going on in your life.

Tip: Make sure you're keeping your mental and emotional health in check in addition to your physical health. You should strive for total-body wellness.

You're exercising regularly and eating healthfully, but now the numbers on the scale won't budge; your weight loss has plateaued. There are lots of reasons this can happen.

If you're cutting calories, you may experience a rapid drop in weight initially, as your body burns stored glycogen for energy. You might even lose a little muscle along with fat. To rev up your weight loss again, you may need to cut more calories or amp up your physical activity.

Tip: Add resistance training to build muscle and burn fat.

A Quick Review

There are many reasons why you might experience a halt in your weight loss, despite your best efforts, such as not maintaining a calorie deficit or exercising too much. If you are feeling stuck, reach out to your healthcare provider to help you determine the reason for your plateau, and to help you get back on track.