No matter how hard you try, you can’t lose weight? Or, after a few lost pounds, your body refuses to get widening more? These blockages frustrate, exhaust and make you want to abandon the war that you want to lead to your beads.
However, the problem may not come from your will, but from the way your body protects you. Julie Boët, dietician, deciphers why the body can slow down or stop weight loss, even with the best intentions.
Why does your body resist weight loss?
“”The body does not want to lose weight, it wants to survive“First sums up our expert. Behind this impactful sentence by Julie Boët hides an essential physiological truth: the body reacts to severe restrictions as well as a danger.
“”This is the most common error that I see in consultation: eat far too little in the idea of ’booster’ loss “. Result: the metabolism slows down, the feeling of hunger increases, and the energy expenditure falls.
This survival reflex slows down the most voluntary efforts. But excessive calorie deficit is not the only culprit. An unbalanced diet can also compromise everything. Meals poor in protein, rich in fast or deficient sugars in good lipids disrupt hormones, cause cravings and destabilize metabolism. Without quality nutrients, the body no longer works optimally.
Stress, sedentary lifestyle and hormones disrupt your efforts
The lack of global movement weighs heavily in the scale. Even doing sports three times a week, sitting the rest of the time limits the results. This is where the Neat, that is to say all of the daily expenses outside physical activity (walking, mounting the stairs, gardening …), becomes essential.
“”Neat is a powerful lever to stimulate metabolism“says the dietician.
Other large saboteurs: chronic stress and bad sleep. Cortisol, stress hormone, promotes fat storage, especially around the belly. And a sleep of poor quality disruptions the appetite, reduces motivation and increases the desire for sugar. Julie Boët recalls, “These are two underestimated factors, but deeply linked to weight gain “.
Finally, some brakes are medical. Hypothyroidism, insulin resistance, sopk … so many hormonal or metabolic disorders that make loss more difficult. In these cases, it is essential to be accompanied. The intestinal microbiota also plays a decisive role. “”A depleted or unbalanced microbiota can slow down progress “ estimates our expert.
When the weight stagnates, you have to adjust but not to force
This “level” of stagnation is a natural phase, often inevitable. “The body adapts to its new weight and is looking for a balance. It can last a few days … or several weeks”.
It is neither a failure nor a step back, but a signal to review his strategy.
Julie Boët suggests several avenues to revive the dynamics: recalculate calorie needs after a significant loss, vary the intensity or nature of sports sessions, temporarily reintroduce a little more calories to revive metabolism, improve stress and sleep management, or even make a mental and food break to let go.
Above all, it recalls an essential truth. “”When the body refuses to lose weight, it is not by Caprice. It reacts to its environment, your diet, your emotions, your energy level“. So it’s not a question of constraining it, but listening to it. “Sustainable weight loss is not based on punishment, but on balance, progressive adjustment, and especially respect for your body“She concludes.