3 Obstacles Which Are Constantly Interfering With Your Weight Loss Goals

Your diet pattern, rest and recovery period, and stress levels will determine weight loss

For some people, losing weight is one of the biggest struggles of their lives. No matter how much effort they put into exercising and eating healthy and weight loss-friendly foods, they either fail to lose weight or shed those extra kilos at a very slow pace. Addressing this concern is holistic lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho - who recently went live on Facebook to talk about the obstacles which commonly interfere with a person's weight loss goals. When hopping from fad diet to another fad diet doesn't help you lose weight, what is it that you should do? Keep reading to know the answer...

3 obstacles which are constantly interfering with your weight loss goals

1. Nature of diet

Reduce intake of carbs

According to Luke, carbs are the major influencer when it comes to losing weight. There are good carbs and bad carbs, but why people gain weight is because of eating too many carbs. Reducing your carb intake by 5 to 10% in a day can result in immediate weight loss. This is not to infer that you completely cut down your carb intake. It has to be reduced only to a certain extent if you want to lose weight.

It is also important to avoid eating carbs at night. This is because you don't need energy when you are preparing to sleep. People who have a regular social life and need to wake up late at night on a regular basis, it is important to control carb intake and focus on eating fats and protein at night in order to lose weight.

Cutting down on your carb intake is going to make you feel hungry, irritable and frustrated. And this is probably why you need to increase more healthy fats in your diet.

Cut down on your carb intake if you want to lose weight
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Also read: 9 Ways To Increase Protein Intake For Weight Loss

Include more fats in your diet

Good sources of fats like omega-3 fatty acids, the ones found in nuts, seeds and cold pressed oils, coconut oil, olive oil, ghee, are all necessary for people who want to lose weight. We need fat to burn fat in the body. Cut down consumption of white sugar and junk food. Going on low carbs the right way is a guaranteed method for losing weight. Eating healthy fats is not going to make you feel hungry. You will feel energised in the brain and in the body.

Increase protein intake

Do not go overboard in consuming proteins for weight loss, instead, try to consume them in a healthy and balanced way. Have the right amount of protein, which resonates with your body type, body weight and the kind of workouts that you do.

Also read: Reached A Weight Loss Plateau? Don't Worry, Rujuta Diwekar Tells Us 6 Things That Can Break It

2. Rest and recovery

Yes, rest and recovery are important in a weight loss regime. It is not right to punish your body by over exercising. This puts negative stress on your muscles, which actually need some time to recover. Make sure you take proper sleep at night and give your body enough room for recovery. Your recovery is as important as your workout regime for weight loss.

Taking too much stress can interfere with your weight loss goals
Photo Credit: iStock

3. Stress

Stress has direct connection with your ability to lose weight. Stress increases production of cortisol hormone, which disrupts production of numerous other hormones. Stress causes hormonal imbalance which acts as an obstacle in your weight loss goals. You need to work on the way you react to stress. Meditate, pray, practice, learn to let go of things that you cannot change, do yoga... basically anything which helps you take less stress will also help you lose weight.

Once you overcome these 3 obstacles, your weight loss goals will not seem so difficult to achieve!

Also read: Want To Lose Weight Quickly ? Include These 25 Fiber-Rich Foods In Your Diet For A Healthy Weight Loss

(Luke Coutinho is Holistic Lifestyle Coach - Integrative Medicine.)

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.