I’m Hungry And I’m Not Losing Weight-The Reasons Why

A client recently asked me about being hungry all the time but not losing weight.  It echoes a lot of what people are experiencing who are trying extreme diets or training techniques.

They might workout regularly. They train a lot. But they are not losing weight or making any kind of gains in terms of positive body composition changes or in losing weight. And they are constantly hungry. One athlete’s solution was to look into going on a keto diet to shift the overall metabolism to fat burning.

Here is what my response to that dilemma was…

“I think the real answer can be found in your last line of the email. You are saying you are not as lean as you like and are hungry all the time no matter how much training you do.

Generally being hungry all the time means that you are not getting enough of something your body really needs. It could be micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). It might be macronutrients (not enough protein, good fats and oils or healthy carbs). Either way, if your body isn’t getting everything it needs to repair and replenish from your training it won’t matter how much you eat, you will be hungry.

This is where people get confused with carbohydrates.

For example, if someone is eating too many carbs and are always hungry they think it’s from blood sugar swings (which can be part of the hunger issue). So then they switch to a lower carb diet and feel better, which of course is a good thing. But the reason they feel better is only partially from the actual carb content of their diet.

You see they end up making up for the missing carb calories with something their body was needing anyway like more protein and/or good fats and oils. Then suddenly they are eating less overall because they satisfy their body’s hunger (need for stuff to repair and replenish). Their body starts to balance out. Then they lose body fat because they are not eating excess carbs that get converted to fat,. But they also end up eating less calories overall because they are satisfied from meals.

The second thing that feeds into your situation of not losing body fat could have to do with how you train.

If you train hard all the time your body will always be in the anaerobic state. That slows the development of the aerobic fat metabolism physiology. So no matter how much you train, your body will never become an efficient fat burning machine. You can train hours and hours and never really lean out.

With my coaching you get a good dose of endurance aerobic training to get your body to be a better fat burner. This is the most effective way to build that ability. It works so much better than severely restricting carbohydrates in your diet.

An extremely low carbohydrate diet is not sustainable. It can eventually lead to blood chemistry changes that are very unhealthy. Training aerobically is sustainable for a lifetime,. It also increases your body’s sensitivity to insulin. With that you can manage your carb intake better. And it’s low stress, which is one of the best ways to build fitness over the long haul and get rid of excess fat especially around the belly.”

I hope this was “food” for thought for those of you considering extreme diets, extreme forms of training or anything in extreme to help you become more balanced!