Paige Harris If you’re doing everything right and still holding on to “the last 5 pounds,” this blog is for you. These 4 things may be what’re holding you back.
As a personal trainer and health coach, the number one question I get is how someone can lose “the last 5 pounds.” If you have the same question, this blog is for you. Really think about all of the points below and see if one of them strikes a chord for you!
1. You’re not getting enough sleep.
If the words “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” have ever crossed your lips, you may want to reconsider.
Despite what everyone on the internet wants you to think, sleep is not for the weak. Even if you don’t experience outwardly visible effects from a single night of less-than-perfect sleep, research shows that just one single night of sleep deprivation can lead to impaired insulin sensitivity the next day.
But what does that mean?
Assuming that you’re healthy otherwise, one night of poor sleep can cause you to become temporarily prediabetic. Your blood sugar will become elevated even if you haven’t eaten a single carbohydrate.
That heightened blood sugar isn’t the only issue. Studies have also shown that shorter amounts of sleep lead to an increase in ghrelin — the hormone that tells your body you’re hungry — and a drop in leptin — the hormone that tells your body you’re full. Basically, it’s a hormonal recipe for disaster.
So if you’re looking to lose the last 5 pounds, get some shut eye! It’s recommended that you get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a night. I know it can be hard to prioritize rest if you’re not used to it, but trust me, your body will thank you.
And if you’re struggling with going to sleep or staying asleep, check out this post for some helpful tips and tricks!
2. You’re not doing the right kind of exercise.
Cardio bunnies, listen up!
If you really want to rev up your metabolism and lose the last 5 pounds, adding more cardio is not the answer. And here’s why:
Pretend that you go to the gym and run on the treadmill for 10 minutes. The machine says that you’ve burned 100 calories. Great, you think.
The next day, you go back to the gym and run for another 10 minutes. The machine says you’ve burned 100 calories again. Still great, right? Not so much.
The thing is, your body is an adaptation machine. Every time you teach it something new, it wants to use less energy to do it. So even though the machine may say that you’ve burned 100 calories, your body probably learned to conserve a little bit of energy.
So in reality, you maybe burned 90 calories. Do the same workout again? Maybe this time your body only uses 85 calories. The numbers are arbitrary, but the effect is all real. Unless you start running longer, harder, or faster, you’re not going to be able to run yourself into your dream body. And no matter your activity level, we all have to stop sometime.
That doesn’t even mention the slew of hormonal issues that women can face from taking constant HIIT classes, having poor sleep and dietary patterns, and constantly being stressed out and on the go.
The answer? Scale back the cardio. And try lifting some weights instead!
Lifting weights stimulates muscle growth in your body, and that’s a good thing! Having more muscle means that your body’s resting metabolic rate (aka the amount of energy it burns without you doing any activity) rises. It takes more food to fuel a pound of muscle than a pound of fat, after all!
If you’re looking to scale back your training or start lifting for the first time, head here to see how I can help, or check out this post or this post to see some example workout routines!
Lastly, if you can’t remember the last time you took a rest day, do it and see what happens. I’ve had so many women actually lose weight and drop inflammation when they finally allowed their bodies to rest and recover. Give it a try and see how you respond.
3. You’re following the wrong diet.
Keto. Paleo. Low-carb. Vegetarian. Vegan. Carnivore. AIP. WW.
Every single diet promises you that it’s the best diet for health and/or weight loss. And honestly, each of them has some merit.
All of these diets were popularized because they did show positive results for some people. But that doesn’t mean that any of them is the “best” diet for you.
If you’re super active in the gym, work a demanding job, have a family to take care of, and are just generally a go-go person, your body probably isn’t going to love a low-carb or keto diet. It’ll want some quick-digesting carbs to help keep your energy levels up throughout the day.
On the other hand, if you’re pretty sedentary, your job involves a lot of brain work, and you digest fat well, a keto or low-carb diet may actually be a great choice. You’ll stay full and focused and your brain will love you for all of those healthy fats.
Activity levels aside, sometimes your body just needs a little more love when it comes to digesting the foods you give it. Do you feel super bloated when you eat raw vegetables? Does eating something fatty give you instant heartburn? If so, your body isn’t properly digesting your food.
Simple adjustments like cooking your vegetables and adding something acidic to your stomach before a fatty meal could help your body digest your food better, reduce inflammation and finally learn that it’s okay to let go of those last 5 pounds.
4. You don’t actually have 5 more pounds to lose.
It’s time to get real.
Why do you want to lose 5 more pounds?
If you’ve been dieting for months, exercising out the wazoo, and overall exhausting yourself, I want you to pause now and think.
If you do lose 5 more pounds, what will that do for you?
Will it make you happier? Maybe. But a lot of times instead of being satisfied with weight loss, people just set new, even lower goals for themselves.
Will it make you a better person? Definitely not. You can work on being a better person no matter what size you are.
Will it make you more confident? Maybe! But real confidence comes from mindset work, not seeing lower numbers on the scale.
You need to learn to trust that your body knows what healthy is, and to learn how to listen to it and make it as healthy as it can be.
And if that means that you really don’t need to lose the last 5 pounds, so be it.
