During my weight loss journey, I suffered a lot of plateaus, and I have researched a lot about them. I know how frustrating they are. Therefore, in this article, I try to explain 14 reasons why you are eating 1000 calories a day and not losing weight.
There could be several reasons for this, including not calculating the calories correctly, not drinking enough water, your metabolism has adapted to your diet plan, weight fluctuation, high-stress levels during the day, and not enough sleep during the night. There could be other reasons also, which I explain further in this article. Please read on!
Reasons why you are eating 1000 calories and not losing weight:
- A high stress level
- Not drinking enough water
- Not calculating calories currently
- Eating low amount of protein
- Hormonal issues
- Metabolical problems
- Weight fluctuation
- Water retention
Weight loss is a complex subject, and not understanding it enough can lead to several problems. You need to read the article entirely to get rid of your weight loss plateaus. Make sure of that!
1. Not calculating correctly
There are several times when we eat unlabeled food and home-cooked stuff. Then we calculate the number of calories eaten using our assumptions, which could be wrong a lot of times.
That has happened to me several times. Avoid eating uncountable foods in all cases unless it is absolutely essential. Your best bet is to eat only the foods which are labeled and have calories written on them.
2. Your metabolism has adopted
Several studies have shown that eating too few calories like the amount that we are taking (1000 calories) could lead to a metabolic slowdown by as much as 23%(1,2,3). In fact, even after leaving the diet, this could persist for a long time (4). In such a scenario, our organs and body parts start working slowly to reduce energy consumption. Therefore, our body needs fewer calories than we eat (5). This could be why weight must have plateaued.
Eating enough calories, taking protein, and exercising during the day could increase your metabolism again (6, 7), and you may begin losing weight faster than before. You could cheat once a week to increase your glycogen levels to an optimum amount so that your body does not feel like in starvaing state and your metabolism stays fit (8).
3. Not taking enough protein
Numerous studies have pointed out (9, 10, 11, 12) that protein is essential for weight loss. Several weight loss programs focus on carbohydrates and fats, not many focus on proteins. You must take 25 to 30% of your daily diet from protein resources to jumpstart your weight loss efforts(13).
4. Water deficiency
Water can be essential for weight loss as it can boost your slow metabolism up to 30% for some time (14, 15). If you’re not taking at least 2L of water each day, this could be the problem(16). A study has shown that drinking water before meals can lead to 44% more weight loss in several patients(17)
5. Not exercising
Exercising keeps your metabolism at high levels(18,19), and you want to eat more. In that stage, if you are taking a low amount of calories, you can be sure of losing weight(20). Not doing that, maybe a problem, and you could be suffering from it. Try exercising at least once a day. If you’re not up to it, you can just walk around the park in the morning to stimulate your metabolism and, therefore, achieve weight loss(21).
6. Weight fluctuation
Our weight can fluctuate up to 1.8 kgs per day(22). So, if you’re not getting the right weight at the right time, this is normal. This could be due to solids and liquids stored in your body and the amount you have eaten before putting yourself on the scale. You could scale in the morning before eating and drinking anything, and this could lead to better results(22).
7. You could be gaining muscles
A lot of times, when we eat a lot of proteins with our diet, muscles start forming. As muscles are 15-20% more in weight than our fat reserves(23), you do not see a weight loss. So, if you are on a high protein diet, measuring your waist and other high-fat areas could be a solution to understand why you are not losing weight.
8. Not getting enough sleep
Sleep is mighty essential for weight loss. Several studies have also shown that not taking enough sleep can lead to weight gain (24, 25, 26). Make sure to take 6 to 8 hours of complete sleep in the right postures.
My personal experience shows that whenever I have taken a lot of sleep and kept all the other parameters consistent, I have lost a ton of weight.
9. High-stress levels
Stress is a very uncertain entity, and it can lead to weight gain(27,28). On the other hand, a study has shown that reducing stress could lead to weight loss (29). Therefore, avoiding stress is highly relevant when they are trying to lose weight.
10. Hormonal problems
Sometimes, hormones could be a factor. In a lot of people, especially women(30), these would be a potential hurdle for not having a consistent weight loss and sometimes even weight gain. Consult your doctor on how to maintain the right hormonal balance. This will help you out in your weight loss journey.
11. Not taking coffee
Coffee is an appetite suppressant(31), and it is shown in several studies that it could lead to a sustainable amount of weight loss and as much as an 18% increase in the metabolic rate(32,33,34,35).
If you’re not drinking coffee, this could also be a reason for not losing weight. Try to drink 2-3 cups of coffee each day for sustainable results. Avoid going overboard with coffee, as this could lead to bad situations. (36)
12. Taking alcohol
Alcohol could be a reason for failure in your weight loss efforts. Studies have shown that alcohol could lead to an increase in belly fat(37) in several participants, and reducing it leads to a reduction in food cravings and weight(38). So, if you want to drink with friends, avoid while losing weight.
13. Too many carbohydrates
carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for our bodies. The body quickly converts them to gain energy. If you are eating a lot of carbs, plateau could be inevitable as lowering the number of carbohydrates is an essential factor for weight loss (39).
Try eating a lot more fibrous food and manage your macros to a certain level such that carbs do not exceed 65% of your overall food consumption (40).
14. Eating sugar
Sugars (or the processed sugars that we eat every day) are severely unhealthy for your body. They could lead to a lot of weight gain(41), and as they metabolize super quickly, these could be one of the reasons for your problem. Several studies have shown that sugar is a primary source of weight gain in a lot of patience(42,43,44).
As a solution, you can use sugar substitutes as they do not interfere in weight loss at all(45).
Conclusion
There could be several factors, and you have to test and try each of them to get back on the weight-loss train. If you do not see results even after applying each one of the solutions provided above, cheat for a few days by going back to your regular diet before cutting back gain.
I do understand that this is not easy for everyone, but you have to test and try. Remember It is normal to have such problems. Good luck with your weight loss efforts!
If you have any questions or queries regarding this article (understanding why you are not losing weight even after reading 1000 calories), you can surely use our contact us page or comment below. We are here to solve your problems!
