I don’t know about you, but I literally broke down in tears when I got down the weighing machine after 5 months and saw my weight loss results.

I had been working out 3 times a week religiously for the last 5 months. Well, I didn’t get on the scale thinking it will be a bigger surprise to see all the difference of 5 months of workout. But to my surprise, I hadn’t lost even 500gms of my weight. As soon as my frantic cries ended, I tried to logically think of the reasons for these dissatisfying weight loss results.

Thanks to the internet (sense sarcasm here!) I got even more confused. Some website suggested I go on a papaya diet while some other fitness expert suggested drinking my favorite cup of morning coffee with butter.

I had been eating salads, brown rice, green teas, fruits and boiled eggs since the last couple of months. I was missing my favorite Lasagna and here these websites were claiming people lose weight by just eating papaya.

My crying continued for a couple of more hours. (Yes, I am a cry baby. Mostly when I know I am messed up and don’t know what messed it up. I feel helpless.)

I was mentally getting prepared to “Give Up”.

It seemed like a task too hard to accomplish. I wanted to lose fat because I wasn’t very comfortable in my own body. But this failed attempt of losing weight made me hate my body even more. I was so very wrong. I got a new trainer who came in as a blessing. And the 30-minute discussion I had with him cleared my confused mind of 2 months.

I realized how big a mess and drama I made with my negative approach. Instead of crying or feeling low I should have asked an expert. (Gosh, I still regret the amount of Choco chip cookies I ate in those 2 months)

I learned why I and others like me don’t see the expected weight loss results from their workouts:

1. You don’t mark your portion size

Yes, you are reading that right. During my first 5 months, I certainly was eating clean but eating a lot. I used to eat multiple servings of fruits, a lot of brown rice and a good amount of chicken. I used to think that the body needs more calories when you work out so hard.

So basically, I was feeding on more calories than I was burning. It’s very important to know how many calories your body needs to function or your BMR.

You can decide on more or fewer calories as per your gain/loss plans. For example, my BMR was 1500 and I stuck to a 1000 calorie diet. So my body started getting the additional 500 calories from the stored fat. As days passed by more and more calories/fat that was stored in my body was burning up because of the deprivation.

And another personal suggestion from my own experience is, don’t overeat. We, humans, tend to over-estimate our food requirements. Think sensibly if your body actually needs a certain amount of food or not. I used to eat 4 slices of bread by habit but I actually need 2 slices of bread (140 Calories) along with veggies or a steak.

2. You are not doing it with the right intensity

Irrespective of your age, gender or the time you are doing your workout, your intensity could be a downfall. You might ask,”How do I know if I am doing it right?” The answer is simple; you need to be in a mild pain. Working out is called burning off for a reason, and this is it.

A good workout will pump up more blood and your breathing will fasten up. It’s only when your body works hard it overheats and results in the changes you desire for.



Going ahead you will reach a point where it won’t hurt you to do squats. My friend, it is time to change your game then. You should add weights and bring in more variations for the right weight loss results.

3. You don’t change your workout

After a point of time, your body gets used to your routine of the workout. You might assume you are doing good because it doesn’t hurt anymore. But that’s where you went wrong, your body has adapted to it. Our bodies react best to changes and variations.

Your body might stay balanced, but you won’t see any changes. I see a middle-aged lady at my gym who has been doing the same exercises in the same number of repetitions since the last 11 months.

Kudos to her for her sincerity but my body and mind both don’t cope well with routine. The body needs a new workout plan every 4 weeks so as to be active. The unpredictable workouts actually shock your body forcing them to cope up faster.

This coping up process of the body is what makes your body work harder. And then you see surprising weight loss results in shorter time spans.

Coming back to me, I lost 15kgs (33lbs) in a span of 2.5 months. I don’t cry anymore and instead focus on helping others who are on the verge of crying. It was certainly a tough journey.

But it got surprisingly easier when I knew where I was going wrong. Working out and diet is a lifestyle change now and not a temporary fling anymore.

It’s important to stick to a sustainable plan for your workout and diet if you are in it for the long run. Getting good weight loss results is a slow process but certainly, a good one to take.

Author Bio: Swaraj works as a Content Marketing Manager at pagepotato.com after completing his degree in Journalism, Psychology, and English from Bangalore University. Swaraj started his career as a Radio Jockey with Red FM and has been dabbling with various aspects of content marketing/digital marketing since the past few years. He is also known to be an avid reader and foodie during his spare time.

Like what you are reading? Subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss new life-advancing articles!

Copyright © 2014-2024 Life Advancer. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint, contact us.

Leave a Reply