Not all weight loss that is successful and healthy results from the straightforward calories in, calories out approach. It’s not just dependent on food and exercise either. Everything matters—all the different cues our body gets from our surroundings impact how our genes manifest and proliferate. How we tackle the topics, as well. Our disposition, our ways, our mood. Our determination and deliberate choices. It involves forming virtuous habits and kicking bad ones. Ultimately, it’s all about maintaining our genetic equilibrium by creating conditions that are similar to those that existed during evolution.
1. You may not be eating as healthily as you believe.
Do you consume a lot of “products” in your diet? Whether low-carb or not, what you want is genuine food. Diet Coke flagons, noodle-shaped platters of pure fibre, and 1g nett carb “bread” loaves do not constitute a Primal diet. Does it seem familiar to you that you’re merely providing empty calories to an addiction? You shouldn’t be eating this garbage, therefore ignore the labels and dig within for what you know to be true. There is much more to it than just low carb.
2. There’s too much tension on you.
The subconscious stress response system only reacts to external stimuli. I hesitate to even distinguish between different types of stress—emotional, physical, financial, and interpersonal stress—because the body does not distinguish between them. All of these trigger the release of cortisol, the fight-or-flight hormone that worsens insulin resistance, catabolizes muscle, and encourages fat accumulation. Stress was a matter of life or death for 200,000 years. The cortisol release was arresting and severe enough to increase survival chances, and it was both intense and rare. Our bodies still react the same way to a pile of papers these days. Congestion is similar to rival war bands. A boss that constantly bothers you is like a raging mastodon, only every day. Examine your stress levels and take a step back from your life; you can be hindered by them.
3. You must limit your intake of carbohydrates.
As always, carbohydrates are essential, particularly if you’re trying to lose weight. Take care to stay away from all processed foods and veer closer to the bottom of the curve (hidden sugars). Another option is to try avoiding fruit.
4. You’re adding muscle.
I usually advise individuals not to obsess over the scales. Don’t get me wrong, those are helpful, but they never provide a complete picture, such as whether or not you’re increasing lean mass. In addition to encouraging fat loss, the PB also increases muscle mass and bone density. It’s probably more muscle and stronger bone from resistance training if you’re feeling good but the scale isn’t showing any improvements. That would be unknown based only on the bathroom scale. If you are in dire need of objective documentation of your progress, measure your waist or take a body fat percentage test (though these may not even provide the complete picture).
5. You don’t do enough going out.
Are you spending three to five hours a week moving frequently and slowly? Recall that the foundation of your exercise plan should be the near-daily low-level movement, which falls between 55-75% of your maximum heart rate. Because every action counts, it’s simple to perform and doesn’t deplete your glycogen stores, making it a pure fat burner rather than a sugar burner. Increase it to five or more hours per week if you’re on the low end of the spectrum.
6. You’re lapsing into Chronic Cardio.
Naturally, if you push the low-level movement too far, you risk falling into Chronic Cardio. You burn glycogen when you maintain a heart rate above 75% of your maximum heart rate for prolonged periods of time. To make up for the sugar that has been depleted, your body then desires even more, so you consume a lot of simple, quick-acting carbohydrates. If you want to follow this path—which I did for a few decades—you’ll gain weight, lose muscle, increase cortisol levels, and jeopardise any advancements you may have achieved.
7. You haven’t given IF a try yet.
Although results may vary, intermittent fasting can be an effective strategy to overcome a weight reduction plateau if you feel like you’ve tried everything else. Make sure you’ve completely switched to a Primal diet, and begin modestly. Forego breakfast in favour of a late lunch. The following time, omit breakfast and lunch if that feels alright. Simply go slowly and be mindful of your appetite. Try working out while fasting at some point to optimise the metabolic benefit. If all goes according to plan, your hunger will shift rather than completely vanish. An effective IF calms hunger and lessens its clamour and demands.
8. You consume too much food.
Low-carb nutrition isn’t magical. It controls insulin and kerbs frenzied hunger, but calories are still important, particularly as you get closer to your goal weight. The things that worked so well to get you to this point frequently don’t work to shed those last few pounds. It’s possible that consuming large amounts of cheese and nut butter without thinking about their calorie content has brought you this far, but if it’s not working, you need to make changes. Isn’t that the true test, then? Eating in accordance with the PB has a metabolic benefit, but if weight loss isn’t occuring, there may be a problem that requires calorie cutting.
9. You haven’t formed healthy habits or gotten rid of unhealthy ones.
Tell yourself the truth, no holds barred. Do you have any negative habits? If yes, name them. Make loose, tentative plans to break free from their hold and let others close to you know. Make it known to the world so you can’t retract without looking foolish. It’s also necessary to cultivate quality ones. You can successfully break a negative habit by following the same general criteria (identifying, preparation, and publication).
10. Your pantry hasn’t been emptied and primalized.
Out of sight, out of mind, and out of tongue reach. If possible, keep the unhealthy junk food out of your home and pantry. Sort through the list, crossing off anything that doesn’t belong. Regarding the remainder of your kitchen, visit Thrive Market for Primal-approved substitutes and get inspiration from other Primal people’s grocery lists and refrigerator designs.
11. You are now in a state of healthy homoeostasis.
It’s possible that your body has achieved its genetically determined “ideal” weight. Although getting to this point is usually painless and simple, it could not match your ideal level of leanness. At increasing body fat percentages, women in particular typically reach a state of healthy homoeostasis. Overcoming obstacles can be challenging enough, but overcoming physical limitations imposed by the body can be almost unachievable. It will most likely require significant adjustments to your intake of carbohydrates, calories, activity, sleep, and stress. If all other factors are present and functioning normally, you can have a case of healthy homoeostasis. The question then arises: are you willing to tamper with something positive?
12. You lack self-control.
Strength is similar to willpower. It will atrophy if it is not used. Little triumphs at first will also serve as fire for your will. If you are unable to motivate yourself to work out, take a stroll. Be aware that your lack of willpower may actually be a sign of what your body needs. It’s possible that your body needs time to heal if you find it difficult to motivate yourself to work out. In such circumstances, overtraining poses a greater risk than insufficient motivation.
13. Your excuses are endless.
You’re probably also full of excuses if you find yourself lying to yourself about what you’re eating and doing, or worse, if you find yourself having little, self-contained internal arguments throughout the day, in which case you lose. Read this once, or perhaps twice, and then this.
14. It’s not true that you’ve gone Primal!
Every month, we welcome a sizable influx of new readers, not all of whom are immediately drawn to the Primal ideas. And still, they return. They perused the comments and the archives. Something keeps them at a distance while yet drawing them in. Because of what? What is preventing them? What are you waiting for if that’s you? Make the move. Take a 30-day Primal course and discover how it suits you. The reason why so many ardent community members are here is because it works, I can guarantee you.
15. You’re not sleeping long enough.
Cortisol, our longtime companion that stores fat, is released when someone has chronic sleep deprivation. Deep sleep is when the levels of the anabolic, fat-burning growth hormone surge the most. Additionally, a recent study on sleep found a connection between weight growth and interrupted sleep habits. Sleep for seven or eight hours every night.
16. It hasn’t had enough time from you.
Undoubtedly, the Primal Blueprint is a fat loss trick, but it’s not necessarily a quick fix. Reducing carbohydrates, grains, sugar, and vegetable oils can produce immediate results for some people, but it may take a month for the weight to start falling off for others. In any case, this is a way of life. You have the long term in mind. If you approach it with the correct attitude, you won’t give up.
17. There’s too much dairy in your diet.
Some individuals just don’t handle dairy well. We frequently see posts in the forums stating that dairy simply causes a significant amount of people to stall out when trying to lose weight. There are a few conjectural explanations for this. One is that people with a strong paleo background might not be able to adjust to the more permissive Primal attitude towards dairy. Any meal that has been restricted for a while can have unforeseen effects on body composition when it is reintroduced. Second, dairy is insulinogenic, which is why athletes frequently use it as a post-workout fuel source. Does a PBer who is not doing strength training require many glasses of milk each day? Most likely (certainly) not.
