Here’s some simple math for you:  one pound of fat equals 3,500 calories.  To lose one pound a week, you would need to cut 500 calories through diet and exercise for seven days.  However, if you cut 500 calories for five days, then eat way over your limit for two more days, you're taking two steps forward and one step back.

Don’t use the weekends as a way to reward your weight loss efforts during the week.  If you lean on food as a reward, you can actually reinforce negative eating behaviours such as eating to avoid boredom or to relieve stress or anxiety.  Instead of food, reward yourself with a calorie-free treat — maybe a trip to the movies, a massage or a new pair of shoes.

You've Hit A Plateau

Our bodies are efficient machines.  As we perform the same movements over and over again, our muscles become more efficient at burning the calories needed to perform those movements.  So if you’re doing the same workouts over and over, change it up.

Your body can also decrease the amount of calories you burn if you actually don’t consume enough calories or if you overtrain.

You're Looking At The Wrong Numbers

Let’s say that, for argument’s sake, you are exercising and cutting calories consistently, yet you’re still not seeing results.  Instead of focusing on weight lost, check your body fat percentage.  Chances are that if you are resistance training, you are still losing body fat, but you are also building more muscle.  Since muscle weighs more than fat, the increase in muscle weight offsets the decrease in body fat weight.  Therefore, the numbers on the scale won’t move even though you are still technically getting results.

Try using your clothes as a way to measure success.  Are they fitting better?  That’s the best way to measure results.

You're Too Stressed Out

Cortisol is a hormone that is secreted when your body is under constant stress.  This increase in cortisol can cause an increase in appetite as well as extra fat storage around the abdominal region, a big no-no since abdominal fat is linked to diabetes, high cholesterol and other health problems.

Dealing with stress can be as simple as taking a few minutes a day to relax, scheduling a massage as often as you can or cutting down on work hours and increasing play time.

You're Not Getting Enough Sleep

Like stress, sleep deprivation may also affect the secretion of cortisol.  Moreover, losing sleep may even increase fat storage.  So make sleep a priority by trying to get to bed at the same time each night, shooting for about seven to eight hours, if you can manage it.

You Haven't Given Yourself Enough Time To See Results

Give your body time to respond to what you're doing.  It may be weeks or months before you see significant changes, so don't freak out if you're not seeing results after only a few weeks.

Being patient and taking it one day at a time will allow you to enjoy the journey instead of focusing on the destination.

You Have A Medical Condition

Some medical conditions and medications can contribute to weight gain.  While not everyone will find this to be true, it's important to explore every avenue if you're genuinely following an exercise program and a clean diet and still not losing weight.

One condition known to affect weight is thyroid disease.  A thyroid deficiency can cause a decrease in metabolism and may lead to weight gain.

You Don't Need To Lose Weight

If you took away all the reasons you want to lose weight that have anything to do with how you look, what other reasons would you have for losing weight?  If you are at risk for medical conditions such as diabetes or heart disease, or are not within your ideal BMI range, then losing weight may be important for staying healthy.

But if you're very close to your goal and can't seem to get rid of those last few pounds, ask yourself if you really need to lose them.  Would it be possible to be happy at your current weight?

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get real about your goals

Thanks in part to the marketing companies that promise you can lose weight fast and easily without lifting a finger and to our tendency as humans to seek instant gratification, many of us don’t understand that it is only through proper training, along with a good dose of patience and persistence that we will see results.

What you need to do is start thinking about creating a healthy lifestyle rather than seeing exercising and dieting as a temporary condition in your life.  Find a program you enjoy and that fits with your lifestyle, goals and needs.  That means being realistic about what you'll accomplish each week rather than going by what you think you should be doing.  If you’re not seeing results, but need to lose weight for health reasons, see your doctor.