There are many factors that can explain this.
- You are in fact not eating healthily; you just think you are
- You are eating too much
- You may be secret eating and not be aware (or maybe in denial)
- You are still suffering from metabolic issues caused by your previous diet
I have talked with many people who are frustrated because they have changed their diet but are not seeing results.
It is a massive adjustment to lifestyle when you have been eating an often highly processed, high-sugar diet, so when progress is slow, it can make you question if you should bother at all. Exposure to media influence on diet also muddies the water by confusing the population with what is healthy and what isn’t.
Let’s address these issues further:
You are, in fact not eating healthily; you just think you are
Depending on how unhealthy your diet was when you started, your view of what is healthy may be skewed. A healthy diet is one that is very low in ultra-processed food and very low in added sugar, where plants are the focus of the plate, and proteins and starchy carbs (inc vegetables) are a smaller portion on your plate. It is adjustable to your culture, to your personal preferences, and to whether you are omnivorous, vegan or vegetarian. It is the diet that health professionals and medical organisations around the world recommend. It is generally described as the Mediterranean diet.
If you eat this way day in day out. This is a healthy diet. If you do this for 2 out of 3 meals, this is where you will have issues. If you add chocolate or other sweets (or generally have added sugars in many of your regular foods – check that jar sauce, mayo, etc), baked goods, etc each day, even just once, then this can be more counterproductive than you may imagine.
I know this may be quite confronting because it means quite a significant shift, but there are many ways that you can adapt the food you love to a Mediterranean diet. Also, many of the foods you love are already on the list. Pasta (just reduce the pasta component some), wine, and lots of yummy healthy oils like olive oil and avocado. Chicken, fish, nuts, authentically made cheeses, yoghurt.
Sweets needn’t be gone forever. They just belong in that category of not every day, just a sometimes food. It’s really the daily and weekly onslaught of sugar in our diet that causes many health issues and is the number one thing we should try to eliminate to be healthy and lose weight. Instead of that everyday sugar. Go to the farmers market once a month, get yourself an iced latte and a custard danish (or two), and truly enjoy it. As opposed to the addiction-fueled cheap lollies that are impacting your goals.
You are eating too much.
You can still overeat on a healthy diet. In the end, it is still calories in and calories out (CICO). This may happen especially with healthy fat laiden foods such as nuts, avocado and oil. Most people can generally go to town on a Mediterranean diet (within reason – don’t binge), but if you are aiming for weight loss, it is good to understand how many calories are in a handful of nuts, how much oil you are adding to your meal and what the calories equate to. Avocado is a super healthy option, but it is also a good idea to consider how much you have of this wonderful fruit (yep, it’s a fruit).
You may also be simply overeating and binging due to past habits. It may surprise you to know that we actually shouldn’t eat till full. 80% full is a good rule to follow. It may take time to learn the difference between 60 or 80 or 100%, and that’s ok, but aim for 80%. You can always go back for more, but if you hit 100%, you can’t go back. at 80% you are reducing your calories by 20% each day. That is a significant support to your weight loss. If you have binge eating issues, then your behaviours may be psychologically or habit based and you should look into the cause of this as it really can put a spanner in your weight loss journey.
One final note. Yes, fruit is generally healthy, but it is also super high in sugar, so just watch consumption of it as this will add calories.
Read more about how you should eat to be healthy
You may be secret eating
Consciously or subconsciously you may be eliminating from your psyche (and your calorie calculator) some of the foods you are eating. There are numerous reasons why this may be the case, but often it comes from a space of guilt from eating the food and the brain being a powerful organ, you simply eliminate it from having occurred, resulting in disbelief that you have not lost weight because (apart from the things you eat that cause weight gain, you are eating healthily.
Other examples are simply only counting main meals, or not counting soda or sweets. Deep down of course we know we are doing these things but it deniability results in outrage at how hard you try and when you don’t get results, you have created an excuse to give up. Here is where working on your motivations, and working towards honest conversations with yourself is where you need to get to. You are doing this for you, getting healthy for you, so you need to own up and show up. You are likely competing with conflicting motivations such as seeking comfort in food, or fear of change.
Metabolic issues
Your body is freaking out from eating unhealthy foods for a long time. A little is fine. A lot can cause chronic issues throughout your body that impact your ability to lose weight. It may take some time to recover, but the way we recover is regularly, consistently eating a healthy diet especially free of added sugars, artificial sugars and ultra-processed foods. This is the medicine our body needs so if you do not see changes to weight immediately, know that your body is repairing some systems. Focus on how your food is treating your condition. Sedentary lifestyles also add to metabolism issues and simply adding a short walk will help your system be more ready for change.
