I eat healthy food and I am active but I still am not losing weight. Why?

Ask the Dietitian

Submitted by Andrea Shackel – LBD PCN Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator

I eat healthy food and I am active but I still am not losing weight. Why?

We often hear people say “eat less, move more” in order to lose weight but this does not take into account many other issues that are just as important in reaching or maintaining a healthy weight. Consider these other factors:

Healthy Eating – Healthy eating is a complex term and does it not always equal weight loss. Healthy eating refers to what we eat and weight loss refers to eating foods that are providing a calorie decrease from our everyday diet.  Not all “healthy foods” are weight friendly.  For example: 1 tbsp oil a day is considered“healthy oil” however could add up to over 12 pounds a year!

If weight loss is the goal, it’s important to use a lifestyle journal.  Lifestyle journaling is the cornerstone for determining what’s going on as well as help problem solve. It is the #1 tool for long term behaviour change and weight management.  You can journal everything from food, calories, exercise, sleep, mood, stress on a variety of online, phone apps and handwritten journals. 

Activity – Activity has many great health benefits such as lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels and reducing the risk of chronic diseases and it can play a role in weight maintenance; however it does not play a large role in weight loss.  The majority of the population does not meet the requirements for physical activity of 150 minutes per week – the amount needed to achieve health benefits.  In order to make an impact on weight, a person would need to be doing 250 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous activity per week.  The majority of the population does not “work off” what they eat. One can of pop has 140 calories which equates to 1 hour of walking to burn off. Is it really worth it?

Medical –Certain health conditions such as sleep apnea, high blood pressure and diabetes can make it difficult to lose or maintain weight. Many medications can also impact your weigh loss efforts.  It is important to follow up with your family physician or health care team should you have any of these concerns with managing your health conditions.

Psychological - Mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety, ADHD/ADD or stress can make it more challenging to loose weight and make it more difficult to maintain lifelong changes.  Often, people tend to go for “comfort food” to help deal with the issues above.

Environment –Access to fast food, eating on the run (or while driving), working at a desk or sitting all day, access to 24 hour screen time and messages from the media all play a factor into our personal weight loss or maintenance goals.

It’s overwhelming to take all aspects into our lives into account when working on weight loss or maintenance goals. Identifying the issues that may be impacting efforts and working on them is very important. 

Check out our new PCN class called “Getting Started: Your Best Weight”. This class will address all of these factors, how they impact weight and what to do about it.

Our website offers resources and support for your use. Our PCN also offers classes on dealing with emotional eating and a series of other weight, nutrition, activity and stress management classes. Visit our website to see the calendar of classes; all are open to the public!

To access any of the healthcare team members, please talk to your PCN family doctor or call 780-986-6624.

Have a question for our healthcare team? Please send it to info@lbdpcn.com

For more information on the PCN’s programs and services, please visit www.lbdpcn.com

Ask the Healthcare Team offers trusted, evidence-based healthcare information to our patients and the public. This information is provided to you by the multidisciplinary team at the Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network. This monthly column will answer common questions our team members hear from patients. 

This article was printed in the Leduc Representative and Beaumont News on September 18, 2015.

Running away from your fork

This video by Yoni Freedhoff, MD from the Weight Matters website is seriously one of the best and to the point videos I have seen about the myths of exercise and weight loss. It stresses the health benefits of exercise and how it helps to promote healthy eating habits, pointing out that being more active can assist with weight management, when paired with healthy food choices.   Exercise alone will not provide that significant weight loss that some are striving for, unless of course you have enough hours in your day to devote to high intensity exercise sessions. 

Due to the ever increasing quick pace of life with high demands from work and family, most people find it extremely difficult to commit 30 minutes a day to activity. Unfortunately, some people who want to change their lifestyle to promote weight loss are putting too much emphasis on weight loss coming from increased activity levels. Instead they should be looking at the evidence-based research that has proven results of weight loss occurring with healthy eating choices and habits, which include journaling food intake. (click here to download a copy of our food journal)

Overall, a healthy lifestyle includes being more active, eating healthy, getting enough sleep and balancing life with work and family.  Eat healthy, journal your food to track calorie intake and keep a close eye on those hidden “liquid calories”.  Stop putting so much focus on the number on the scale, get and stay active for your health, your strength and your overall well-being. Chances are you won’t be disappointed. Check out the video, below. 

Corinne Cutler is an Exercise Specialist with the Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network. 

Modern Day Dieting Myth #5: Forks Can Be Outrun

"Approximately 80% of your modifiable weight is likely determined by your dietary choices leaving only 20% for your fitness choices. While exercise has truly fantastic health benefits and markedly mitigates the risks of weight, you're far more likely to lose weight in your kitchen than you are in your gym, and if you're exercising solely for the purpose of weight management, you run the risk of quitting perhaps the single healthiest behaviour you could adopt if and when the scales don't fly down. Unless you plan on spending a heroic part of each and every day running, you're not going to outrun your fork."

~ Yoni Freedhoff MD

Weighty Matters 

March newsletter

Our March 2014 Patient Newsletter is now available on our website. Included in this edition is information on:

• Prescription to Get Active regional launch and see pictures from the event;
• Expanded nutritional counselling services at our PCN;
• Heart Healthy classes open up the to public - how to register;
• Leduc Lifestyle Medical Clinic (formerly Leduc Obesity Clinic);
• Leduc Mental Health;
• Get Out, Get Active activity challenge - how to get involved.

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March 2014 Patient Newsletter