10 Hidden Reasons Why You’re Not Losing Weight – Insights from a Dietitian

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10 Hidden Reasons Why You’re Not Losing Weight – Insights from a Dietitian

Struggling to see movement on the scales despite your best efforts? You’re not alone. Many people face roadblocks on their weight-loss journeys, even when they’re making lifestyle changes. The truth is that weight loss is rarely as simple as just eating less and moving more.

Y’all know that I am a Dietitian who focuses on building healthy systems and habits to help you live a life with vitality & joy, regardless of weight. But this is a question I get asked a lot!

This post explores ten common reasons progress might be stalling and provides thoughtful, practical tips to help you get back on track.

10 Hidden Reasons Why You're Not Losing Weight - Insights from a Dietitian

1. Eyeballing Your Portions

Are you confident in estimating your portion sizes? Many of us think we’re great at eyeballing our food, but research consistently shows that we often underestimate how much we eat.

Most of us have foods that we are good at estimating, but we also have foods that we do not have an eye for. Even if you are eating foods that are minimally processed & wonderfully healthy such as avocados, nuts or olive oil, they can add up quickly when we underestimate portions!

How to Fix Underestimating

Spend two weeks tracking and weighing your food to learn which items you might be misjudging.

For example, I’ve found that olive oil and shredded cheese are my personal trouble spots—I’ve learned to be mindful of how I measure them. This brief tracking exercise can give you insights that last a lifetime.

2. Grazing

A handful of nuts here, a few chips there—these sneaky snacks add up fast. Grazing often happens when we’re bored, emotional, or trying to avoid hunger.

One of my clients discovered that her daily habit of grabbing a small handful of nuts multiple times a day added up to 600–1000 extra calories!

photo of grazing plate

How to Reduce Grazing

If you are struggling with picking at food, consider giving mindful eating a try!

This can help you tune into your hunger or fullness cues, cravings, satisfaction levels or even why you are turning to food.

3. Compensatory Eating

I’ve said it before, and I will say it again, most of us do better when we fuel our bodies regularly throughout the day, as our hunger levels and cravings tend to get the best of us once we start eating more during the day.

Ever skipped meals to “save up” for a big buffet dinner? While this may mimic intermittent fasting, you still need to have a caloric deficit to see any fat loss results.

This pattern—eating very little during the day and overeating at night—can easily sabotage your efforts. Extreme hunger often leads to losing control of food, leaving you feeling frustrated and discouraged.

How to Prevent Compensatory Eating

Regularly space out balanced meals and snacks throughout the day, even if you’re trying intermittent fasting. You’ll likely notice that your cravings diminish, and your energy remains much steadier.

4. Stress

Stress doesn’t just affect your mind—it impacts your body too. The stress hormone cortisol can increase fat storage, particularly around your belly.

On top of this, stress can impact your habits too. Some people battle increased cravings or emotional eating when they are stressed, and others may not eat for days (but this is usually followed by compensatory eating).

How to Navigate Stress as a Barrier

Focus on managing stress both in the moment and in the long term. Quick exercises like deep breathing can help when you feel overwhelmed, while practices like journaling, yoga, or mindful self-care can reduce chronic stress over time.

5. Sleep

If you’re not sleeping well, it could be contributing to weight-loss struggles. Lack of sleep disrupts hormones that regulate hunger (ghrelin and leptin), increasing cravings for highly processed or sugary foods.

Poor sleep also increases your cortisol levels, which makes it more likely that you will store fat around your midsection.

It can also reduce your motivation to get groceries, prepare healthy meals or stay active.

What to Do About It:

Aim for 7–9 hours of high-quality sleep each night.

A consistent sleep schedule, reducing screen time before bed, and creating a calming bedtime routine can all help you rest better—and restore balance to your hunger hormones.

Contact your doctor if you have signs of a sleep disorder such as sleep apnea.

6. Liquid Calories

Many forget to account for calories in drinks like smoothies, sugary coffees, or alcohol. Unlike food, liquid calories don’t make you feel full, so it’s easy to consume more than you realize.

Liquid calories could also come in the form of sauces, condiments, and oils that you forget to track while cooking or prepping your food.

How to Incorporate Liquid Calories Into Your Plan

Liquid calories are not “bad,” but if you take in more than you realize, they may not help you reach your goals.

Try considering what form of liquid calories is the most satisfying for you, and leave the rest.

So, for example, a client and I were working on her nutrition travel plan while she was on a resort in Mexico, and she chose to keep her alcohol choices to 1-2 blended drinks while soaking up the sun by the pool because she believed an icy cold drink is WAY more satisfying while she is laying by the pool than in an air-conditioned restaurant. This way she won’t feel deprived by turning down other drinks that will likely come her way on the holiday!

7. Imbalanced Macronutrients

Protein is crucial for weight loss, yet many people don’t get enough. Without sufficient protein during a caloric deficit, your body may break down muscle to meet its needs, which can lead to slower metabolism and make long-term weight maintenance harder.

Note that not eating enough could mean you aren’t getting enough high-quality protein, the grams per day are too low for your body & goals, or you aren’t eating enough consistently.

Outside of struggling to reach body composition goals, low protein can increase your cravings, worsen your immune system, and increase your blood sugar swings.

How to Balance Your Macros

Aim for a consistent, high-quality protein intake at every meal (20-35 grams for most people). This will not only support fat loss and muscle retention but can also help stabilize blood sugar levels and reduce cravings.

Check out our other blogs with tips to increase protein:

8. Overestimating Your Activity

It’s common to overestimate how many calories we burn in a day, particularly if the rest of our time is spent sitting at a desk or commuting. Even if you’re hitting the gym regularly, most of us spend most of our days either sitting while working, travelling or relaxing so the non-planned activity during your day makes a big difference to overall progress.

Calories burned by activity via apps or wearables are notoriously inaccurate most of the time as well!

How to Increase Activity Outside of the Gym

Integrate more movement into your daily routine.

Small changes like taking the stairs, walking with friends, standing while working, or adding a short walk after meals can greatly increase your daily activity levels.

9. Hormonal Imbalance

Conditions such as hypothyroidism or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) can make weight loss more challenging. Hormonal imbalances can affect your metabolism, appetite, and fat storage, making progress seem slow or impossible without proper support.

How to Lose Weight With Hormonal Imbalances

Work with a healthcare professional or dietitian to address these issues. You can still achieve your health goals with customized strategies like balanced eating, stress management, and medical treatment (if needed).


Note: If you’re struggling with PCOS, I’d love to help! Book a free call to learn more about my coaching program for women with PCOS.

10. Shifting Body Composition

Weight on the scale isn’t the only measure of success. If you’re gaining muscle while losing fat (a process called body recomposition), the number on the scale might not budge, but your body’s shape and health are improving.

Celebrate Non-Scale Victories

Celebrate wins like gaining strength, feeling fitter, or seeing changes in how your clothes fit, even if the scale isn’t moving. Progress is progress—keep going!

If weight loss feels like an uphill battle, remember—your struggles are valid, and you don’t have to face them alone.

The key is to identify the specific barriers in your life and approach them with compassion and practical solutions. Long-term success is about building systems and habits that support your vitality and joy, not about perfection or restriction.

Still unsure what’s standing in your way? I’d love to help. Book a free discovery call today and take the first step toward achieving your goals with guidance and support.

About The Author

I am a Dietitian with a special interest in PCOS, sustainable weight loss, gut health, and healthy relationships with food. I help busy women reclaim their energy, wellness & confidence through creating nourishing lifelong habits.

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174 thoughts on “10 Hidden Reasons Why You’re Not Losing Weight – Insights from a Dietitian”

  75. アイム ノット ヒューマン

    This was such a *satisfying* read! Seriously, finally understanding why my scale is being such a grump is a huge weight off my shoulders (pun absolutely intended). The section on liquid calories had me crying laughing – I think I’ll stick to my actual water glass from now on, maybe have one satisfying icy cold drink *after* the gym, not *while* pretending to work by the pool! Love the non-scale victories reminder too – my brain feels stronger already! Keep shining, Dietitian!アイム ノット ヒューマン

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