Regular exercise has many positive benefits for the body and health, from giving you a boost of energy, improving sleep, fighting stress, improving mood, strengthening muscles and building bone density, reducing the risk of chronic diseases to helping you lose and manage your weight.

What's wrong with exercising, but not losing weight?

Reasons for Unchanged Weight Despite Exercising

Not enough time to exercise

To lose weight, you need to exercise for enough time, not less. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and CDC recommend moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week, or vigorous physical activity for at least 20 minutes three times a week for weight loss.

Eating too much

Everyone's calorie needs vary depending on age, gender and daily activity levels. To maintain your weight, you should not eat more than the guideline daily calorie limit.

For weight loss, it used to be recommended that you cut 500 calories from your daily calorie needs. Nowadays, the most important thing is to have a realistic and consistent calorie deficit. If you consume more than the recommended amount of calories, then you will find it difficult to lose weight despite regular exercise.

Not eating enough protein

Each person's protein needs are also influenced by age, body composition such as lean muscle mass, your health and daily activity level. The amount of protein that can be absorbed by the body is generally around 25-35 grams per day.

According to research, a high-protein diet can help in weight loss and reduce the risk of heart disease. You can feel fuller for longer due to protein's effect on the hormone ghrelin, which regulates appetite. It is recommended that you have 10-35 percent of your daily calorie needs from protein in the food you consume every day. 

Protein needs can be met from various sources, such as:

• Eggs
• Milk
• Fish and other seafood
• Legumes
• Poultry
• Nuts and seeds
• Tofu and tempeh

You may also want to fulfill your protein needs by consuming protein milk. When choosing protein milk, there are a few things to look out for:

• Choose those with more than 10-15 grams of protein
• Make sure the total carbohydrates are below 15 grams
• Choose protein milk with less than 200-250 calories
• Choose protein milk with less than 5 grams of added sugar

Still fond of sugary drinks

Excessive sugar intake especially from sugary drinks can lead to excessive calorie consumption. Sugary drinks also do not provide the appropriate satiety so you tend to get hungry faster. Because you don't feel full, you will eventually eat and increase your calorie intake which ultimately contributes to weight gain.

Read More: Exploring Naturally Sweet Fruits: A Guide to Fruits with High Sugar Content

Not getting enough sleep

Lack of sleep can disrupt the balance of hormones that regulate appetite and metabolism. This causes you to want to eat higher-calorie or unhealthy foods, such as fried foods, ice cream, or other fatty foods.

Adults are recommended to get 7-8 hours of sleep per night to help lose and manage a healthy weight.

Overeating carbohydrates

Although carbohydrates are used as energy, consuming too many of them can cause them to be stored as body fat reserves. Excessive consumption of simple carbohydrates can trigger rapid blood sugar spikes, leading to faster hunger pangs and the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Short-term low-carb diets have been shown to help with weight loss. Results can be seen within 6-12 months.

In addition to all of the above, you may be struggling to lose weight due to underlying health conditions such as hypothyroidism or PCOS. If you're already eating a healthy diet and exercising moderately and regularly but you're not losing weight, you should consult a doctor or nutritionist.

If you need medical advice or consultation, you can either visit a doctor or make use of the consultation features that are available in the Ai Care application by downloading the Ai Care application from the App Store or Play Store.

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