weight loss · Apr 28, 2025

Why You’re Not Losing Weight Even Though You Exercise and Diet

group of young friends exercising to lose weight

You’re diligently going to the gym and sticking to your meal plan, but the scale won’t budge. It seems like no matter how much you diet and exercise, you still can’t lose weight. When your weight plateaus like this, you may wonder what you’re doing wrong, especially when you feel you’re doing “everything right.”

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. The process of weight loss is complex, and just because you’re not seeing results from diet and exercise doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. People struggle with weight loss despite their best efforts for many reasons, including hormonal imbalances, metabolic adaptation, under-eating, stress, poor sleep, and micronutrient deficiencies. While some aspects are out of your control — like genetics and age — understanding physiological roadblocks allows you to shift your approach and see results that match your hard work.

1. You’re Losing Fat but Gaining Muscle

When you’re exercising regularly, especially with resistance or strength training programs, your body might be transforming in ways the scale can’t capture. Muscle is denser than fat, so as you lose fat and gain muscle through exercise, your weight may stay steady even as your body composition improves — this is a process known as body recomposition [1].

Some indicators that you're losing fat (but necessarily not losing weight) are that your clothes fit better, you look leaner or more toned, your waistline shrinks, or you feel stronger. These are all signs of progress, even if they’re not exactly what you envisioned when you set out on your weight loss journey.

Tip: To track body recomposition, don’t rely on the scale. Instead, take progress photos; measure your waist, hips, and thighs. or note how your clothes fit. These types of metrics reveal changes that the number on the scale can’t show.

2. You’re Not Eating Enough Protein

Eating adequate amounts of protein is an essential part of weight loss [2]. During calorie deficits (when you eat fewer calories than you burn), eating protein ensures your metabolism stays active, since muscle burns more calories than fat.

Protein also has a higher thermic effect of food compared to carbohydrates or fat, meaning your body uses more energy to digest high-protein meals than high-carb or high-fat meals [2, 3]. High-protein diets also increase satiety (feeling full), so you’ll likely snack less, eat smaller portions, and reduce your overall calorie consumption.

Tip: Aim for a minimum of 0.8–1 gram of protein per pound of body weight daily (120–150 grams per day for a 150-pound person), with a goal of 1.2–1.6 grams per pound of body weight per day if you are regularly exercising or doing resistance training.

3. You’re Not Doing Resistance Training

All exercise is good for metabolic health, but the types of exercise you do plays a role in weight loss and body recomposition. While aerobic exercises and cardio can help you burn calories, integrating resistance training into your workout routine is essential for building muscle [4]. If you only do cardio or HIIT workouts while maintaining a calorie deficit, you risk losing muscle alongside fat.

This can backfire in the long run and sabotage your ability to lose weight. Losing muscle slows your resting metabolic rate, making weight loss harder over time [4, 5]. Conversely, lifting weights or doing bodyweight exercises builds lean mass, increasing your metabolism even when you’re resting (i.e., you also burn more fat throughout the day after you’re done exercising).

Tip: Aim for 3-4 resistance training sessions per week, targeting major muscle groups with exercises like squats, push-ups, or deadlifts.

4. Your Metabolism Has Slowed

During your weight loss journey, you may have seen great results at the beginning but minimal or nonexistent results after a few months — even while maintaining the same routine. This isn’t a sign that you’re doing something wrong. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

Your body is a master at survival. Human metabolism has adapted to survive during periods with little food through a process called adaptive thermogenesis [6]. When you cut calories for too long during weight loss, your body thinks it is starving and needs to adapt by lowering your resting metabolic rate to conserve energy. This can cause a “weight loss plateau,” stalling progress, slowing recovery times, leaving you tired and sluggish, and making it difficult for you to lose weight even though you exercise and diet. Your body will enter adaptive thermogenesis whether or not you try to do calorie cycling, the metabolic confusion diet, or other methods to “keep it on its toes.”

Tip: To counter a slowed metabolism, avoid extreme calorie cuts. A modest calorie deficit (of about 500 calories daily) paired with strength training can help maintain your metabolic rate.

5. You’re Not Focusing on Whole, Unprocessed Foods

Processed foods — like sugary snacks or white bread — can be a huge hindrance to losing weight, even if you exercise and diet regularly [7]. They can spike blood sugar, trigger cravings, and leave you hungry soon after eating.

On the other hand, whole and unprocessed foods are loaded with phytonutrients and fiber that can help stabilize blood sugar, enhance satiety, and support gut health, all of which are critical for weight loss. In fact, research shows that foods that are rich in fiber (like veggies and whole grains) can be a powerhouse for weight loss, even when other aspects of your diet may be lacking [8].

Tip: Focus on eating foods from our dietitian-approved grocery list, like lean proteins (chicken, fish, chickpeas), colorful veggies (broccoli, beets, carrot), healthy fats (avocado, olive oils, nuts) and complex carbs (quinoa, sweet potatoes).

6. You Have Bad Sleep Hygiene

Sleep is a lesser-known factor in weight loss. Poor sleep disrupts hormones that regulate your appetite, such as ghrelin (which signals hunger) and leptin (which signals satiety or fullness) [9]. Sleep deprivation also increases cravings, especially for simple carbs and sugary foods that can spike blood sugar and hinder weight loss despite diet and exerise.

Tip: Aim for 7–9 hours of quality sleep every night and try to have good sleep hygiene. Stick to a consistent bedtime, limit screen time before bed, and create a calming routine. Good quality sleep helps regulate your appetite and your metabolism.

7. You’re Chronically Stressed

Stress is something we all experience, but chronic high stress can be disastrous to metabolic health. Chronic stress raises levels of cortisol (the “stress hormone”), which promotes fat storage, especially around your abdomen [10]. Stress and high cortisol can also trigger emotional eating, disrupt sleep patterns, and make workouts harder, creating a vicious cycle that keeps you in a state of high stress.

Tip: You can combat stress with small, intentional habits: a 10-minute walk, deep breathing, meditation, and journaling are all research-backed ways to regulate your nervous system and lower cortisol [11].

8. You’re Eating Too Many Carbohydrates

Carbs are not the enemy, but eating too many carbohydrates — especially refined, simple ones like sweets and soda — can stall fat loss and lead to fat storage [7]. Excess carbs and high-carb meals spike your blood sugar levels beyond a healthy range, which can lead to a “glucose crash” that leaves you feeling dizzy, cranky, tired, and craving more sugar to bring your glucose levels back to normal. Frequently eating simple carbs or high-carb meals can also increase your insulin levels, which shifts your metabolism from fat burning to fat storing regarldess of your diet and exercise habits.

Tip: In addition to eating more complex carbs (like oats and sweet potatoes) and avoiding simple carbs, you can try timing your carb intake around workouts for increased energy to fuel you and to aid in recovery.

9. You Have a Medical Condition

If you still have issues with weight loss after you’ve optimized the factors mentioned, the issue could lie beyond your lifestyle — various medical conditions and medications can also impact weight and metabolism.

Conditions like hypothyroidism, PCOS, insulin resistance, and other hormonal imbalances can slow your metabolism or promote weight gain. Even medications like antidepressants, antipsychotics, and antihypertensives can contribute to these issues [12].

Tip: If you’ve addressed diet, exercise, sleep, and stress but still don’t see progress, consult a healthcare provider. Blood tests or medical evaluations can uncover underlying issues and guide you toward a medically targeted solution.

Support Your Weight Loss Journey With Motus

Supplements like Motus can give your weight loss efforts a science-backed boost, as it is designed to target fat loss while preserving muscle mass. Developed alongside Duke Health, Motus contains Ingredients like Berbevis® (berberine), alpha lipoic acid, taurine, and nicotinamide to enhance fat-burning, regulate blood sugar, help control appetite, energy production, and increase natural GLP-1 production.

Motus isn’t a quick-fix solution to weight loss — it works best when paired with whole foods, exercise, and a healthy lifestyle.

Takeaways

If you're not losing weight despite dieting and exercising, look for various ways you can alter your approach or your mindset:

Gaining muscle can mask fat loss, so track your progress with photos or body measurements instead of the scale.
Increase your protein intake to fuel your metabolism and preserve muscle.
Add resistance training to keep your metabolic rate high.
Prioritize whole foods and time carb intake to stabilize your blood sugar levels.
Sleep 7–9 hours a night and manage stress to balance hormones.
Check for underlying medical conditions that may hinder.
Supplements like Motus can enhance your efforts, supporting fat loss while maintaining muscle.

References:

Written by Sarah Jayawardene, MS

Sarah Jayawardene, MS is a nutrition science writer with a passion for health communication and expertise in metabolism and metabolic diseases. Sarah obtained her Master’s degree in Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition at Tufts University and has written for health companies like Tonum, Veri, and WellTheory.