What could be the reason why someone doesn't lose fat despite working out a lot?

[Anonymous]

There is a 27 yr old woman on Instagram who makes videos and posts pictures of her working out with weights and her health food dinners which are small but she is still chubby. She's been doing this 2 yrs now but has stayed the same.

[Anonymous]

Well, she may not be posting everything she’s consuming. She could drink a lot of alcohol or just hit the ice cream every night and just not tell you.

Also, in the past I’ve had really healthy diets and not lost weight because it was just not balanced. For example I can eat the heck out of a mountain of quinoa mushroom pilaf —it’s healthy but not filling on its own without protein (for me), and thus I ate too many calories. Hummus and nuts—healthy! But too much is quite calorie dense.

[Anonymous]

Working out tones muscles. It does not burn fat. Exercise alone will not help you lose weight unless you are exercising for hours and hours a day burning hundreds and hundreds of calories.

Healthy dinners are not necessarily low in calories. A lot of "health food" is high in fat and calories. Nuts, smoothies, wraps, avocados, etc. are all "good for you" but they will not help you lose weight.

[Anonymous]

I had to eat less. I thought I was justified in eating more because I worked out a lot. I wasn't burning as much as I thought.

[Anonymous]

She could have PCOS or some other hormonal issue that makes it hard for her to lose weight. Why do you care?

[Anonymous]

You don't know how much she is actually working out or how much she is actually eating. Instagram isn't reality. Shocking, I know. Not that this is any of your business.

[Anonymous]

I don't know. I really think once you get significantly overweight, it is really hard to lose fat. As in, you need a super large deficit for a loong time plus heavy weight training to not lose lean muscle. 99% of people just don't have the time and discipline for the gym time and diet this requires.

I say this as someone who has been a regular at the gym several days a week for years. I see the same people there year after year, and yep, they are all still overweight and look the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Working out tones muscles. It does not burn fat. Exercise alone will not help you lose weight unless you are exercising for hours and hours a day burning hundreds and hundreds of calories.

Healthy dinners are not necessarily low in calories. A lot of "health food" is high in fat and calories. Nuts, smoothies, wraps, avocados, etc. are all "good for you" but they will not help you lose weight.

Such foods can help you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, because they fill you up so you don't eat junk.

Also, regarding smoothies - make your own -- the commercial ones are full of sugar -- e.g., "vanilla' yogurt.

You can make your own with fresh fruit and plain yogurt

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know. I really think once you get significantly overweight, it is really hard to lose fat. As in, you need a super large deficit for a loong time plus heavy weight training to not lose lean muscle. 99% of people just don't have the time and discipline for the gym time and diet this requires.

I say this as someone who has been a regular at the gym several days a week for years. I see the same people there year after year, and yep, they are all still overweight and look the same.

Imagine what they'd look like if they didn't work out!

With all the weight lifting, they are stronger, less likely to fall and break a bone and have more muscle mass that burns calories faster than fat. Please don't discourage regular weight training. There is more to good health than being svelte.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know. I really think once you get significantly overweight, it is really hard to lose fat. As in, you need a super large deficit for a loong time plus heavy weight training to not lose lean muscle. 99% of people just don't have the time and discipline for the gym time and diet this requires.

I say this as someone who has been a regular at the gym several days a week for years. I see the same people there year after year, and yep, they are all still overweight and look the same.

Imagine what they'd look like if they didn't work out!

With all the weight lifting, they are stronger, less likely to fall and break a bone and have more muscle mass that burns calories faster than fat. Please don't discourage regular weight training. There is more to good health than being svelte.

Belly fat is still one of the best health predictors that you can find. I thought we were done pretending there was such a thing as fit fat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know. I really think once you get significantly overweight, it is really hard to lose fat. As in, you need a super large deficit for a loong time plus heavy weight training to not lose lean muscle. 99% of people just don't have the time and discipline for the gym time and diet this requires.

I say this as someone who has been a regular at the gym several days a week for years. I see the same people there year after year, and yep, they are all still overweight and look the same.

Imagine what they'd look like if they didn't work out!

With all the weight lifting, they are stronger, less likely to fall and break a bone and have more muscle mass that burns calories faster than fat. Please don't discourage regular weight training. There is more to good health than being svelte.

Honestly, they would probably look the same because they would eat less. Awesome they are at the gym and maybe their bones are able to retain density for longer and maybe their heart is healthier…my point was they are still overweight or obese despite regular gym attendance. Losing a large amount of weight is really hard and often just doesn’t happen without Herculean effort and watching diet like a hawk, that was my point

[Anonymous]

She eats too much.

[Anonymous]

What everyone else said; she is eating too much. Fat is lost in the kitchen and you can not out train a bad diet.

If she is just a little chubby and not significantly overweight then maybe she is fine with that and not trying to be super cut. Being cut/having a low enough bodyfat percentage to see muscle requires pretty strict diet and not everyone is willing to give up all that it requires.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She eats too much.

This is really what it all boils down to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What everyone else said; she is eating too much. Fat is lost in the kitchen and you can not out train a bad diet.

If she is just a little chubby and not significantly overweight then maybe she is fine with that and not trying to be super cut. Being cut/having a low enough bodyfat percentage to see muscle requires pretty strict diet and not everyone is willing to give up all that it requires.

Not really. It does require some form of disciplined eating but not starving. Just need to eat a balanced diet in a calorie deficit.

Second is most people tend to do too much cardio which burns muscle along with fat. Which may cause weight loss, but it doesn't change the shape of your body. The only way to look cut is through lifting heavy in combination with the right nutrition so you retain muscle mass while burning fat. Thats what gives people the athletic look.