are you grinding in the gym, on top of your meal prep, feeling like you’re doing everything right but still not seeing the results you want? whether your goals are fat loss or building muscle, this is super frustrating especially after spending so much time trying to be on point with your plan. the thing is, there are outside factors that can play into how fast you’ll see changes.
it may seem like your plan is perfect for you and your goals, but you need to consider these 6 things that might be holding you back:
- you’re not eating enough overall. this one is super common! especially with building muscle, a lot of people don’t realize how much food their bodies actually need to build muscle. you need to be eating in a slight calorie surplus, ensuring protein is in a good spot to see changes. in a deficit, you can totally run into issues with not eating enough as well. this happens because if you drastically cut your calories all at once, it adds a ton of stress to your body. when your body is this stressed, it prioritizes other essential bodily functions that don’t include metabolism or fat loss.
- you’re not sleeping enough. sleep is so key for our bodies to recover from exercise. you can’t progress if you’re not recovering! aim for 7-9 hours / night of quality sleep. click here to learn about how to get the best sleep possible!
- you’re overdoing it in the gym. your body realistically can only recover from a certain amount of output. if you’re training 6+ days per week, especially if many of those are hiit training, there’s a very good chance your body’s struggling to recover. aim for 4-5 sessions per week with no more than 2 of those being hiit. less is more!
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your gut health needs help. did you know gut health plays a huge role in weight loss and muscle gain? this is because your gut controls the digestion and absorption of your food. if you’re not absorbing macro and micro nutrients, your body isn’t able to put them to use, negating your calorie surplus for a muscle building goal. poor gut health also causes significant inflammation, which will inhibit fat loss.
- beam’s gut health probiotic + is your best friend here to ensure your gut stays super healthy! it includes 8 hand-picked probiotic strains with ginger root, licorice root, and digestive enzymes for added support. indigestion, bloating, and constipation will all be behind you! make sure to pair this with a prebiotic like beam’s super greens too since probiotics feed on prebiotics 🙂
- you’re not managing your stress. many people don’t realize that stress plays a huge role in physique progress. unmanaged stress raises cortisol (your stress hormone) which causes issues with the other hormones in your body that regulate your metabolism. manage your stress by eating enough overall, recovering well from exercise, engaging in deep breathing, meditation, or journaling practices.
- you’re not training hard enough. you could be doing everything right but if you’re not putting enough tension / stimulus on your muscles, either your muscle fibers won’t be tearing to grow back stronger or you won’t be able to maintain the muscle you currently have. keep pushing yourself and implement progressive overload (increasing your weights, sets, reps) to make sure your body is being challenged.
no one likes feeling like all their efforts are going to waste! try out these tips and you’re sure to start seeing some increased progress. let us know if you try these in the comments!