This is a very popular question:  I’ve been following the Breakthrough diet to a “T”   Why am I not losing weight the way I want?

The first and most important question is: 

Are you meeting the average weight loss expectations?  As a female, 3 weeks is around 12-15 lbs, 4 -5 weeks is around 18-20 lbs and 5-6 weeks is around 20-25 lbs.  If yes, then you’re doing great and maybe you are being too hard on yourself. 

If not, then please understand that there are many factors to losing fat, and these factors cannot be underestimated.  

So, what factors besides eating, affect us?

1. Sleep – getting 6-8 hours of sleep is very important, especially between the hours of 1-3 am.
2. Medications – if medications are not adjusted during weight loss, taking too much will affect weight loss.  Especially if you are experiencing any of the listed side effects from your meds.
3. Covid vaccine – we have seen a large percentage of our vaccinated members experience higher levels of inflammation and slower weight loss.  Adding turmeric or curcumin and extra water might help with this.
4. Exercise – too much exercise on the BTM2 program will slow down the weight loss process.  Keep it to 30 minutes or less of walking, stretching, light yoga, or light weights for toning
5. Stress – stress directly affects cortisol levels, which affects blood sugar levels, which negatively affects weight loss. DONE.  find ways of destressing – light exercise, meditation, prayer, positive affirmations, listening to motivational speakers on Youtube, decluttering your life of toxic people and things, the list goes on and on, but you must take your stress into consideration and do something about it.
6. Busyness – unplug.  Busyness creates low-grade continual stress if you are not taking time outs for yourself.  Organize your time better if necessary, and try to delegate whenever you can. Eat the frog is a great book.
7. Water – If you are not finishing your water, you are interfering with weight loss.  If you miss your quota a few weeks by 5-10 ounces that adds up, so finish your water.  Give your body the best chance possible of flushing out that fat.
8. Internal inflammation from digestion – if you get bloated, have gas, or have heartburn after eating something – even if it’s healthy, that will cause inflammation.  When this happens, the body will hold water to put out the flame.  If you are holding water, you will see that on the scale.
9. Menstruation, menopause – girls, neither of these are deterrents but they will slow you down.  Many women report that when they are on the program their menopause symptoms lessen significantly, but that does not mean they experience some of the bloating or slowdowns that come with menopause. 
10. Chemicals you are exposed to:  men and women have different tolerance levels to environmental toxins.  Women absorb them easier and their hormone levels are affected more often.  One of the biggest reasons is that women are exposed to over 900 chemicals daily before 9 am.  It’s not only the quantity of chemicals, but the consistency of them – meaning daily.  Hair care, make-up, detergents, lotions, perfumes, cleaning agents, and the list goes on and on.  Weight loss happens more efficiently when we are exposed to fewer toxins.  Be as toxic-free as possible from this point on, especially when you are on the Breakthrough M2 weight loss program.

These are not excuses,  nor are they deterrents, but we have to consider them, make adjustments and deal with the slowdowns if they happen. 

From these 10 factors, are there any you’ve had challenges with? If so, did you have a solution? Let us know in a comment below! Thank you for reading.

Happy Losing!