Why are you struggling to lose weight?

Why weight loss is so tough

There are several interlocking reasons why dropping weight (and keeping it off) is difficult:

1. Our bodies fight back

When you reduce calories or increase activity, your body adapts. You burn fewer calories at rest, your appetite may increase, your hormones shift, and your energy levels may drop. For instance, a recent review among women found that after weight-loss interventions, fasting and post-meal appetite increased, and appetite-regulating hormones (like ghrelin, leptin and peptide-YY) changed in ways that favour eating more rather than less (PubMed). This means the body is biologically primed to resist a calorie deficit.

2. Activity alone often isn’t enough

We often assume that if I just move more, I’ll naturally lose weight. But the evidence suggests that unless the amount of extra activity is large, it doesn’t lead to big weight losses.

• One prospective study of ~4,500 pre-menopausal women found that an extra ~30 minutes of discretionary activity per day (over 6 years) was associated with less regain of lost weight (~1.4 kg difference) but 80% of women still regained >30% of the weight they had lost. PubMed

• Another study found that to maintain weight loss in women, a threshold of energy expenditure corresponding to about 80 minutes of moderate activity per day (or ~35 minutes of vigorous activity) was needed. PubMed

• More generally, public-health reviews state that moderate-intensity activity for 150–250 minutes per week may prevent gain, but greater amounts are required for meaningful weight loss or maintenance. NCBI+1

• 
  

So: moving more helps, but the volume often needs to be quite high to drive significant weight loss unless it’s combined with other changes.

3. Increased appetite and compensation

Here’s another wrinkle: upping activity can lead to increased hunger and therefore increased food intake—either consciously or unconsciously.For example, one trial found that lifestyle-induced weight loss in severely obese adults (through diet and exercise) led to increased feelings of hunger at 1 and 2 years compared to baseline. PubMedAnd in the review I mentioned above, among women the appetite signals were stronger after weight loss. PubMedIn short: you move more, you burn more, but you may eat more (or your appetite goes up) which reduces the net effect. Also, your body may become more efficient (burning fewer calories at rest) or compensate in other ways.

4. The lifestyle & behavioural side

Beyond biology, there are habit, motivation, environment, stress, sleep, social factors, and so on. Any weight‐loss plan that ignores these tends to falter. Many people start strong but don’t account for how they will maintain the changes months or years later.

So what does this mean in practice?

Given the reasons above, here are the key components that make for a more realistic and sustainable weight-loss approach:

1. Being active in a way that suits you

• Choose movement you enjoy (or at least are willing to stick with) rather than something you hate and abandon.

• It doesn’t have to be ultra-vigorous every day. But you may need higher volumes or intensities than the minimum guidelines if weight loss is the goal.

• Avoid the trap of thinking “I’ll just move more and I don’t need to adjust anything else” — the evidence suggests movement alone usually produces modest loss, unless the dose is high. PubMed+1

• Also: pick activity that your body can handle long-term; if you go too hard, too fast, you risk injury, burnout or giving up—which defeats the goal.

  
  

2. Knowing the right things to do for long term

• A calorie deficit still matters. You need to burn more (or consume less) than you expend. Movement helps increase expenditure, but diet plays a huge role. For example, one behavioral weight-loss study found that changes in eating behaviours explained more of the weight loss variance than changes in physical activity (R² = 0.17 vs R² = 0.04). PubMed

• Incorporate resistance/strength training to preserve muscle mass while losing fat (muscle is metabolically helpful and supports long-term maintenance).

• Adopt sustainable habits: favourable eating patterns (not extreme dieting), enough protein, good sleep, stress management, moderation—not all or nothing.

• Expect adaptation: because the body resists weight loss (via appetite, hormonal changes, metabolic adaptation) you’ll likely need to adjust your plan over time.

  
  

3. Accountability & regularity

• It’s one thing to “start” well—many people do. It’s another to persist. Weight loss is often easier than weight maintenance, and relapse (returning to old habits) is common.

• Having accountability helps: whether via a coach, a partner, a group, tracking tools, setting concrete goals, regular check-ins.

• Consistency is key. Small changes repeated over time beat big changes abandoned quickly.

• Build your plan around your life so you’re more likely to keep at it: your schedule, preferences, constraints, physical capacities.

  
  

Wrapping up

In short: yes, you can lose weight—but it’s not simple, and the common “just move more” message misses a lot of nuance. Your body is trying to preserve weight, appetite changes kick in, activity alone often isn’t enough, and long-term success depends on behaviour, mindset and structure, not just willpower.

If I were to summarise in one sentence: Losing weight is difficult because you must overcome both the body’s built-in protective mechanisms and the real-life challenge of creating sustainable habits—and success lies in the smart combination of movement, diet, and accountability that you can maintain.