There are many elements involved in an individual’s ability, or inability, to lose excess weight [fat]. Genetics, lifestyle, stress and the rest of a busy life can undermine your best intentions. But the solution is much simpler than most people think: Exercise your body; Eat right, and; manage your energy through proper sleep and stress management and you will have the best chance of moving ahead with your journey.

Below are eight reasons you may be carrying excess weight, assuming you’re exercising several times a week. Take a look and make the adjustments needed to help make the difference you’re looking for!

1. You're Starving:Slashing too many calories, particularly protein calories, pushes the body to conserve calories rather than burn them. It also forces your body to break down muscle tissue to fuel its vital operations. But that muscle is the key to your metabolism, or the speed at which you burn calories. More muscle means a faster metabolism and less body fat.
Solution: You do need to cut calories to lose weight. (Cut 500 today by eliminating one can of beer, 30 chips, and one Oreo from your diet.) But you need to make sure you're eating at least 1,600 to 1,800 calories each day to keep your metabolism from shutting down. And never cut protein during a diet. If you're sedentary, you need about ½ to 3/4 grams of protein per pound of body weight a day for muscle preservation. If you're a guy lifting heavy for size and strength gain, aim for twice that much. Doing aerobics? Pick a number in between.

2.You Inhale Food:If you were a rat, you'd chow down for about 15 minutes, feel full, and stop eating. But you aren't. You probably eat so fast that your stomach hardly has time to alert your brain to tell your mouth to quit chewing before your stomach explodes.

3. You're too refined:Most processed breads and cereals contain little fiber, the calorie-free component of plant foods that fills you up, not out. Plus, foods rich in fiber help control blood glucose and insulin levels.
Solution: It may be a good idea to cut back on potatoes in any form (especially the fries). Experts say potatoes raise blood-glucose concentration quickly, as do snack chips, white bread, low-fiber breakfast cereals, and breakfast bars. Whole-grain cereals, nuts, and beans are blame-free, if not calorie-free.

4. Your Eyes are wide Open: Sleep deprivation decreases the odds of shedding fat and keeping it off. Researchers found that healthy men and women who snoozed only 4 or 7 hours a night for 6 nights in a row had higher glucose and insulin levels in their blood. This is a terrible state of metabolism for a man or woman who's trying to lose weight, because surplus insulin boosts body-fat storage.
Solution: Hit the sack for 8 hours each and every night. And try to hit it for the same 8 hours. That is, establish a regular bedtime and waking hour. Pick the time you have to wake up on most days, and make sure you're in bed at least 8 hours before.

For four more reasons you can't lose the excess fat, read part 2 of the Losing Excess Fat Series by clicking here.

Lifestage Fitness was created by combining the best attributes of most contemporary fitness centers with unparallelled personal fitness services.

Joe Ranieri is a 30-year veteran of the health and fitness industry, and is owner of Joe Ranieri’s LifeStage Fitness, an individualized fitness and nutrition training facility in suburban Chicago. Joe has helped hundreds of exercise enthusiasts of all ages and ability achieve their fitness goals using his simple, realistic approach to proper nutrition and exercise. Joe can be reached for questions regarding your desire for a healthy lifestyle through his email at joe@lifestagefitness.com.

Understanding that life-changes do not occur overnight, Joe Ranieri provides a real-world approach to making regular exercise and proper nutrition second nature – an easy, sustainable way to gradually, and permanantly, help you help yourself.

• 45 Day Slimdown - Part 1
• 45 Day Slimdown - Part 2
• 45 Day Slimdown - Counting Calories
• Surviving Fad Diets - The "Lose Weight Fast" Scheme
• Get Rid of Excess Fat - Part 1
• Get Rid of Excess Fat - Part 2

• Childhood Obesity - Leading by Example
• Childhood Obesity Step 1- Portion Control
• Eliminating Childhood Obesity - Do's and Don'ts
• Eliminating Childhood Obesity - More Do's and Don'ts

• Manage Holiday Eating - Part 1
• Manage Holiday Eating - Part 2
• Manage Holiday Eating - Part 3