I know a lot of people struggle with losing weight and quickly become discouraged if they are not seeing any results. While it can be rather dreadful if your hard work does not seem to be paying off, do not give up just yet.

Here are five reasons you are not losing weight.

1. Your portions are too large

One of the key mistakes people make is that they are eating too large of portions. Even if you are eating healthy foods, you may very easily be overeating. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. For instance, nuts are rich in healthy fats, but they are also calorie dense. Thus, if you are trying to shed a few pounds, eating calorie-dense foods may be the culprit of you not losing any weight.

It is important to be conscious of what you are putting into your body and to choose foods that are healthy.

2. Eat more for less

While eating too large of portions can quickly add up in calories, if you choose the right foods to eat, you can eat more food. This will aide you in your weight-loss journey because you will not be tempted to eat junk food out of sheer hunger from not eating nutrient-dense foods.

One small fry from McDonald’s has 220 calories. One serving of oatmeal has around 158 calories excluding toppings. One small fry is not very filling and probably won’t keep you full for very long, but one serving of oatmeal will. The point is that if you choose the right foods, you can eat more for less.

3. Quality over quantity matters

There are some foods that are filling and other foods that are calorie-dense but are not very filling at all. Make a conscious effort to choose foods that will keep you full for long periods of time.

Oatmeal is a food that is rich in carbs and is very filling. This is a great meal to have for breakfast because you want to start your day off right — you do not want to starve yourself. On the contrary, if you’re eating popcorn or chips that are essentially empty calories, you won’t be satisfied, and your body will crave more food.

I am not saying you can’t ever eat foods that are considered empty calories or that you have to solely rely on eating foods that are quite filling. However, if you modify your diet slightly and incorporate foods that will satiate your hunger, you will be less tempted to eat mindlessly out of boredom throughout the day.

4. You exercise regularly but have a poor diet

This point is key. I have heard so many people who are confused as to why they’re not losing weight when they spend 30 minutes to an hour in the gym every single morning. Something most people do not realize is that the real way to lose weight is through diet, not exercise.

While it varies depending on your gender, height, and current weight, the average person will only burn a few hundred calories from jogging for 30 minutes. It is difficult to burn calories, but it’s easy for your calories to add up when you’re eating mindlessly.

Exercising is easy. Maintaining a healthy diet is the tough part.

You could work out extremely hard, even burn a good number of calories, but destroy all your progress through having a poor diet. At the end of the day, you must be aware that while exercise is beneficial for your health and is essential for your well-being, your diet is your golden ticket to losing weight.

5. You have the wrong mindset

I am sure you have heard that you must have the right attitude to achieve anything in life, but that especially applies to losing weight.

You must first and foremost decide why you are trying to lose weight in the first place. Do it for the right reasons, and for yourself only. If you are trying to change your physical appearance for someone else, I can guarantee you that it will not make you nearly as happy as you envisioned.

Exercise and lose weight because deep down you know that it will make you happier. If you are doing it for yourself, it will bring you happiness.

I do not believe that people should go on strict diets to lose weight. Rather, I believe that changing your lifestyle is key. If you slightly modify the foods you typically eat during the week and make some small lifestyle changes, you will start to see some results and you will be able to keep the weight off.

Make a permanent change, not a temporary one.