Everyone wants to look and feel fabulous when strolling along the beach or relaxing by the pool. However, if you are overweight or unhappy with your appearance, you might experience low self-esteem during a getaway.

If you are struggling with body confidence issues and feel the number on the scales never decreases, there could be an underlying cause. Here are five reasons you aren’t losing weight.

1. Hypothyroidism

A health condition could be an underlying cause of your beach body battles. For example, hypothyroidism is caused by an underactive thyroid gland, which can result in weight gain and fatigue, muscle aches, depression, and much more.

If you are struggling with your weight, it is worthwhile taking an at-home test to check your thyroid levels. A certified lab will review your sample, and you will receive a physician-reviewed digital result within a matter of days.

2. Poor Gut Health

Believe it or not, your gut health could be to blame for your weight loss struggle. Microbiome, the gut’s bacteria collection, is essential for good health and can even determine your weight.

A 2018 study published in Genes found that people who consumed a daily probiotic or prebiotic experienced a decrease in their body mass index (BMI) and fat mass compared with a placebo.

3. Large Portion Sizes

Are you filling your plate with healthy ingredients and failing to lose weight? You might need to decrease your portion sizes. While the food you eat must be healthy and nutritious, you must avoid adding too many calories to your plate. For example, an extra chicken breast and additional servings of carbs and veg might keep hunger at bay, but it could add inches onto your waistline.

4. Overestimating Exercise

Weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise. As you might be burning rubber on the treadmill or hitting the weights hard, you might feel an increase in appetite throughout the day. Due to an increase in physical activity, you might forgive yourself for eating a cookie or adding an extra serving of food to your plate. However, all those extra calories can quickly mount up. If you’re working out and failing to notice a difference in the scales, you might need to lower your calorie intake to shed the pounds.

5. Prescription Medication

Some prescription medications can cause a person to pile on the pounds, which can counteract their weight loss efforts.

For example, you could gain weight when taking:

• Antidepressants
• Insulin
• Antipsychotics
• Epilepsy therapies
• Steroids
• Blood pressure medication

Prescription medications can cause weight gain due to various side effects, such as an increased appetite, water retention, and a decreased desire for physical activity due to fatigue. If your prescription medication is causing you to gain weight, discuss the problem with your doctor, as they could prescribe an alternative medication.

So, if you want to feel confident when walking along the beach in the future, a medical condition, medication, or your diet could be to blame.