Trying to lose weight? 9 factors beyond calories that could be affecting your progress

Struggling to lose weight? From sleep to stress, here are a few factors that matter more than you think for weight loss.

Eat less, move more is the most common intervention for anyone seeking weight loss. It’s not entirely wrong, but incomplete. Calories matter, but they're maybe 30% of the story. Dr Neha Shah, a bariatric surgeon and weight loss specialist, co-founder of The Good Weight, revealed factors that matter far more than just calories.

1. Sleep

According to Dr Neha, sleeping less than six hours per night leads to an increase in ghrelin and a drop in leptin, the hormones that regulate hunger and fullness, essentially creating the worst combination possible. She highlighted that eating an extra 300-400 calories the next day and genuinely not realising why they're suddenly starving by 4 pm.

2. Insulin resistance

Dr Neha highlighted that insulin resistance is hugely underdiagnosed in Indian adults, especially with our genetic predisposition to central obesity. If your body's pumping out excess insulin, it's actively storing fat regardless of your calorie count.

Sleeping less than six hours per night leads to an increase in ghrelin and a drop in leptin.

3. Stress and cortisol

The thyroid gland has a significant impact on overall health and weight loss. Dr Neha advises checking TSH properly, not just once. Subclinical hypothyroidism gets missed constantly.

5. Medications

Certain antidepressants, steroids, and even some blood pressure medications can stall weight loss. According to Dr Neha, don't stop anything without talking to your doctor, but do ask if alternatives exist.

6. Meal timing

A 9 pm dinner instead of 7 pm doesn't sound like much until you look at circadian metabolic rhythms and realise your body's handling that same plate of food completely differently depending on the clock.

7. Protein intake

Most Indians under-eat protein, and it shows up in three places at once: hunger that never quite settles, muscle that slowly disappears, metabolism that quietly slows.

Most Indians under-eat protein, and it shows up in three places at once.

8. Body composition analysis, not just weight on the scale

According to Dr Neha, daily weighing is not something one should do. Someone can lose fat and gain muscle and see the number barely move — that's still progress, not failure. Overall body composition matters much more.

9. Hormonal life stages

Perimenopause, PCOS, postpartum — these genuinely change the rules. What worked for a patient at 28 often stops working at 42, and that's not because she's doing anything wrong.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.