Do you track your calories and exercise often and still feel like you’re not losing that stubborn weight? Are you feeling less motivated to put in harder work because you aren’t seeing the results?

You’re not alone. The never-ending cycle of hard work and lack of results can be discouraging but what if I told you that your inability to lose weight has nothing to do with your fitness regimen?

Other factors can contribute and be the cause to your slow progress.

So, don’t throw in the towel yet. Here are 5 common reasons you’re not losing weight.

You Are Sleep Deprived: On average, we need about 7.5 hours of quality sleep per night. If you are someone who averages 5 hours and start to sleep for seven hours a night, you will start dropping weight. These are the results of two hormones: ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is the ‘go’ hormone that tells you when to eat, and when you are sleep-deprived, your body has more ghrelin. Leptin is the hormone that tells you to stop eating, and when you are sleep deprived, you have less leptin.

More ghrelin plus less leptin equals weight gain.

Lack of sleep can also cause you to consume about 300 calories a day more than if you were well-rested.

You’re Dehydrated: If you’re avoiding water to maintain a flat stomach then you are in for some serious trouble. Because guess what? You will gain more weight thanks to dehydration. When your body does not consume adequate amounts of water daily, then it cannot efficiently burn your carbs into energy or breakdown the fat. Your gut health gets compromised due to less water consumption and your body won’t make enough digestive juices, causing your metabolism to fall and lead to weight gain.

Underlying Stress: You may not be aware of it but being under constant stress can increase production of cortisol, a hormone which can cause an increase in appetite as well as extra fat storage around the abdominal region — a big no-no! What’s the solution? Take a few minutes each day to relax, scheduling a massage as often as you can or even carving 15 - 30 mins to meditate.

You’re on Certain Medication: Many things can affect your weight loss goals, including medications. Antihistamines, used to treat allergies, colds, and sleep problems, can be a culprit. These drugs can affect your body's temperature regulation which can interfere with sweating and cooling mechanisms so you may overheat, especially when exercising in the summer. Beta blockers is another drug that can inhibit your ability to lose weight. These drugs are used treat high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, chronic migraines, and anxiety. As such, when using them, they decrease your heart rate, blood pressure and cardiac output, which can make you feel tired, sluggish and short of breath during a workout.

Solution? Try getting your sweat session in before you take your medicine.

You’re Still Drinking Sugar: Just because it’s a liquid doesn’t mean it can’t cause weight gain. In fact, sugary drinks are the highest fattening items in the food supply and it’s so sneaky! What’s even worst is your brain doesn’t compensate for the calories in them which means you are taking in even more calories. I’m not just talking about Pepsi, Coke, Margarita, or Mimosa. I’m also talking about fruit juices labeled “all natural.” Because fruit juice lacks fiber, there isn't anything to offset its natural sugar content; this leads to dramatic spikes in blood sugar. Not only is this bad news for your energy levels, but it's also going to wreak havoc on your cravings, too