These five weight loss errors we should avoid are the things I’ve personally learned on my weight loss journey. Losing weight is never an easy task and often we find ourselves in a stall phase. No matter how many hours we walk into the gym, nor how much we undertake to follow our diet, we simply do not see any results. Many people have also noted the same observations.
Before you desist, however, stop for a moment and think about what you’ve done so far and what you could improve. Here are some of the common mistakes that people who want to lose weight commit more frequently.
1.) Having the wrong mindset
It is said that when the mind also believes the body achieves. We often make the mistake of establishing a short-term goal. We want to wear a tight dress in two weeks so we follow the first fashionable diet that promises quick and often unrealistic results. And many of these diets advocate you buy weight loss pills or do drastic things to achieve your short-term goal. So, even if we get what we want, we tend to return to the old unhealthy habits, or, if the results hoped are not seen we are struck by a sense of frustration and abandon the enterprise.
You should instead aim for the long-term benefits. Don’t just think about how much weight you want to lose, nor how long you have to reach that goal. Think about making healthier choices, making those subtle changes in the lifestyle. This is what really makes a difference. Stick to them to improve.
We are talking about following a balanced diet, exercising regularly, and taking the time to rest and balance life. A healthy lifestyle will allow you to improve more and more over time, not only allowing you to have a more defined body but also a more lucid mind.
2.) Eating too little
Do not drastically reduce caloric intake. When you have an extreme caloric deficit, that is, when you provide the body with less than 70% of the number of calories it needs to maintain its weight, it is very likely that you have many more drawbacks than advantages. At first you will certainly be able to lose weight but keeping in mind that the body adapts to the incoming energy will end up slowing the basal metabolism. If you insist on following a drastic diet, also (take less than 1000 calories per day) for a prolonged period, you will also end up compromising your muscle mass as your body starts to use it as a source of energy.
This is how the body instinctively reacts to a drastic drop in energy, so you have to tell it that it must not act as it were to respond to danger. But how? By decreasing the calorie intake gradually and progressively, and never going under the “maintenance level”.
And there’s more, not feeling hungry all the time makes you more likely to follow the diet and avoid the binge which is a great advantage in terms of motivation!
3.) Focusing on the wrong culprit
When you follow a diet, there is a nutrient that is usually faulted: fats. The fact that you want to lose fat, however, does not mean that you should not take fat. It may seem contradictory but to include fats can even be useful for the diet and will serve to make you walk the right path towards reaching your goal.
When you eat food that contains fats (moderation is always the keyword) it is very likely that you will feel sated longer, which means you lessen the possibility of snacking. There are fats, moreover, that are unsaturated ones like omega-3 fatty acids, which not only promote healthy cholesterol levels but even help to decompose body fat by inhibiting the formation of new adipose tissue.
You got to ask yourself this, who is the real culprit in sabotaging your diet? We could point a finger at the refined sugars and other whatnot. Many so-called dietary or low-fat foods can actually contain more calories than their “full-fat” versions because fat has been replaced with sugar and other fillers — with little or no nutritional value just to improve taste most of the time. In short, you must be careful of the hidden sugars. In low-fat foods, sports drinks, condiments, and sauces are often masked in the emptier calories you’re taking. And just about condiments and sauces: do not ruin the super-healthy salad and the grilled chicken breast with the wrong condiments. Use olive oil, spices or cooked condiments.
4.) Exaggerating with the cardio
Doing enough cardio is essential to burn fat, on this there is no doubt. One needs to however keep in mind is that there are many ways to do it. Spending hours on the treadmill is only effective up to a certain point, since you will burn calories during training, but not so much later. In addition, long periods of cardio may hinder the development of your muscle mass and burn it as well as become boring after a while. The solution? Revive your workout with a HIIT, high-intensity interval training.
HIIT is a very effective way to reduce body fat because it causes faster burning of calories in less time and even after training. And since it is composed of exercise circuits for muscle development such as push-ups or squats HIIT reduces the chance of losing hard earned muscles.
5.) Avoiding lifting weights
If you believe that weightlifting will hurt the weight loss process, think again. It is nothing more but a myth and as a result of this spreading, it led to many people committing this common mistake. Thus, many wonder why they are not losing weight and or not developing their bodies properly.
First, you should know that the more muscle mass you have the more calories you burn when you’re resting. In other words, your basal metabolism (BMR) is higher. In addition, the weightlifting modifies the composition of your body and your appearance. When you only do cardio you definitely lose weight but your appearance remains the same – meaning you simply become “smaller”. By developing a muscle base, you will not only see more progress but you will also have a better look since your skin will be tightened, your muscles on your body will be more defined, and over all you’ll just achieve a healthier look.
For a more effective and immediate fat burning goal, even after training, follow an exercise plan that combines both the HIIT program as well as weightlifting and concentrate more on compound exercises rather than isolated ones. Choose one based on your fitness and level (beginner, intermediate or advanced) and start to burn all the excess fat you have on your body.
We hope this post has shed some light on the most common mistakes most people weight on their weight loss journey. By knowing these things, you can better avoid committing the same mistake yourself. Always remember that before starting out on any fitness journey, do consult your doctor and healthcare professional so you are properly guided. Doing things the smart and healthy way will lead to more years spent enjoying life. Good luck!
