Losing weight can be a tough process, and there are many common mistakes that people make as they work to shed the pounds. To help you skip these pitfalls, the fitness enthusiasts here at NordicTrack Coupon have compiled a list of the 7 most common weight loss mistakes and how you can avoid them.
1. Intaking Too Few Or Too Many Calories
While calories aren’t the end-all be-all of weight loss, your calorie intake does play a part in your weight loss.
Tracking your caloric intake is often recommended, as it helps you develop a picture of your eating habits and where things might be improved. Research has shown that those who guess when it comes to their caloric intake often seriously underestimated, with many of the subjects in the study reporting daily calories of about 1,000 a day, when they in reality were eating around 2,000.
By consuming too many calories, there is almost no amount of exercise outside of an elite athlete’s workout schedule which can prevent weight gain. However, undereating can have a negative effect. Weight loss will occur, as you are effectively starving your body, but if you have a binge because highly restrictive diets are ultimately unstainable, that excess of food will be quickly stored as fat, as your body thinks it will undergo a starving period again.
Also, taking in too few calories can cause bone density loss, increased susceptibility to illness, hair loss, and in women, halting of their periods.
2. Relying On The Scale For Success
Many people place too much importance on what the scale says and become discouraged if their effort isn’t reflected by the numbers on the scale. However, the lack of scale progress can be due to a variety of factors.
3. Choosing Diet Or Low-Fat Foods
Foods which are branding as diet or low-fat are often high in carbs, specifically sugars, as well as sodium to make up for the fact that they would taste terrible without these additions. These additives can cause insulin spikes and negatively impact blood pressure. Also, they are not as satiating as foods which are full fat.
Instead of being afraid of full fat, regular foods, focus on enjoying them in smaller portions. Eating foods high in fat and protein is far more satiating than any diet food and won’t leave you starving in an hour or two.
4. Avoiding Exercise Until More Weight Is Lost
Some people are under the mistaken impression that they cannot exercise until they lose weight. In reality, exercise is an excellent supplement to any weight loss plan. Two particular types of workouts which yield high weight loss help are:
If you don’t have workout equipment at home but want to work out in the comfort of your house, be sure to use our NordicTrack promotion codes to help you bring home the best in fitness equipment.
5. Overestimating Exercise Caloric Burn
While exercise is an excellent supplement to any weight loss plan, be careful not to overestimate the impact of your exercise caloric burn. Often, burning even 250 calories in a 45-minute workout session is difficult to reach, and that can be completely undone by eating a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter.
Instead of justifying overeating with exercise, it is best that you stick to your usual nutrition plan and just reap the benefits of exercise when you see that your weight loss progress a little faster thanks to your exercise.
6. Forcing A Fad Diet For Fast Weight Loss
Highly restrictive diets and cleanses are touted for their ability to help you shed weight fast, but these aren’t long-term solutions. Instead, they create a dependent loop, where it helps you drop a few pounds of water weight, but then it is all gained back and more when you go off the restrictive diet.
Choose instead to make sustainable dietary changes. Instead of cutting out all carbs, give yourself a lower daily amount of carbs which are okay. Over time, you may find you can cut out more, but by easing yourself into it, you can more naturally sustain the lifestyle changes.
7. Setting Unrealistic Weight Loss Expectations
Last, but also important are the expectations attached to weight loss. It can be tough to be a month or two into your weight loss and not feel like you have made much progress. However, weight loss is a process which will hopefully lead to a lifetime of healthy habits.
So, instead of looking for fast changes which can set you up for failure, commit yourself to long-term change which you will reap the benefits down the road.
Successful and long-term weight loss is a process which takes time. By pairing nutrition, exercise, and your weight loss expectations, you will be able to avoid the worst weight loss mistakes and head toward your goals.