Weighing yourself every day
Whilst weighing yourself is important for tracking progress and understanding how well you’re doing, weighing yourself every day is not a good idea. This can have negative psychological impacts, and might actually make the process of trying to drop pounds a more challenging one! Take the pressure off, making weight loss work for you is what makes it effective.
Not having a routine
Not having a routine when you are trying to get fit and in shape is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. This is not the sort of thing that works very well when done on an ad-hoc basis; you need to make sure you have direction and routine to help you here.
Being fooled by healthy snacks
Many healthy snacks are very good for you but you will find there are some that can actually secretly cause weight gain. Things to look out for here include gluten-free snacks, fruit smoothies, and flavored yogurt. Make sure you check your snacks out carefully before committing.
Thinking you can do it all alone
No man, or woman, is an island, and doing something strenuous and challenging like losing weight doesn’t have to be something you do alone. There are ample opportunities to pair with a friend, or even to use a personal trainer – this will give you better motivation and inspiration.
Dressing incorrectly
If you want to drop the pounds, this means you need to start taking your health and fitness more seriously, and the best way to achieve this is to ensure you dress the part. Trying to work out in the wrong clothes is going to be uncomfortable, and might even lead to injury. Treat yourself to some new gym gear and get going!
Trying a fad diet
Fad diets might seem fun and exciting, but they can actually be counter productive to your quest to drop the pounds. They’re hard to stick to and, as soon as you stop the diet, it can undo everything you’ve done up to that point. This is why fad diets are not a good idea, and should be avoided.
Snacking too much
Snacking might seem like harmless fun, but it can actually be a huge hinderance to your quest to shed the pounds and get into shape. Where possible, you should try to cut out all snacking as much as you can, and, at the very least switch to healthy snacks instead.
Not eating enough calories
Regularly consuming fewer calories than your body actually needs can, in fact, be counter-intuitive to losing weight because it slows down your metabolism. Studies suggest that low-calorie diets can actually decrease calories burned by more than 20%, which is not what you want.
Failing to join the gym
The gym might seem like a daunting prospect at first, but joining is one of the best ways of being able to add structure to your fitness. People think they can shed the pounds without the gym, and whilst this is true, it is significantly more challenging than biting the bullet and signing up. It’s also a great way to meet likeminded people and enjoy your journey!
Thinking you’ll be fine
The mindset you need to try to avoid is thinking that you will be fine no matter what. This is fine if you’re already adopting healthy lifestyle choices but, if you’re at a point where your weight is affecting your health, it’s time to make some changes. You never know what damage you’re doing internally, so it’s best to start sooner rather than later.
Your partner not being on the same page
Okay, so this isn’t so much a mistake as it is a very real issue for a lot of people, and something you need to try to speak to your partner about. If they are not on the same page and being supportive of your efforts, it can make things incredibly tough for you.
Putting it off
The thing with trying to shed the pounds is it’s not fun. And because it’s not fun, it becomes much easier to put it off and think you’ll do it another time. But the mistake here is that putting it off once makes it much easier to do the same again, and the next thing you know it’s weeks of no exercise.
Skipping it because you’ve had a bad day
All of us have bad days at some point, this is perfectly natural, and on these days the last thing we want to do is exercise. But, the issue here is that using a bad day as an excuse to overlook your health and fitness makes this a good excuse to keep using in the future. Plus, you never regret a workout – the endorphins are bound to improve your mood!
Beating yourself up over results
Try not to be too hard on yourself over your results, because this is not going to help. Too many people want to drop the pounds and then get depressed when they haven’t lost as much as they were hoping or expecting to. Understand that this is a process and your weight will fluctuate.
Too many takeouts
Takeouts are great, especially at the end of a long day where the last thing you want to do is to cook. However, a mistake people often make when they are trying to drop the pounds is that they have too many takeouts, and this can often undo all of their hard work.
Not planning your meals
Not planning your meals in advance is actually a problem when trying to drop the pounds because you need to know what you’re putting into your body. Otherwise you are liable to just eating randomly and not consuming mindfully. Reaching for convenient foods when you’re extremely hungry often increases the likelihood of reaching for healthy foods.
Too little protein
Protein needs to be a core part of any diet, and is actually an important part of helping you to shed the pounds. The reason for this is because protein is satiating, and, as a result, works very well at keeping you from feeling hungry, and it uses more calories being digested than other foods.
Not enough fiber
Similarly, fiber is great for helping with weight loss as it leaves you feeling full and satisfied, as well as slowing down the digestion process, which tends to result in you feeling fuller, and needing to eat less as a result. Lack of fiber in the diet is a mistake too many people seem to make these days.
Poor sleeping patterns
Sleep and weight loss are linked. You need to make sure you are getting the best possible night of sleep so that your body and mind are rested and nourished. Irregular sleep patterns can play havoc with your hormones, not to mention increasing oxidative stress and glucose intolerance, this can result in more cravings and weight gain.
Insufficient water intake
Too many of us are not consuming enough water when trying to drop the pounds, and this is a mistake, because water consumption boosts metabolism, suppresses your appetite, and can also help to improve your energy, making exercise easier and more efficient.
Overdoing it with the exercise
There is such a thing as doing too much exercise, and this tends to be a mistake that a lot of people make when they first set about trying to lose weight and shed the pounds. Too much exercise can lead to injuries, which may prevent you from being able to keep fit and healthy.
Not changing diet
You’re likely to find that if you are serious about being able to shed the pounds and lose weight you’re going to need to significantly alter your diet. Too many people are not prepared to do this, and it can prove to be a stumbling block when losing weight. It’s hard at first but really pays off.
Unrealistic expectations
You need to be clear about the fact that your expectations can be a problem when looking to lose weight. Setting yourself unrealistic expectations is setting yourself up for failure, and this is something that you need to temper where possible, in order to get the right outcome.
Comparing yourself against others
One of the biggest mistakes you’re probably making is the ‘compare and despair’ mistake. This is a common one, where people end up comparing themselves, their fitness, and their bodies to other people around them who have been focused on health and fitness for far longer, and are in much better shape, and this is not conducive to shedding the pounds effectively.
Not having time off
Having a health and fitness routine is important, but you also need to make sure you are taking time off and having a break as well. You don’t want to get physical and emotional burnout, as this is going to be counterproductive, and make the whole idea of losing weight seem overwhelming.
Overlooking a designated fitness plan
Something else a lot of people get wrong when they are looking to shed the pounds is ignoring designated fitness plans. These are often the best way of being able to get into shape, as well as being able to stay motivated and focused during the fitness process.
Diet food
The thing with diet food and drink is that it might seem on the surface like it’s a great idea, but it can also actually lead to you snacking more. Ultra-processed diet foods tend to lack things like fiber and protein, and this can leave you still feeling hungry and unsatisfied, which increases your chances of snacking.
Ignoring expert advice
One of the biggest errors many of us make when we are tying to get fitter and keep in better shape is ignoring expert advice. If someone knows more than you, or is knowledgeable on the best ways of being able to remain fit and healthy, you need to listen to them.
Overestimating your burned calories
One of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to trying to lose weight is that they overestimate how many calories they’re burning. A session at the gym might not be burning off as much as you thought it was going to, so figure this out before choosing what to eat.
Not keeping a record of everything
When trying to drop the pounds you need to be very accurate and disciplined, and this means that you have to make sure you keep a record of everything. Failure to do this can result in you being unsure of what you’ve eaten and the exercise you’ve done, and things get confusing.
Being inconsistent
When looking to lose weight and shed the pounds, the key here is consistency, and this is something you need to embrace. A big mistake people make is a lack of consistency with dieting and exercise, and this can make it difficult to see any definitive progress.
Too much “noise”
Due to sites like YouTube, anyone with a microphone can give out fitness advice. This means it’s often contradictory or just not good advice full stop! Listening to too many different opinions muddies the waters. Instead, research reputable sources and pay attention to their advice.
Stressing
Stress is never a good thing when people are looking to lose weight, and this is something that can really make it difficult for you. Try to take steps to reduce the stress in your life as much as you can, in order to be able to benefit from the dieting and exercise you are doing.
Skipping meals
Skipping meals might seem like a good way to calorie cut and make inroads into shedding the pounds, but in reality this is a mistake. Skipping meals slows down your metabolism, and this can make it harder to lose weight, and can also lead to weight gain as well.
Not lifting
When people are exercising to shed the pounds, too many of them overlook the importance of lifting. Indeed, lifting weights is heavy resistance training, and this can help you with weight loss. It will increase the quality of your body’s muscle, which in turn helps to burn fat.
Too much salt
A lot of us actually overlook how much salt there is in things, and how many different foods contain salt. Whilst this is not a problem per se, too much salt is certainly an issue, and one that needs to be addressed and resolved if you want to be able to drop pounds and lose weight more effectively.
Overlooking portion control
When it comes to trying to shed the pounds and get into better shape, one of the biggest mistakes a lot of people make is that they don’t think about portion control. Overfilling your plate is going to result in you consuming more calories than you need, and make them harder to burn off.
Using crash diets
Like fad diets, crash diets seem like a good idea, but they can actually wind up being really counterintuitive. A more extreme approach, they’re considered ineffective and even, in some cases, dangerous. Most of the weight loss that comes from crash diets is believed to come from lean muscle and water, not body fat. Avoid!
Losing track of liquid calories
Another really common mistake that people make all the time is assuming that calories only come in food, and not drinks, which is false. You need to try to make sure you keep track of your liquid calories as much as possible, or this is going to make your weight loss goals more difficult.
Overly restrictive diets
Beware of overly restrictive diets as well. Whilst they might seem like a good idea at the time, sticking rigidly to them is unlikely to be realistic, and can actually result in you being more hungry, and wanting to break the diet and consume more calories through binging.
Too much “time off”
One of the biggest things you need to keep in mind when you’re trying to improve your health and drop the pounds is making sure you don’t take too much time off. Going on vacation might mean that you want to take some time off from health and fitness, but you have to beware of taking too much time off and getting out of the groove.
Sedentary lifestyle
These days there are plenty of reasons why people might live a sedentary lifestyle, and working from home can add to this. You need to be careful when it comes to shedding the pounds, because being too sedentary can lead to you putting on weight more easily.
Being disorganized
Disorganization can be a nightmare when trying to lose weight because it’s so easy to get overwhelmed by your schedule. You need to set aside time for your weight loss goals, whether by planning out a fitness regimen, or making sure you map out your healthy meals for the week. Organization is key, and this is something you need to work on.
Wanting results too quickly
Something a lot of people struggle with when it comes to losing weight and shedding the pounds is wanting results too quickly. This can be damaging to your health and fitness goals, and it can make it quite demoralizing when you haven’t hit the milestones you might have been expecting. It’s important to have some perspective and take things at a steady pace.
Drinking in the week
We all like to drink now and again, but drinking during the week is something that can really be an issue when it comes to shedding the pounds! It introduces additional calories and other health implications. Try to regulate your alcohol intake during the week, as this can make a massive difference to losing weight.
Over-reliance on running
Running is a great way of being able to keep in shape and lose weight – but an over-reliance on it can be a problem. The issue with running is that it is weather dependent, and this means that it’s not ideal in the winter, and the colder, wetter times of the year.
Trying juice cleanses
Juice cleanses might seem like a great idea when it comes to trying to shed the pounds, but they’re almost always something you should avoid. Whilst it’s true that 27% of juice cleansers reported improvements to their skin, drinking too much juice can hugely increase your sugar intake and cravings – something that you need to avoid when trying to lose weight.
Not getting the balance of gym & kitchen
It’s important to balance all the advice when it comes to losing weight and getting in shape, and having the right routine between both the gym and kitchen is vital. People overlook the need for balance, and tend to focus too much on one or the other. If you’re hitting the gym regularly, but eating badly then you’re not going to shed the pounds, and vice versa.
Ignoring food labels
Food labels can sometimes be a slippery slope, but they also contain a great volume of information that can be useful for helping you lose weight. They offer concrete information about sugar, protein and calorie content of food, providing more scientific information than any bold, and often misleading, marketing techniques.
No cheat days
We all need cheat days now and again and this is something that needs to play a key role in your fitness regimen. Having no cheat days is a big mistake that a lot of people make! Whilst it’s not recommended that you completely overindulge, finding a way to fit in the treats you enjoy makes it easier to continue shedding the pounds and stick with it long-term.