There’s a right way and a wrong way to lose weight. Actually, there are many, many wrong ways to lose weight. Take a careful look at this list and make sure you aren’t making any of these common weight-loss mistakes. If you are, we’ll give you some helpful suggestions on how to fix them!
Are You Paying Too Much Attention to the Scale?
When you step on a scale, it measures the entire weight of your body – not just your fat. Even the “smart” scales that claim to measure your body composition aren’t very accurate. Eating a big meal, being dehydrated, or weighing yourself with clothes on can skew their numbers.
Regular scales aren’t much better. If you lose 4 pounds of fat and gain 3 pounds of muscle, that’s a net loss of one pound. You won’t see that massive fat loss success on a regular scale. That may make you feel discouraged and want to give up – even though you made real progress!
Do this instead: focus on something more substantial, like fitting into an old dress or improving your waist-to-hip ratio. You can also get some fat calipers to measure your body fat percentage. After all, the most important goal is to lose fat, not just weight.
Are You Losing Weight for the Wrong Reasons?
So you’ve decided to try and lose weight. But why? That question can be even more important than how you lose the weight or how much you plan to lose. Some of the most common reasons to lose weight are:
- For a class reunion
- For a friend or relative’s wedding
- To please your partner or spouse
- To win a competition
- To look better – even if it kills you
If any of the reasons above hit close to home for you, we have bad news: your weight loss efforts will fail. You may succeed in the short-term, but your long-term success (as well as your overall health and well-being) will be in jeopardy.
Do this instead: motivate yourself to lose weight for the right reasons. Do it for yourself, not somebody else. Do it for long-term health and wellness – not just to look good in the mirror or to show somebody up at your next big event. If your desire to lose weight is internal rather than external, you’ll have a much stronger motivation to succeed – and with a much higher likelihood of success to boot.
Are You Only Focusing on Food?
If you’re trying to lose weight by changing your diet, that’s a really good first step. But it’s very easy to do it wrong. For instance, most people:
- Only focus on counting calories
- Don’t listen to their body’s hunger cues
- Barely even think about meal timing
Committing any or all of those minor mistakes can lead to major disaster. But we have some alternative suggestions for you. Do this instead:
- Make food choices based on quality, not quantity – Trust us; you’ll lose a lot more weight eating a thousand calories of spinach vs. a thousand calories of Twinkies.
- Learn the difference between food cravings and hunger – Indulging hunger gives your body the fuel it needs to function at its best. Indulging a craving will ruin your calorie deficit with fattening foods and slow your progress. It’s important to know the difference!
- Don’t be afraid to space out your meals – We need at least 8 hours of sleep each night; that means our bodies can go at least 8 hours without a meal. So why is it “unhealthy” to go without a meal or a snack for longer than 2-3 hours during the day? It’s not. In fact, eating less frequently can increase your fat burning potential.
Are You Exercising Too Much?
Most people should try to increase their daily activity levels, regardless of whether or not their goal is weight loss. But for people who need to lose weight, exercising more can certainly help. Unfortunately, lots of people like to go overboard and take it to the extreme. Before you start on some crazy new exercise regimen, ask your doctor if you’re healthy enough for vigorous exercise. If they give you medical clearance, don’t go full blast with the craziest workout you can get your hands on.
Do this instead: experiment with different workouts that feel right to your body. Don’t let anyone else tell you how you should or shouldn’t be exercising. What works for one person isn’t necessarily going to work for another. If your body is unwilling or unable to do specific physical activities, you’re going to fail to lose weight just as much as you would if you stayed home and sat on the couch.
