Losing weight is easy, right? You just need to start increasing the number of workouts you do each day and start eating a bit less. That’s it, isn’t it? Well, in actual fact, it might not be as simple as that. There are a lot of mistakes that some people make without even realizing it, and these mistakes could lead to them actually adding on a few extra pounds. Depending on the mistake, that extra weight gain could even occur if you have increased your workouts and decreased your food intake.
Thankfully, it can be very easy to spot these mistakes and make the necessary changes to your lifestyle that are needed to get in better shape. Here are some of the most common mistakes when trying to lose weight – make sure you don’t make them yourself!
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Doing Too Much Cardio
There are lots of people out there who believe that doing a lot of cardio workouts is the key to losing weight. True, the more you sweat and get out of breath, then the more calories you will be burning. However, just sticking to cardio isn’t good enough, as your body will become used to it, and it won’t be quite as effective as you would have hoped. So, it’s important to know how much cardio to lose weight is necessary. Generally speaking, two to three sessions should be enough. However, you need to make sure that you are also doing at least two strength sessions each week as well. Strength training is another effective way for your body to burn calories, and can also turn all that fat into muscle.
Not Eating Enough Calories
If you ask anyone about what you need to do to lose any excess weight, I’m sure that they will tell you that it’s necessary to reduce the number of calories you eat every day. This is true to some extent, but you shouldn’t follow a too restrictive diet, or else you could actually find that your body stops burning off any fat. That’s because not eating enough calories will drastically slow down the metabolism and will also lead to muscle loss.
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Opting For Diet Foods
These days there are a lot of “diet foods” that say they have zero calories or fat in them. These may look very tempting when you are doing your grocery shopping in the supermarket as you will still be able to eat some of your favorite treats and not feel guilty about it. However, these foods are often highly processed, which isn’t good for the body. As well as that, all the highly calorific sugars are often replaced with chemicals and additives that are harmful for the body in various ways. Ideally, it’s best to stay away from these foods and stick to natural unprocessed foods that have the complete range of nutrients that your body needs.
Overestimating How Many Calories You Burn
When you come away from a very productive workout session, you will no doubt feel very out of breath and sweaty. They’re both signs that you worked super hard! And that means that you will have burned off a whole bunch of calories, right? Well, unfortunately, it can be very easy to overestimate just how many calories exercising actually does burn off. As a result, lots of people end up thinking that they burned off more than they did, and they don’t alter their diet accordingly. Generally speaking, most hard thirty-minute workout sessions will burn off between 200-300 calories. So don’t make the mistake of thinking that you burned off 800 and go away to treat yourself to a big meal!
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Forgetting To Eat Enough Fiber
People know that it’s important to eat a good mix of both whole-grain carbohydrates and protein so that their body has all the necessary nutrients for energy and to aid recovery. However, you also need plenty of fiber in your diet as well, and this is something that many people often forget about. A diet rich in soluble fiber can actually help you feel a lot less hungry through the day as it reduces the appetite. So, you will find that you are less likely to overeat. Not only that, though, but lots of fiber in the diet can actually reduce the amount of calories that are absorbed by the body. So that means that you won’t be taking in as many calories, even if you are following a calorific diet!
Hopefully, you no longer make these weight-loss mistakes!
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Well I want to lose weight, don’t know how…
Haha! Nice to meet you Tanya!
Knowing how to lose weight is my job ;) I don´t know how to do a lot of other things :D
2-3 cardio sessions per week, would be a great start.
Eat enough protein (I have posted about it, because it´s a different amount for each person), or you´ll lose muscle too, and you don´t want this happens.
You could add some extra weight training sessions per week, if you think you need them ;)
Big hugs,
David
Thank you for sharing my dear !
My plesure, sunshine!! :D
Nice post, man. I’ll have to watch myself and that cardio? Two to three sessions a week?! I’d have to knock out four or five! Chuckle. 👍😁
Thanks Jim!
I think you don’t have to worry about that. I guess you eat like a pro and you are not on a restricted calorie diet 😂
You don’t ride almost every day because you want to lose weight, you love to ride your bike and share your passion with your friends and family 👌🎉
But tell me if I’m wrong, you ride a lot but you don’t lose weight every week, do you? 🤔😉
I don’t lose much, I maintain. I can if I want but I do eat a lot for my wife… she doesn’t like me skinny. But you’re right. I don’t ride to lose weight. I ride because I love riding. Thanks, brother. Fantastic point you made. 😎
Thank you 😁
You are married to a wise woman, she likes you healthy, not skinny 💪
And you can enjoy both, riding and eating… Who says we can’t have it all in this life?? 🤣
Big hug, my friend!
Thanks, brother.
Hard to say with the topic. So many factors. Age. Hormones. Etc.
Yeah, too many factors, indeed. That´s why people should rely on personal trainers to meet their fitness goals safely and effectively :D
I sure have made some mistakes over the years :P I never ate fiber, will sure do something about that from now on :)
Here´s a list of Top 10 high fiber foods, hope it helps you :) https://chape.fitness/top-10-high-fiber-foods/
Nice
Thank you :)
Very helpful article!
Thank you :)
Muy bueno!!!! Sobre todo el apartado en que dices que subestimamos el ejercicio que hacemos con las calorías que gastamos. Para lo cansado que acabas no se gastan tantas calorías. Yo la verdad es que no las cuento. Procuro comer alimentos nutritivos tengan las calorías que tengan y no comer procesados y sobre todo, no comer procesados light! Qué también lo mencionas!!! Lo dicho, muy bueno el post! Gracias 🙂
Muchas gracias! Estoy encantadísimo que te haya gustado 😊 Tengo un post pendiente desde hace tiempo sobre la cantidad de calorías que consume cada actividad. Ahora que me lo has recordado, lo publicaré pronto 😁👏
Además, solemos pensar que las calorías que quemamos provienen todas de la grasa de la que nos queremos deshacer, y no es cierto 😅
Yo tampoco como alimentos procesados, light, zero… y me va muy bien. Y me gusta mucho el dulce, pero cuando de verdad me apetece, me pongo en plan pastelero, con las recetas de toda la vida de mi abuela y así sé lo que realmente lleva el bizcocho, la tarta, o lo que sea 😂
Un abrazo!!!