4 Reasons You’re Sabotaging Your Weight Loss Results
By Shannon Clark
October 22, 2014 • Fact checked by Dumb Little Man
If you feel like no matter how hard you try, your body weight just won’t budge, it’s time to do a full inventory and assessment about what you’re really doing in your workout and diet. Below are four common errors many people make…
You’re Going At It Alone
It’s a must that you get support. Whether this is your significant other, a close friend, a co-worker, or otherwise. Get someone to support you through this process and you will find you are far more likely to stay the course and push through the hard times ahead.
If you can get a workout buddy, all the better as then the gym will be a social event and most people will be more likely to go when someone is depending on them. Just make sure you don’t make it too social and chat the workout away – still get the work done, but do it with each other.
You Aren’t Monitoring Your Diet Extensively
If you are loosely tracking calories, it’s time to really crack down.
Get a phone application or use an online website and track your calories down to the number. Even a few misjudgements in how much you’re taking in could lead to a massive set-back in your results, so it’s something you really want to be precise with.
Remember that as you inch closer to your goal weight, every calorie will count so even if you’re off by 100 calories per day, if it happens often enough, it’s going to make a difference.
In this regard, also make sure that you are weighing and measuring your food intake as well to ensure full accuracy.
You’ve Overdoing Cardio Training
Doing too much cardio is going to negatively affect your results. If you are doing loads of cardio training, this is going to stress your body more and eat up recovery reserves you really need for your strength training – the superior form of exercise for fat burning.
Cardio training can also cause hunger levels to increase, making it far more likely that you overeat in calories and really cause a serious set-back to occur.
Keep cardio training limited to 2-3 sessions per week and aim to do higher intensity interval training as often as you can. It’s the form that will provide the most benefit.
You’re Not Keeping Yourself Fully Accountable
Finally, the last thing to note and remember is to make sure that you are keeping yourself fully accountable. If you are sneaking in little bites here and there and aren’t writing this down in your food journal (or whatever you’re using to track your intake), this is going to really take away from the long term results you should be seeing.
Many people get into the habit of taking a small bite as they pass by food and never track these bites. At the end of the day, this could easily total 300 calories or more depending on what it is that you are eating.
Be honest with yourself so you can maximize your chances of success.
So there you have four things you could be doing to hinder your progress. Do you see yourself making any of these mistakes?
Shannon Clark
Shannon Clark has a degree in Exercise Science and is an AFLCA certified personal trainer. She has written on the topics of health, fitness and nutrition for the last 8 years.