5 Weight Loss Mistakes

Certain weight loss mistakes lead us in the opposite direction of our goal. These mistakes can frustrate us, and do not allow us to make progress towards weight loss.

Losing weight is a somewhat complicated task, but not impossible. Everything depends on our commitment and dedication. Sometimes we make mistakes when we want to lose weight because we are not well informed or advised. Learn which weight loss mistakes are the most common.

Weight Loss Mistakes: Which Ones Are the Most Common

If your goal is to lose weight, you have already taken the first step. Be aware that you need to strive to get results and these may take time to appear. But the best part is, that when you reach your goal you will feel much better about yourself. Pay attention to the most common mistakes so you can avoid them:

1. Dieting

Believe it or not, dieting is one of the most common mistakes we make, when we want to lose weight. Why? Because it implies a lack of enjoyment, not partaking in the things we enjoy, and restrictions. Being on a diet does not allow us to consume certain foods.

While it is true that diets reduce pounds and inches, it is also true that if we do not make a change to our eating habits, we will return to our initial weight (or even higher) shortly after abandoning the ‘miraculous plan’ that we followed.

To lose weight you must eat everything. Yes, you read that right. The key here, lies in quantity. If you have a healthy diet, you will lose weight–and the best part is that you will not regain it.

2. Eat a lot of Protein

Everyone believes that protein is important, but we need to keep in mind that if we consume protein in excess, it will become fat. Balance is always the best way to get good results.

On the other hand, many of the typical shakes and energy bars that we might consume daily are full of fats and sugars. If you do not understand why you consume them, yet you still cannot lose weight … it is because protein is difficult to eliminate!

But be careful, since a diet free of proteins or carbohydrates is not good for our health either; our bodies require both of these for energy and strength. Keep in mind that an adult woman needs no more than 50 grams of protein per day. For men it is approximately 80 grams.

3. Weigh Yourself Often

The scale can become your worst nightmare. The problem lies in the importance we give to the scale, or rather, to the information it provides. We can weigh ourselves as a reference to analyze how many pounds we must lose, but not to turn that practice into an obsession.

Sometimes we can weigh the same and lose inches or dress sizes. How is that possible? Because the accumulated fat or liquids have been transformed into muscle. That is why balance can be deceptive! The best way to see your progress is with clothes and a mirror: try on clothes and analyze how they fit. If you can, take photographs every two or three weeks to compare how you look.

4. Skip meals

Tormenting yourself with hunger is not a weight loss solution. It is another frequent mistake we make when we want to lose weight. We believe that if we do not eat, we will reach our goal faster–and that is completely false.

When we skip meals -especially the main ones- we are unbalancing the body and ‘accumulating’ hunger. Therefore, the next time we eat, we will eat more food. The body will try to recover the energy it has lost.

5. Spend hours in the gym

Finally, we should not omit a common error based on misinformation: train for hours in the gym without stopping. We know that to lose weight you do have to exercise, but it is very important to realize when you also have to rest.

Over exercising can damage your muscles, cause injury and effects contrary to those expected. Do not abuse cardio either: you must also incorporate toning exercises and bodybuilding to accelerate your metabolism.