Health Fitness

Weight Loss: Dos and Don’ts

Weight loss journeys are tough no matter where you start or how far you’ve come. At some point, most people have tried to lose weight and ended up giving up because they either stalled or received inadequate guidance. There are also seemingly endless weight loss gimmicks that advertise that they are the only thing you need to lose weight, which is simply not true, NOTHING WILL HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT. It’s a combination of puzzle pieces that all need to fit together to complete your weight loss puzzle. Here are some things you should and shouldn’t know during your weight loss journey:

Don’t just do cardio

While cardio should be part of your program, it shouldn’t be the ONLY thing in your program. Yes, cardio is great for burning calories and obviously necessary for good heart health, but when it comes to weight loss, cardio is just one small piece of the puzzle. Now, I’m not saying skip cardio because you need to, but it’s not the main point of emphasis in a good weight loss program. You’ll still want to work up to about 5 days of cardio activity per week for best results.

Lift weights at least 3 times a week

Weight lifting and strength training is an absolute must when it comes to losing weight as it makes it easy to build muscle. Why is that important? When you build muscle, your metabolism increases and allows you to burn more calories. Building muscle is also great for bone health, as your bones get stronger as your muscles increase. For beginners, 2-3 weightlifting days a week is enough, but eventually you’ll want to work your way up to 3-5 days a week depending on your program.

don’t go too fast

Trying to do too much too fast is just as detrimental to your adherence to a fitness program as not doing enough. Too often people try to do too much at first and end up burning out after 2-3 weeks and falling back into old habits. The typical 4-week weight loss guru on Instagram touts a 20-pound weight loss program that’s easy to follow, but truth be told, those programs can’t be sustained and don’t encourage lasting healthy habits. Don’t get caught up in these “inspiring” 4-week transformations because more often than not, those people end up gaining that weight back and then some in a couple of weeks. Choose the slow and steady approach, you are much more likely to be successful!

Set realistic short-term and long-term goals

To complement the above, setting realistic goals provides more stable results. Aiming for 0.5-1 pound of weight loss per week is a very realistic and achievable goal for almost anyone, no matter how overweight or not. If your goal is to average 2-4 pounds of weight loss per month over the course of a year, that’s 24-48 pounds lost in a year! Not to mention, you will have established healthy and lasting habits that you can continue for the rest of your life.

Don’t take supplements to burn fat.

They are usually a waste of money packaged with fancy advertising and less-than-true claims about how they work. Most “fat burning” supplements don’t actually burn fat! If they do anything, they help you burn more calories by increasing your metabolic rate, which can lead to weight loss, but if you don’t burn more calories than you take in, then you won’t lose weight. Some supplements will claim that they can “target belly fat” which is absurd. There are no supplements that target fat in specific parts of your body, that’s not how your body works. When you’re losing fat, fat cells shrink all over your body and everyone reacts differently. You’re better off spending your time and money focusing on your nutrition plan and making sure you burn more calories than you take in.

Spend most of your time and effort on your eating plan

As I mentioned earlier, you will only lose weight if you burn more calories than you consume. Since diet accounts for about 70-80% of your results, you should spend most of your time on this aspect of your fitness program. Meal prep takes less time than you think and will make your entire week so much easier. Meal prep takes any guesswork out of what food to eat next because your meals are already prepped and ready for you to heat up and eat.

Don’t drink liquid calories

Liquid calories are sure to derail your weight loss journey for many reasons. One of those reasons is that it contains extra calories (often sugary) that don’t help you feel full. Now, having protein shakes is still acceptable, as long as it’s just whey protein without the extra added sugar. The extra protein will help you recover for the next workout. Liquid calories to avoid are sugary drinks (juices, Gatorade, sodas, etc…) and alcohol. Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram compared to carbohydrates and protein, which have 4 calories per gram and also have additional carbohydrates attached. Alcohol can also disrupt your sleep cycle, and getting your restful sleep is a critical part of recovery. What about the wine? While some are good for your heart health, they still pack in those extra calories you probably don’t need.

Drink half your body weight in ounces of water

Most of your body is made up of water, so be sure to drink! A good rule of thumb for how much water you should drink in a day is half your body weight in ounces. For example, if you weigh 200 pounds, you should drink 100 ounces of water per day.

Don’t focus on the scale

This may seem counterintuitive, but hear me out. It’s a great feeling to see the numbers get smaller every week on that scale and it can give you a tremendous sense of accomplishment. When it starts to plateau and the numbers on the scale don’t change as often, it can be easy to get discouraged. It’s important to remember that the scale only tells part of the story when it comes to results, so don’t put all your value on what the scale says. One more important measurement to also pay attention to is your body fat percentage. When used in conjunction with the scale, your body fat percentage will be able to help you determine how much of your body is fat mass and how much is fat-free mass. It’s not uncommon for the scale not to change much, but the body fat percentage does. If you stay the same weight and your body fat percentage drops, then you’re a rock star! This means that you were able to decrease your fat mass and increase your lean body mass (most likely muscle mass)! Girth measurements and progress images are also more helpful in determining progress than scale.

Focus on improving your overall fitness

Sometimes it’s best to shift your focus to different, but related, goals to drive your results. Instead of weighing yourself weekly, try tracking and improving your fitness levels, such as improving your running time in a 3-mile race, or instead of running 3 miles, try doing 4 or 5. For strength, focus in trying to lift heavy weights and improve your overall strength levels. You can also try different programs to improve the number of push-ups or pull-ups you can do. The main point is to stop focusing on the scale and work on your strength, flexibility, or cardiovascular fitness.

If you’re ready to start your fitness journey, make sure you’re ready to change your entire lifestyle. If you don’t feel like you’re ready to do that, then ask yourself why. What prevents you from changing your life to improve your health? If you’re having trouble answering these questions, let me know and let’s get started on your path to a healthier life!

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