When it comes to weight management, where your priorities are will determine the results you get. Unfortunately, too many people prioritize unnecessary and ineffective things. You may actually be slowing or, worse, hindering your progress by following outdated advice.
Regardless of what your goal is for your weight loss orweight management, whether it is to lose a few pounds for a specialProvoevent or to simply feel good about yourself, these are the common mistakes that you should be avoiding:
Eating too many calories
A slight calorie deficit plays a key role in any weight loss or weight management program. The law of thermodynamics states that in order to be in a calorie deficit, you have to burn calories more than you consume. The easiest way to control your calorie input and ensure consistency in your regimen is to track your calorie intake.
A study conducted over two weeks showed that 10 obese people inaccurately counted their calorie intake and reported consuming only 1,000 calories per day. The lab testing, however, showed that they were taking in around 2,000 calories per day.
Not reading nutritional labels correctly is one reason people end up eating too many calories. These days, a lot of packaged food put claims of health benefits on their front package. But once you check the back label, you see that most of these could be misleading – either there could be a lot of sugar hiding among the ingredients or you are simply reading the size of one serving incorrectly. Also, “low fat” or “fat-free” doesn’t necessarily mean fewer calories. Do not be fooled by good packaging.
Overestimating calories burned during exercise
Similar to inaccurate counting of calorie intake, this is another common mistake for most people who are struggling to manage their weight. A study showed that people reported burning 800 calories during an exercise session, when, in reality, they burned only 200 to 300 calories.
Almost everyone knows that exercise is crucial for overall health as well as for weight management. Many people believe that exercise has this tremendous effect on metabolism. That and the overestimation of afterburn effect are altogether another common mistake. While it is true that calories continue to burn from one to 24 hours after an intense workout, you probably won’t burn more than 10% additional calories in total post-workout.
Having unrealistic expectations
Research showed that overweight and obese women who expected to lose the most weight were likely to drop out of a program after six to 12 months. Too many people have misguided weight management goals for themselves. The 10-day shred that has repeatedly been advertised on TV is simply not realistic. It is not the optimal approach to losing body fat.
A lot of people are focused on losing weight as quickly as possible through fixes such as crash diets and supplements, not giving themselves enough time, as opposed to focusing on consistency, patience, and commitment. Understanding that weight loss is a gradual process is important to keep you stay on track and not get easily discouraged.
When your focus shifts onto the right things and you start to develop that healthy, realistic lifestyle, weight management becomes easier. Then you will begin to see results.
