Weight Loss Mistakes

Are there weight loss mistakes? Absolutely. As a Nutrition Coach, I am sharing the biggest ones I see when working with clients to drop fat for good. Let’s face it: embarking on a weight loss journey is a rewarding decision, but it can be fraught with pitfalls that may stall your progress. Below, I’ve outlined 15 common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight. Recognizing and avoiding these errors can enhance your journey and achieve sustainable success.

15 Weight Loss Mistakes in No Particular Order:

1. Getting Caught Up in the Small Stuff (instead of behaviors that move the needle): For example, Focusing on how much vitamin K is in your greens supplement while your diet mainly consists of eating out or hyper-palatable and highly processed foods.

2. Not Prioritizing Protein: Filling up on carbs or fats first and not having enough room to meet daily protein needs. This leads to getting hungry faster and potentially eating more than if you had prioritized your protein. Protein is the most satiating of all macronutrients, and it has been scientifically proven to help retain lean muscle and metabolic rate.

3. Following Dogmatic Diet Rules: Nothing magical happens when you don’t eat until noon or stop eating red foods, for example. The truth is you are just cutting back your calories in a less sustainable way. Instead, opt for healthy, nutrient-dense whole foods that will naturally be more filling and reduce overall caloric consumption.

4. Focusing on Calorie Quantity Over Quality: Focusing on calorie count rather than what the calories you eat consist of. Eating the Twinky diet may help you lose weight, but it is unsustainable and unhealthy. What you eat is just as important as how much you eat. 

5. Focusing on “burning fat” or “calorie burn” when choosing exercises instead of building muscle, strength, and overall performance. 

6. Ignoring Fiber: Not focusing on getting enough fiber to curb hunger and maintain blood sugar levels. The daily recommendation for fiber for women is 25g. Most women are drastically missing the mark on fiber. Want to eat less overall and lose that belly fat for good? Fiber is your friend.

7. Skipping Hydration: Thirst is commonly confused with hunger, and it is estimated that 75% of Americans walk around chronically dehydrated to some degree. Mild dehydration, even like 1%, can increase cortisol (the body’s primary stress hormone) and lower metabolism.

8. Sedentary Lifestyle: Only moving your body during “workout” time. Workout time is always beneficial, but if you spend the rest of the day sitting, it can still have negative effects on your health. Most of our daily caloric burn (approximately 60% of daily calories) comes from NEAT or Non-exercise activity thermogenesis. 

9. Quick Fix Mentality: Jumping from quick fix to quick fix, looking for the next cleanse, shred, or detox tea instead of following healthy behaviors that help you reach and maintain your goals long term, leading to burnout. Also, bouncing around from one instant fix to another usually means you aren’t giving yourself long enough to achieve your weight loss goal. 

10. Overhauling Lifestyle Too Fast: Trying to change too much, too fast, without considering realistic goals or how consistency over the long term always trumps short-term effort. Too much too fast usually results in injury or quitting due to unrealistic expectations.

11. Starting While Metabolically Unhealthy: Starting a weight loss journey when we are not metabolically healthy or have a long history of dieting or extreme exercise. In such situations, our bodies can stop responding to our weight loss efforts because the body adapted to working with less fuel, further slowing our metabolism to meet that constant low-energy state. 

12. Waiting for Motivation: You are waiting for the elusive “motivation” fairy to visit instead of understanding that it’s more about discipline. Even the most fit people in the world have days when they don’t want to work out. 

13. Ignoring Diet History: Not considering your diet history. How long have you been dieting? How much have you cut back? How many diets have you tried? 800 calories a day doing 6x days a week of HIIT cardio isn’t a healthy place to start a weight loss journey. Your body remembers the stress you placed on it during the last diet. No wonder you aren’t losing weight. That plateau is your body holding on to your body fat for the upcoming “famine” you intentionally place your body into.

14. Neglecting Mindset and Psychology: Not understanding that psychology is just as important as physiology. What is your mindset toward weight loss? What is your reason for wanting to lose weight? How important is it to you?

15. Unrealistic Expectations: Not accepting that losing weight will take way longer than you think to lose it sustainably. Can you lose 30 lbs in 30 days? Sure. Will you keep it off? That is the real question. I know I have been a great nutrition coach when my clients can keep the weight off for five years, not five months. Sexy sells but rarely delivers over the long term. I like to teach methods that work. They aren’t always sexy, but they ARE effective. Do you want to lose weight fast or permanently? The journey is your way to the summit, not what you do at the top.

Conclusion:

Navigating the complexities of weight loss can be challenging, but avoiding these common mistakes can significantly enhance your journey. By focusing on sustainable habits, prioritizing health, and nurturing a positive mindset, you set yourself up for long-term success. Remember, the goal isn’t just to reach your desired weight but to maintain it for a lifetime. Your journey is personal, and each step forward counts. Embrace change patiently and trust in the process for enduring results.