Are you trying to lose weight? Kick these 6 habits to the curb

2024 is coming to an end. Have you achieved the fitness goals you set at the beginning of the year? If you’ve been exercising but seeing limited results, it’s possible that some of your habits are holding you back. A few simple changes can help you avoid weight cycling—that is, when you gain weight right after losing it—and start promoting healthy habits that you can rely on for a lifetime.

Don’t forget that Weight does not determine your health. You should always contact your doctor to discuss this other aspects of your well-being what you can focus on instead of weight loss.

These are the top pitfalls to avoid to increase your chances of fitness success — and the good news is that they don’t make as big of a change as you might think.

1. Stop thinking in the short term

Everything on this list is a bit of a harsh truth, but this is often the hardest to accept (and change). If you approach weight loss with a short-term attitude, you may not make it anywhere except the yo-yo dieting train.

Without a long-term approach to weight loss, you may lose 10 or more pounds in two weeks and then experience a rebound when you discover that that regimen didn’t work for you. This is all too common when people follow strict diets such as keto or Paleo or fad diets that promise quick weight loss. In reality, for most people, a balanced diet is inclusive all food groups and even some treats work best in the long run.

Part of successful, sustainable weight loss – losing the weight and keeping it off for good – is understanding that fad diets, excessive exercise and “detoxes” usually don’t work. They only last as long as your willpower lasts, and I bet it won’t be more than two weeks to a few months.

Despite what the wellness industry might want you to believe, there are no quick fixes, miracle cures or magic pills when it comes to weight loss. Losing weight requires commitment to a plan that supports healthy habits over the long term.

The general recommendation for weight loss is a rate of 1 to 2 pounds per week, although initial weight loss may exceed that of very overweight people, and then slow to the suggested 1 to 2 pounds per week. Research has shown that this is a effective way lose weight without losing too much water or lean tissue — and to avoid a rebound.

2. An all-or-nothing mentality can be harmful

Many people who struggle with a short-term attitude also struggle with an all-or-nothing mentality. I started my health and fitness journey with this mindset. I cut everything out processed foods: No breadno pasta, no milk, no cheese and no individually packaged snacks. I basically existed on chicken, vegetables and berries.

This was great until it wasn’t, and I ended up on a CVS run for all the chocolate and goldfish I could hold with both hands. Then, because I had “ruined” my diet, I ate as much as I could physically handle because, “Why not? I already ruined it.”

Then I would feel bad about the snacks I was eating and return to my overly restrictive regimen the next day. This is one destructive cycle to participate, but it’s something I see all the time with personal training clients. An all-or-nothing mentality can keep you in a perpetual cycle of lose-win-lose, not to mention shame and guilt around food.

This all-or-nothing concept also applies to fitness: if you’ve done it the most effective workouts to get in shape in the shortest time possible left and right but you don’t feel fitter or stronger, maybe you are doing too much. Toning it down could – counter-intuitively – be the answer improving your fitness (and playing the long game).

3. A stronger support system could provide a solution

Supportive friends, family members, and significant others are critical to successful weight loss. If I were asked to name my previous personal training clients’ most common reason for not sticking to a healthy diet, I would say: stigma.

That’s right. As silly as it sounds, people really do get ridiculed for eating healthy, especially in regions where food is an integral part of the culture. Growing up in southern Louisiana, near New Orleans, I experienced this a lot when I decided I was going to change my diet.

At family gatherings and social outings, I would receive comments like, “Is that all you eat?” or, “Are you really not going to eat dessert?” or, loaded with sarcasm, “Next time we’ll have a salad potluck.”

It’s no fun to be ridiculed or mocked, especially when it comes to things you care about (like your health!), so it can be very easy to fall into the trap of eating (and drinking) for the sake of it. of your social life. This is why a solid support system is key to long-term weight loss. Without this, the journey can feel lonely and intimidating.

If you currently feel like you don’t have a support system, try having open conversations about it with your friends, family, and partner. You can make it clear that they don’t have to change their eating habits if they don’t want to, but that your health means a lot to you and that you would appreciate it if they didn’t mock or downplay your hard work. .

If an IRL support system isn’t working, turn to online communities that promote both health and body positivity. I really like Flex and Flow on Instagram, Health in every size and the Intuitive eating community. These communities emphasize health without emphasizing weight, which is helpful because when you focus on health outcomes, you will easily reach your happy weight. Reddit also has a great forum (/r/loss) where you can find many real life weight loss stories.

4. Exercise doesn’t always conquer everything

If you’re at all familiar with the wellness industry, you know this saying: “Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym.” Even if your goals don’t include a shredded stomach, the saying is still relevant. You just can’t beat a bad diet.

Exercise should be part of your overall approach to weight loss, because it is proven to help with weight loss (not to mention the long list of other health benefits), but it is difficult to lose weight by exercising alone. Many people overestimate the number of calories they can burn during their workouts; it’s usually much less than you think, and much less than the calories your body burns during the day at rest, only if you maintain your current physique.

For example, a 154-pound man will burn less than 450 calories during an intense one-hour weightlifting workout. It’s easy to neglect that effort if you don’t pay attention to your diet. The exact number of calories you burn while exercising depends on many factors, including your current weight, the intensity of the activity, the duration of the workout, your age, and your age. body composition.

Plus, focusing on exercise alone can lead to a destructive cycle of exercising extra to burn calories you think you shouldn’t have eaten. Or maybe you feel like you have to ‘earn’ your calories by exercising. Either way, this approach can lead to a strained relationship with food and exercise, and stalled weight loss.

Some people, like those who have suffered from it for years muscle mass, can eat a lot of high-calorie foods and not gain weight because muscles burn more calories at rest. Even if you can eat what you want and lose or maintain your weight, that doesn’t mean it’s healthy for you.

A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, lean proteins and some whole grains will serve you best in terms of sustainable weight loss and health. Combined with a consistent exercise routineyou will experience sustained weight loss and weight maintenance once you reach your goal weight.

5. Sleep more, reduce stress and eat better

Losing weight will be much more difficult if you are chronically stressed, sleep deprivation or overworked. This scenario may sound familiar to you:

• You wake up motivated and ready to seize the day. You have plans for follow-up work interval running and your healthy, ready-made meal is waiting for you in the refrigerator.
• A few hours a day, your lack of sleep catches up with you. You reach noon coffee.
• By the time work is over, you’re way too exhausted to go for a run. You decide to skip it.
• You’re tired and maybe a little stressed or cranky, so you forgo the healthy dinner and go to a drive-through instead — because you want comfort food.

This is fine if it happens occasionally (everyone deserves a lazy evening every now and then), but weight loss seems impossible if it happens all the time.

The truth is that diet and exercise are just two components of a healthy life that can lead to weight loss. While important, overemphasizing diet and exercise can cause you to overlook other factors that are just as important: sleep and stress management.

6. Supplements can’t do all the hard work

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that fat burner supplement in your medicine cabinet won’t do the job for you. Certain supplements can help you achieve your weight loss goals, but you have to work on them to make your supplements work.

For example, you can include a daily protein shake in the morning help you feel fuller throughout the day, which can help keep cravings at bay. An increased protein intake is also possible help you build musclewhat helps recomposition of the body.

Certain weight loss supplements do any evidence to support thembut there are no supplements as proven as the method no one wants to follow: eat fewer calories than you burn.