A recurring question is: why is it so difficult to lose weight?
In addition to the obvious reasons, such as excessive food consumption or lack of physical activity, there are other factors that prevent weight loss.
Below you will find the six errors that affect your weight loss progress.
1. You Have a Short-Term Attitude
Having a short-term attitude is one of the primary mistakes people who want to lose weight make.
Without a long-term attitude, you may lose a few pounds, but after a few weeks, you regain them, and you may even double them due to the rebound effect.
This is very common to happen if you follow a diet that promises quick changes like the keto diet or the paleo diet. These diets only last a few weeks.
Actually, a balanced diet for weight loss in the long term includes all the food groups.
The recommended range for weight loss is 1 to 2 pounds per week, although overweight people may lose more weight initially.
2. You Have an All-Or-Nothing Mindset
Many people start the weight loss process by cutting out all processed foods, including bread, milk, pasta, and cheese.
This is a problem because it causes more cravings, and it is challenging not to indulge them.
In fact, what commonly happens is that people binge on processed foods and then feel guilty about ruining their diet. Thus, they return to their all-or-nothing mindset, and the cycle repeats itself.
This concept also applies to physical activity. It is always advisable to do the less physical activity but constantly over time.
3. You Lack a Support System
Many times, our close circle is critical to successful weight loss.
In fact, many people do not start a weight loss plan because they are stigmatized.
For this reason, it is essential to have a solid support system that will accompany you on your long-term weight loss journey.
If you feel like you don’t have a support system, try talking to your friends and family about it so that they can join you on the weight loss journey.
In any case, you can always turn to online communities that promote healthy living.
4. You Think Exercise Conquers All
You should know that it is essential to do physical activity to lose weight as it helps burn fat while giving us other health benefits. But the truth is that it is difficult to lose weight just by doing physical activity.
Many people overestimate the number of calories they burn during physical activity. For example, a 154-pound man burns fewer than 450 calories during an hour of vigorous physical exercise.
The amount of calories you burn during exercise depends on many factors, such as:
- the intensity of the activity
- your body weight
- the duration of the exercise
- your age
- your body composition
On the other hand, focusing only on exercise can lead to a destructive cycle where you do extra physical activity to burn off calories that you shouldn’t have consumed. This leads to a conflicting relationship with food and exercise while not helping to lose weight.
In conclusion, if you want to lose weight, you must combine a consistent exercise routine with a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, proteins, and healthy fats.
5. Your Sleep, Stress, and Workload are Working Against You
Losing weight is also very difficult if you are stressed, sleep too little or work too much.
This is a common scenario:
- You wake up motivated and wanting to start the day. You have plans to go for a run after work and have healthy food stored in the fridge.
- A few hours later, your lack of sleep makes you go for a coffee.
- When you finish work, you are too drained to go for a run, so you suspend physical activity.
- As you are tired and stressed, you decide to leave the healthy food for another time and eat something fast and unhealthy.
If this happens occasionally, that’s fine. The problem is when it happens all the time.
Nutrition and physical activity are essential to losing weight, but so are sleep and control of stress.
6. You Use Supplements Instead of Eating a Healthy Diet
While some supplements can help in the weight loss process, the truth is that you have to work for the supplements to work.
For example, a daily protein shake every morning helps prolong the feeling of fullness and is beneficial for building muscle, which aids in body recomposition.
While some weight loss supplements have evidence to back them up, the best way to lose weight is to eat fewer calories than you burn.
