As we come into the new year, people are writing their 2018 goals and making plans. Many people include weight loss or fitness goals in those plans. Unfortunately, many people don’t go about it the right way, are unsuccessful, and give up. Don’t that that person be you!
When talking with people who are unsuccessful in their attempts to lose weight to help with their body composition and performance, there are a number of common mistakes/misconceptions I hear when it comes to their attempts to “diet.”
Here are the 5 that I find most frequently!
Undereating
Losing weight is not a true “calories in/calories out” scenario. Yes, you do have to be in a deficit in order to actually lose weight. But if you have too big of a deficit, your body will try to protect itself by holding on to everything it can.
I understand how this happens, though. If you eat foods that are healthy for you, such as lean proteins, vegetables, fruit, and limit your fat intake, but don’t track your total calories, it is easy to be in a large deficit.
In this instance, you are eating very healthy foods, just not enough of them.
Check out Get Your Fix Nutrition for more information!
“Diet” drinks
It says “diet” and “no calories” so certainly it is good for me, right? Not so fast!
The “diet” drinks are full of artificial sweeteners and chemicals, which are not good for your body. Besides being linked to cancers and other medical issues, they can also cause simple things such as bloating, headaches, contribute to migraines, and fatigue.
Besides the chemicals and what negative effects they may or may not have, some studies have also found that your body forgets how to process real sugar properly when it needs to because it is used to dealing with the artificial sugars.
If you are going to consume a product with a artificial sweetener in it, use products with Stevia in it, as that is the best one for you.
Check out Get Your Fix Nutrition for more information!
Avoiding fats and carbs
For years, everything was “no carb,” “low carb,” “low fat,” etc., giving carbs and fats a very bad reputation and causing people to be scared to consume them.
This has continued to carry on in people’s minds today. Carbs and fats are necessary for the body to function, it is how we get our energy and keeps our brain functioning. If the body does not have those and has to rely on protein to survive, we start to breakdown muscle, which causes a whole other “can of worms” to deal with.
With that said, that also does not mean you should be carb dependent and eat a high amount of grains frequently. Carbs should still be more in the form of fruits and vegetables primarily in order to get the vitamins and minerals you need on a daily basis.
Fats do need to be consumed on a regular basis, but steer towards the healthy fats…avocado, coconut, nuts and seeds, olive, and hemp. You can also get natural, healthy fats in fish or by taking fish oil supplements.
Check out Get Your Fix Nutrition for more information!
Following a “one size doesn’t fit all” plan
I’m sure you can all name at least one friend who has lost weight and told you how he/she did it. And when you tried that method it did not work for you.
This is because every body responds differently to different foods and different ratios of macronutrients. Just because one method worked for your friend does not mean it will work for you.
Just because that method did not work for you does not mean it is hopeless. It just means your body needs a different food plan when it comes to losing weight and keeping it off.
Check out Get Your Fix Nutrition for more information!
“If it fits into my macros”
I frequently overhear or see posts on social media about eating some sort of unhealthy food, but “it fit in my macros.”
Just because you have set numbers and you are hitting your numbers, does not mean you should be eating a lot of unhealthy foods.
I tend to coach/advise people on clean eating, avoiding processed foods. This will help you feel fuller longer and just feel better overall.
With that said, I still advise once one cheat day a week, which helps to give your body a “reset” and improve
Want more information? You can find more information at Get Your Fix Nutrition.
