Common Mistakes When Trying to Lose Weight

Losing weight can be challenging for some people.

Sometimes you might feel like you’re making healthy lifestyle choices, yet you’re still not getting the results you want.

You may, in fact, be following misguided or outdated advice. This may prevent you from seeing the changes you’re looking for.

Here common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight.

1. Focusing only on the scale

It can be common to feel like you’re not losing weight fast enough, despite following a healthy lifestyle.

It’s important to remember that the number on the scale is only one measure of weight change. Weight is influenced by several things, including fluid fluctuations and the amount of food that remains in your system.

In fact, weight may fluctuate around 1 to 2 Kg over the course of a few days, depending on factors like how much food and liquid you’ve consumed .

Also, hormonal changes in women can lead to greater water retention, which is reflected in the weight you see on the scale .

If the number on the scale isn’t moving, you may be losing fat mass but holding on to water. Additionally, if you’ve been working out, you may be gaining muscle and losing fat.

When this happens, your clothes may start to feel looser — especially around the waist — even if the number on the scale remains the same.

Measuring your waist with a tape measure and taking monthly pictures of yourself can indicate if you’re losing fat, even if the scale number doesn’t change much.

2. Eating too many or too few calories

A calorie deficit is required for weight loss. This means you need to burn more calories than you consume.

For many years, it was believed that a decrease of 3,500 calories per week would result in 0.45 kg of fat loss. However, recent research shows the calorie deficit needed varies from person to person.

You may sometimes feel as though you’re not eating very many calories, and this may be the case. However, people often tend to incorrectly estimate the number of calories in a meal .

One study asked adults to exercise on a treadmill, estimate the number of calories they burned, and then suggest a meal with the same number of calories. It found that participants significantly underestimated and overestimated calories in exercise and food .

You may be consuming foods that are healthy but also high in calories, such as nuts and fish. Eating moderate portion sizes is key.

On the other hand, decreasing your calorie intake too much can be counterproductive. Studies on very low calorie diets indicate they may lead to muscle loss and significantly slow down metabolism .

3. Not exercising or exercising too much

During weight loss, you inevitably lose some muscle mass as well as fat, although the amount depends on several factors .

If you don’t exercise at all while restricting calories, you’re likely to lose more muscle mass and experience a decrease in metabolic rate.

By contrast, exercising may help:

• minimize the amount of lean mass you lose

• increase fat loss

• prevent your metabolism from slowing down

The more lean mass you have, the easier it is to lose weight and maintain the weight loss .

However, overexercising can also cause problems.

Studies show excessive exercise is unsustainable in the long term for most people and may lead to stress. In addition, it may negatively impact endocrine hormones, which help regulate functions throughout your body .

Trying to force your body to burn more calories by exercising too much is neither effective nor healthy.

However, lifting weights and doing cardio several times per week can be a sustainable strategy for maintaining metabolic rate during weight loss.

4. Not lifting weights

Performing resistance training can greatly promote weight loss.

Studies show lifting weights is one of the most effective exercise strategies for gaining muscle and increasing metabolic rate. It also improves strength and physical function and may help increase belly fat loss .

In fact, a review of 32 studies including more than 4,700 people with obesity found the best strategy for reducing fat appears to be combined aerobic exercise and weightlifting .

5. Choosing low fat or “diet” foods

Processed low fat or “diet” foods are often considered healthy choices that can help you lose weight. However, they may have the opposite effect.

Many of these products are loaded with sugar to improve their taste. For instance, a container 170 grams of low fat flavored yogurt can contain 23.5 grams of sugar (over 4 teaspoons) .

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that a 2,000-calorie diet include less than 12 teaspoons of added sugar per day .

Low fat products can also make you feel hungrier, so you may end up eating more food than your body needs.

Instead of low fat or “diet” foods, try to choose a combination of nutritious, minimally processed foods. When possible, choose fruits and vegetables — this includes canned and frozen varieties — because they are naturally low in fat but also packed with nutrients.

6. Overestimating how many calories you burn during exercise

Many people believe that exercise “supercharges” their metabolism. Though exercise increases metabolic rate somewhat, it may be less than you think.

Studies show that people with moderate weight and overweight both tend to overestimate the number of calories they burn during exercise, often by a significant amount .

People may also overestimate their exercise levels. In one study, 29.1% of participants reported higher physical activity levels than they actually had .

Exercise is still crucial for overall health and can help you lose weight. It’s good to understand how much exercise you’re getting and the number of calories it burns.

7. Not eating enough protein

Getting enough protein is important if you’re trying to lose weight. In fact, protein has been shown to help with weight loss in several ways.

It may :

• reduce appetite

• increase feelings of fullness

• lower the amount of weight regained

• maintain or increase metabolic rate

• protect muscle mass during weight loss

A review also found that higher protein diets, containing 0.6–0.8 grams of protein per lb (1.2–1.6 g/kg), may benefit appetite control and change body composition .

To help with weight loss, try to make sure each of your meals contains a high protein food. Keep in mind your choice of protein isn’t limited to meat or dairy. Beans, legumes, quinoa and flaxseeds are also great and affordable options.

8. Not tracking what you eat in any way

Eating nutritious foods is good for your health and for losing weight. However, you may still be eating more calories than your body needs.

What’s more, you may not be getting the amount of protein, fiber, carbs, and fat you need to support your weight loss efforts and your health.

Studies show that tracking what you eat can help you get an accurate picture of your calorie and nutrient consumption, as well as provide accountability .

One study found that people who logged their food once per day lost 0.63% more of their body weight each month than people who logged meals once per month. Those who logged meals and workouts more frequently also lost more weight .

In addition to food, most online tracking sites and apps allow you to enter your daily exercise. Logging each of these areas may give you a better understanding of your overall health.

9. Not eating whole, single-ingredient foods

One barrier to weight loss can be eating a lot of highly processed foods.

Animal and human studies suggest that processed foods may be a major factor in the current high rates of obesity and other health problems .

Some researchers believe this could be due to their negative effects on gut health and inflammation .

In addition, whole foods tend to be self-limiting, meaning they are harder to overconsume. By contrast, it can be easy to keep eating processed foods even when you’re no longer hungry.

When possible, try to choose whole, single-ingredient foods that are minimally processed.