Most of us believe that in order to lose weight we have to do extreme calorie restriction along with intense exercise. While it is true that there needs to be a caloric deficit along with physical activity to achieve weight loss, ultimately it comes down to your metabolism. A revved up metabolism will yield more weight loss than a sluggish metabolism. We are not all created equal so when it comes to calories in and calories out some of us can get away with eating more than others and still lose weight. This will depend on a variety of things like; age, weight, sex, muscle mass, thyroid, hormones, and most importantly genetics.
6 Ways We Sabotage Our Weight Loss:
- Not Drinking Enough Fluids- When your body is dehydrated you can not burn fat efficiently so you will lose less weight. Drinking lots of water is a super way to turn up your fat burning capacity.
- Not Eating Enough During The Day- This will for sure slow down the weight loss process. Your body thinks it’s starving so it’s going to slow the metabolism in order to survive. Most people end up eating very little during the day and then make up for it in the evening, which causes the body to hang on to the food overnight in preparation for another day of starving. Eating healthy, small portions of food frequently is a great way to keep the metabolism revved up.
- Eating Too Much Sugar- Sugars are refined carbs and have to ability to stop weight loss dead in its tracks. Your body wants to burn fat but if you consume an influx of sugar it will use that as your main source of energy and promptly stop burning the fat.
- Not Strength Training- If you believe doing hours of cardio is the key to losing weight you are sadly mistaken. Of course we need to do some cardio but we also need to pick up some weights and build some muscle. The more lean muscle mass you have the more you will increase your metabolism and burn fat. My advice to all you cardio lovers is to cut your cardio in half and add strength training into your program 3 days per week.
- Skimping On Protein- By not consuming enough protein in your diet your body is forced to burn muscle for fuel resulting in less muscle mass. Less muscle means less fat burning capability. Also, you are more likely to have sugar cravings with low protein diets.
- Eating Back Your Exercise Calories- I always have clients ask me how many calories they burned during their training session. Somehow by knowing the number they can justify drinking the extra glass of wine or eating that extra piece of bread or piece of chocolate. This equation rarely works especially if you are trying to lose weight, in fact you may even gain weight by doing this.
Stay Healthy and Happy!
