10 Things to Avoid when Losing Weight-Part 1 of 2 (5#)
Almost everyone in their lifetime tried at least once to lose weight. As mentioned in previous Blogs a vast amount of people are obese and obesity is a disease that brings many other health problems. If you are considering to start a Fat-loss journey let me guide you through 10 things to avoid in order to have a more successful journey.
Fasting & Skipping Meals:
I know that fasting has become something of a mainstream, and more and more people dive into making it a lifestyle. Truth hurts and the truth is that fasting has no fat loss benefits. A calorie deficit will lead to losing fat only. If someone told you otherwise, well, they are lying. Fasting only gives you a window to consume meals, apart from that you can’t change the laws of thermodynamics. Another thing to consider is skipping meals. People oftentimes start skipping meals, which leads to consuming more calories, and binging at the end of the day. The best thing to do is have a protein-rich breakfast, and have 4-5 meals per day while being at an optimal 300 calories as a deficit (60-65% as carbs, 30-25% as protein and 10% as healthy fats).
Fear of artificial sweeteners.
Many people are afraid of using artificial sweeteners believing they lead to cancer-related issues or other things. Truth is, studies have proven that artificial sweeteners do no damage to your health at all and are far better than normal white sugar, whilst having almost no calories at all. Imagine that a normal Coke has around 150 calories whereas a diet one has 1-4 calories only.
Losing weight too fast
Losing weight and keeping it off is one thing, and losing weight fast is another. Losing weight fast means being in a big calorie deficit, which leads to muscle loss, fatigue and messing up probably your hormones. Muscle burns calories and you need it in order to have a higher metabolic rate. Losing weight slowly, primarily means losing fat, keeping your muscle and building even more of it. Apart from that remember, people who lose weight slower tend to keep it off whereas people who lose weight fast, get it back faster than last time.
Avoiding the scale
Believe it or not many people avoid getting on the scale to see their progress. The scale is your ally and your friend in your journey in order to track your progress. The proper way to use the scale is to step on it 3-4 times per week and then calculate the average weight of those times. That is your true weight. A small tip here to keep in mind is that the optimal body weight to lose per week is 1%.
Relying on HIIT
HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) is another type of training going more and more mainstream. Throughout my fitness career, I’ve tried and researched almost everything. Many people claim that HIIT cardio burns more calories and that it still burns calories after you have finished your training. Well, let’s be honest here. HIIT cardio can be done 2-3 times per week (due to the stress it has on the body) for a normal person, and maximum of 30 minutes. That means you’ll lose approximately 250-300 calories and throughout the day another 30 calories from that so-called after-effect. The best approach for your cardio is Moderate Intensity Training. Something that you can do for a long period of time. Imagine going on the treadmill on a small incline for 60 minutes. For a normal person that means 400-450 calories which is far more than HIIT, while having less stress on the nervous system and the body, while also having a better result on your most important muscle, the heart!
That was the first part of the list of 10 things to avoid in your journey to lose weight. Don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter to stay in the loop and get more news and content on subjects that matter to your health.
Stay tuned for part 2!!
