Losing weight can seem very difficult.
Sometimes, you feel like you're doing everything correctly, without getting results.
You can actually hinder your progress by following wrong or outdated advice.
Here are 15 common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight.
1. Not eating enough protein
Getting enough protein is extremely important if you're trying to lose weight.
In fact, it has been shown that protein helps with weight loss in several ways.
It can reduce appetite, increase feelings of fullness, decrease caloric intake, increase metabolic rate, and preserve muscle mass during weight loss.
In a 12-day study, people followed a diet containing 30% of calories from protein. They ended up consuming an average of 575 fewer calories per day than when they consumed 15% of calories from protein.
A review also found that high-protein diets can improve appetite control and body composition.
To optimize weight loss, make sure each of your meals contains a protein-rich food.
Discover our high-protein diet by clicking here
2. Focusing only on the scale weight
It is very common to feel like you're not losing weight fast enough, even if you're sticking faithfully to your diet.
However, the number on the scale is just one measure of weight change. Weight is influenced by several factors, including physical activity, fluid fluctuations, and the amount of food remaining in your system.
In fact, weight can fluctuate by up to 1.8 kg over the course of a day, depending on how much food and liquids you've consumed.
Additionally, an increase in estrogen levels and other hormonal changes in women can lead to greater water retention, which is reflected in the scale weight.
If the number on the scale isn't moving, you may be losing fat mass while holding onto water. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to lose water weight.
Moreover, if you exercise, you gain muscle and lose fat.
3. Eating too many or too few calories
A caloric deficit is necessary to lose weight. This means you must burn more calories than you consume.
For many years, it was believed that a decrease of 3,500 calories per week would result in a loss of 0.45 kg of fat. However, recent research shows that the caloric deficit needed varies from person to person.
You may feel like you're not eating many calories. But in fact, most of us tend to underestimate what we eat.
In a two-week study, 10 obese individuals reported consuming 1,000 calories per day. Laboratory tests showed they were actually absorbing approximately 2,000 calories per day.
You may be consuming too many healthy but calorie-dense foods, such as nuts and cheese. It is essential to monitor portion sizes.
On the other hand, reducing excessively your caloric intake can be counterproductive.
Studies on very low-calorie diets providing fewer than 1,000 calories per day show they can lead to muscle loss and significantly slow down metabolism. Tracking a meal plan is necessary to learn in depth the fundamental processes for losing weight.
4. Not exercising or exercising too much
During weight loss, you inevitably lose a minimum of muscle mass as well as fat, although the amount depends on several factors.
If you don't exercise at all while limiting calories, you risk losing more muscle mass and experiencing a decrease in metabolic rate.
Conversely, exercise helps minimize the amount of lean mass you lose, increase fat loss, and prevent your metabolism from slowing down. The more lean mass you have, the easier it is to lose weight and maintain weight loss.
However, overtraining can also cause problems.
Studies show that excessive exercise is not sustainable long-term for most people and can cause stress. Furthermore, it can impair the production of adrenal hormones that regulate the stress response.
Trying to force your body to burn more calories by exercising too much is neither effective nor healthy.
However, lifting weights and doing cardio 3 to 5 times per week is a sustainable strategy to maintain metabolic rate during weight loss.
5. Choosing low-fat or "diet" foods
The foods processed low-fat or "diet" are often considered good choices for weight loss, but they may actually have the opposite effect.
Many of these products are high in sugar to improve their taste.
For example, one cup (245 grams) of low-fat yogurt flavored with fruit can contain 47 grams of sugar (nearly 12 teaspoons).
Rather than making you feel full, low-fat products are likely to make you hungrier, so you'll end up eating even more.
Instead of low-fat or "diet" foods, choose a combination of nutritious, minimally processed foods by eating healthily and in a balanced way.
Discover our dietary rebalancing plan by clicking here
6. Not lifting weights
Performing resistance training is extremely important during weight loss.
Studies show that lifting weights is one of the most effective exercise strategies for building muscle and increasing metabolic rate. This type of exercise also improves overall body composition and boosts belly fat loss.
In fact, a review of 15 studies involving over 700 people found that the best weight loss strategy appears to be a combination of aerobic exercise and weight training.
7. Overestimating the number of calories you burn during exercise
Many people believe that exercise "supercharges" their metabolism.
While exercise does increase metabolic rate somewhat, it may actually be lower than you think.
Studies show that normal weight and overweight people tend to overestimate the number of calories they burn during exercise, often significantly.
In one study, people burned between 200 and 300 calories during exercise sessions. Yet when asked, they estimated they had burned over 800 calories. As a result, they ended up eating more.
That being said, exercise is still crucial for overall health and can help you lose weight. It's simply not as effective at burning calories as some people think.
8. Not eating enough fiber
A low-fiber diet can undermine your weight loss efforts.
Studies show that a type of soluble fiber known as viscous fiber helps reduce appetite by forming a gel that retains water.
This gel moves slowly through your digestive tract, making you feel full.
Research suggests that all types of fiber promote weight loss. However, a review of multiple studies found that viscous fiber reduced appetite and caloric intake much more than other types.
When total fiber intake is high, some of the calories from foods in mixed meals are not absorbed. Researchers estimate that doubling daily fiber intake could result in the absorption of up to 130 fewer calories.
9. Eating too much fat on a low-carb diet
Ketogenic and low-carb diets can be very effective for weight loss.
Studies show that they tend to reduce appetite , which often leads to a spontaneous reduction in caloric intake.
Many low-carb and ketogenic diets allow unlimited amounts of fat, assuming that the resulting appetite suppression will keep calories low enough for weight loss.
However, some people may not feel a strong enough signal to stop eating. As a result, they may consume too many calories to achieve a caloric deficit.
If you add large amounts of fat to your foods or drinks and you're not losing weight.
10. Eating too often, even when you're not hungry
For many years, conventional advice has been to eat at set times in order to avoid hunger and a drop in metabolism.
Unfortunately, this can lead to excessive calorie consumption throughout the day. And you may never feel truly full.
The recommendation to eat breakfast every morning, regardless of appetite, also seems misguided.
A study found that when people skipped breakfast, they consumed more calories at lunch than when they had eaten a morning meal. However, they consumed an average of 408 fewer calories for the day overall.
Eating when you're hungry and only when you're hungry seems to be the key to successful weight loss.
However, fighting hunger is also a bad idea. It's better to eat a healthy snack than to be ravenously hungry, which can lead you to make poor food choices and trigger cravings.
11. Having unrealistic expectations
The weight loss and other health-related goals can help keep you motivated.
However, having unrealistic expectations can actually have the opposite psychological effect.
Researchers analyzed data from several weight loss center programs. They reported that overweight and obese women who expected to lose the most weight were most likely to abandon a program after 6 to 12 months..
Adjust your expectations to a more realistic and modest goal, such as losing 10% of your body weight in one year. This can help you avoid discouragement and improve your chances of success.
12. Not tracking what you eat in any way
Eating nutritious foods is a good weight loss strategy. However, you may still be consuming more calories than necessary to lose weight.
Additionally, you may not be getting the right amount of protein, fiber, carbohydrates, and fats to support your weight loss efforts.
Studies show that daily tracking of what you eat can help you get an accurate picture of your calorie and nutrient intake, as well as increase accountability..
Discover our nutritional programs established over 30 days according to multiple objectives.
13. Consume unsuspected sugary beverages unsuspected
Many people eliminate soft drinks and other sugary beverages from their diet to lose weight, which is a good thing.
However, drinking fruit juice instead is really not recommended!
Even 100% fruit juices are high in sugar and can lead to similar health and weight problems as those caused by sugary drinks..
300 ml of unsweetened apple juice contains 36 grams of sugar. That's even more than in a can of coca-cola..
Additionally, liquid calories don't seem to affect your brain's appetite centers the same way calories from solid foods do.
Studies demonstrate that you end up consuming more calories overall, rather than compensating for liquid calories by eating less later in the day..
14. Not reading food labels
Not carefully reading the information on labels can lead you to consume unwanted calories and unhealthy ingredients.
Unfortunately, many foods are labeled with healthy food claims on the front of the packaging. These can give you a false sense of security when choosing an item..
To get the most important information for weight control, you should consult the ingredient list and nutrition facts label, which are found on the back of the container.
Don't hesitate to monitor the Nutriscore which is also a good indicator.
15. Consume too many processed foods
One of the worst things you can do for weight loss is to eat a lot of highly processed foods.
Animal and human studies suggest that processed foods may be a major factor in the current obesity epidemic and other health problems..
Some researchers believe this could be due to their negative effects on gut health and inflammation..
Furthermore, whole foods tend to self-limit, meaning they are difficult to overconsume. In contrast, it is very easy to eat excessively processed foods.
Whenever possible, choose single-ingredient whole foods that are minimally processed.
