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Many of us have tried to lose weight and failed, often blaming ourselves and lack of discipline. You may already have made some great strides in making healthier choices that have led to weight loss; however, if your weight loss has slowed, you might benefit from considering these common weight loss mistakes to make a realistic plan and continue losing weight.
Not Knowing Your Calorie Limit
Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body will burn by simply staying in bed all day. With that in mind, you'll need a few more if you plan on getting out of bed, going to work, and especially, if you exercise. Determining your BMR is a scientific equation using your age, height, weight, and gender. Know your BMR and keep track of the number of calories you consume each day.
Drinking Your Calories
Most drinks, especially soda and juice are high in calories and carbohydrates. Having a glass of juice for breakfast and think it's healthy? Think again, most juice raises blood sugar so your body produces more insulin, which makes you more hungry and causes you to overeat later.When trying to lose weight, look at cutting out some of your high carb drinks and replacing them with zero carb options. Even better, just stick with water.
Not Drinking Enough Water
It is recommended that you drink 8-10 glasses of water a day. For a more accurate amount for you, divide your bodyweight (in pounds) in half, and drink that number in ounces of water daily. Example: If you weigh 140 pounds, you should drink 70 ounces of water each day. After a week of increasing your water intake you may find you lose 5-10 pounds simply by keeping your water weight balanced.
Setting Too High Expectations
Just like the weight you want to lose did not come on over night, it will not come off overnight. You may find you lose more weight at the start of your weight loss plan, which sometimes is just related to drinking more water.After losing some water weight, your weight loss slows, so set realistic goals. Unless you are in a very low calorie diet program, that is physician supervised, you may only lose a pound every 2-4 weeks.
Not Eating Enough Protein
Lean protein is filling and with less fat you can have more of it. The most common sources of lean protein include: egg whites, turkey, chicken, and fish. Because it takes more energy to break down, the body burns calories while receiving little to no carbs. An added bonus to eating lean meat over medium fat meat, like steak, is by reducing your fat intake you can improve your cholesterol.
Not Getting Enough Sleep
Ghrelin and leptin are two hormones that regulate hunger and are directly related to sleep. If you are sleep deprived these hormones do not function properly and you are likely to over eat. Aim to get 7-8 hours of sleep, and especially if you are trying to lose weight.
Too Many Meal Replacements
Protein bars and shakes are a great invention to supplement getting enough protein, however, if you don't eat enough real food, your body may plateau. Aim to only use protein bars and shakes when in a rush or at most, once per day.Another tip, consider the amount of carbs in your protein bar or shake. At ThinWorks, you'll find a great tasting protein shake with only 1 or 2 grams of carbs and delicious protein bars with only 5-10 grams of net carbs.
Binge Eating After A Workout
Just because you worked out doesn't mean you can now indulge in a couple donuts. Be sure to provide your body with fuel before and after your workouts to avoid binging on the wrong foods.
Thinking You Are Ordering Healthy
Lots of items on a menu will appear healthy, but when you look up the calories of that healthy turkey sandwich, could find it is 970 calories. Once you add the high calorie, cheese, mayo, and focaccia bread to the lean turkey and tomato, the healthy sandwich may as well be 3 slices of pizza. Bottom Line: look up the calorie amount before ordering and do your homework before going out, most menus online include the calories.
Consuming Too Many Nuts
Nuts are a great source of healthy fat, but that's just it--nuts are fat. They do contain some protein, but the reality is, the majority of the calories in nuts are fat. Like everything when you are eating, moderation is key, so watch your portions. Check out the table below to determine if you are eating too many nuts.
We hope these tips helped you make a few adjustments, so you can improve your healthy lifestyle and continue your weight loss journey!
