Let’s be real for a minute here.
Fitness culture can be full of positive motivators and coaches, but getting in shape can be really really hard. In fact, your journey from beginning to end ( or the rest of your life) can sometimes seem like the trickiest math problem you ever had to solve ( exponents and all).
So it’s CRUCIAL we identify things to stop doing to lose weight or achieve our goals.
5 Things to Stop Doing to Lose Weight
1. Over-exercising:
This one hit me like a brick. I remember there being a time when I thought the LONGER I exercised the healthier I would be.
I’m not just talking 10 minutes compared to a half-hour. I’m talking, forcing yourself to run for an hour or workout for 2 hours in total in order to burn enough.
While you may think you’re doing your body some good, you are actually doing the OPPOSITE.
While you run and sprint for 2 hours straight as “punishment” you are putting yourself on a cruel cycle of highs and lows.
You are going to crash and burn.
When you push yourself to work nonstop and fail to give yourself much needed breaks, you put a physical strain on your body, not to mention you become MENTALLY drained.
How do you combat this?
Set up micro-goals.
The truth is, you cannot rely on motivation to ALWAYS get you from point A to point B. Motivation is fleeting and can be gone just as quickly as it arrived.
If you’re lacking ANY type of motivation, then I suggest you read this blog post on how to stay motivated to lose weight. Motivation is what gets you started on your journey, but after a while, you have to dig deeper in order to continue strong.
When you don’t have this constant drive, you are going to have FAILURES.
Find a way to move your body every day and start integrating healthy habits.
For example, commit to 10 minutes every single day. This is manageable and will start to build up a routine! Once you establish a routine for yourself you will most likely start sticking to it better.
2. Stop weighing yourself:
Don’t do it every day! Your body weight fluctuates EVERYDAY depending on how much food you had if you’re on your period, or the amount of water you drank for the day.
Seeing that number go up even ONE POUND, will be devastating and discouraging when trying to reach your goals.
So you GOTTA STOP!
Why??
You may be confusing weight loss with FAT LOSS.
When people say they want to lose weight, they are mostly referring to fat loss. Losing overall weight isn’t necessarily hard. Fat loss is much harder to achieve and depends on several factors.
- When you lose weight you lose more than just fat
Muscle and water are two major factors that make up your weight.
- You can drop weight but cutting fat takes TIME
SO… Just STOP weighing yourself. If you want to track your progress, start by setting goals. Take before and after photos of yourself or weigh yourself once a month if you MUST.
I personally don’t like using the scale to track progress. You are made up of so much more than a number. You could be 10 pounds heavier than you were before and look BETTER.
HOW? It’s simple, muscle mass. When you gain muscle and tone up, your body composition changes even if you remain the same weight or gain a bit of weight.
If you’re someone who wants to track progress through a scale, I recommend getting a better scale that analyzes your body, breaks down water weight, bone density, muscle mass, and so much more!
View 2 Amazon favorites here:
- Amazon’s Choice Body Fat Scale: $24.99
- Amazon Best Seller: FITINDEX Bluetooth Body Fat Scale: $22.99
3. Comparison
Both of these booties are BOOTYFUL! Do ya hear me!?!?
Everyone is perfect in their own special way and neither this nor that is the “right” answer.
I get it. We all get trapped in Instagram and Facebook vortex. We open the apps and start scrolling and scrolling until hours pass, you forgot to eat dinner,r and the sun is no longer out. (I’m totally not speaking from experience or anything … heh.. heh… )
Every day we are constantly bombarded by images of people we think we are SUPPOSED to look like. But let me stop you right there!! No two people are supposed to look alike! YA HEAR ME?!? NO ONE!
Unless you’re twins or doppelgangers maybe. But other than that, every person’s body is so different.
Not only is it unhealthy to obsessively compare your body to others, but its EMOTIONALLY DRAINING. After a while, it is just exhausting to constantly be in this state of comparison.
4. Stop counting calories
Okay, this one was HUGE for me and my breakthrough! It’s time for me to spill da beans!!
People learn that they need to stick to a specific calorie diet, eat a certain amount of calories, and never ever go over that if they want to have the body they want. WRONG.
While I do believe there is value in tracking the foods you’ve eaten to understand what you are consuming and offer accountability, it is a waste of time to measure out everything that goes into your stomach.
Calories DO count, but counting them religiously makes you focus on the numbers instead of enjoying the food you’re eating. It’s all downhill from there, and you’ll soon find yourself obsessing over everything little thing.
Weight loss is so much more than just calories though. It combines exercise, how you sleep, how stressed you are, and other health issues.
Do THIS not THAT…
Instead of counting every calorie you eat to lose weight, try this instead.
Go for fresh, whole foods when you are grocery shopping, and view it as eating FOOD, not calories. Stop for a moment and look at your diet as a whole, not in fragments.
This means focusing on healthy items like whole grains, lean protein, fruits, and vegetables. In addition, make sure to eat mindfully. Slow down, eat until you’re satisfied, and take the time to truly taste what you are eating.
If you eat a balanced diet, most of the time, your body will find its own balance WITHOUT counting calories.
5. Give up fad diets
It seems like everywhere we look, there is a new diet craze. From low-fat to low carb foods, the diets come and go like it’s nobody’s business! Some stay popular for longer than others, while the other few fade into the distance. But they will never be forgotten by those who were desperate enough to try it all!
One thing that makes fad diets fade, is that they tend to appeal to people’s vanity more than their desire to stay healthy. They emphasize the loss of inches and pounds, instead of health benefits like reducing the risk of heart disease or diabetes.
When you go on a fad diet you tend to exclude necessary nutrients. Depriving yourself of certain nutrients may not harm you right away, but it could have long term effects.
As you may know, diets are not sustainable. SAY IT WITH ME NOW, ” DIETS ARE NOT SUSTAINABLE”.
Not eating carbs for the rest of your life is not an option! Cutting out so many foods and restricting yourself can put you on a mental and emotional rollercoaster.
You don’t deserve that. No one does!
” But wait, you want me to change my diet and follow your tips…. but diets are bad???”
I know some of you may be confused by this. When I offer my advice, I am giving you the knowledge and tools necessary for you to make changes in your diet. This doesn’t mean going ON a DIET.
Instead, it is adding healthy into your diet. Starting adding more water and veggies so you have LESS room for the bad stuff. Eliminate bad things like processed foods or anything super high in carbs.
- to start, check out my article 1 page printable weekly meal planner
