9 Weight Loss Mistakes You’re Probably Making

9 Weight Loss Mistakes You're Probably Making

Are you desperately trying to lose weight, but not seeing anything happening? You look in the mirror, hoping the reflection will look leaner, tighter, and sculpted. You jump on the scale, praying that the number will be way down. You tug at those jeans, wanting them to be three sizes bigger than they were when you put them on last week.

It's frustrating. It's daunting. You want to lose weight so bad, and you're doing everything you know to make it happen. Yet, there you stand, with tears in your eyes, a knot in your stomach, and anger filling your heart. You feel like everyone knows you're wanting and working to lose weight, and they must be looking at you wondering why your body isn't changing. You feel like a failure, and you worry that your body won't lose weight no matter what you do.

I'm here to tell you that this is more common than you think, and it's all fixable. There are little things you're doing, unknowingly, that is holding you back from the body you dream of having. I want you to grab a notebook and pen, sit in a quiet space, and get completely honest about what you're doing to lose weight. Go through this blog, and really look at how you're going about your plan of action. The more honest you are with your actions, the better the results you will get.

Dialing in your efforts, so they are more productive, will have you jumping with joy to see how your body finally reacts to your weight loss goals. You're more capable of losing substantial weight than you even realize, and changing your mindset and habits will be a game-changer for you. Some things may be obvious, but if you're ignoring them, if only a few times a week, you'll derail your weight loss efforts. So let's get started so you can begin to see the weight coming off!

MOVE MORE

I know you're tired of hearing that you can't sit all day and expect to lose weight, but it's true. You may think you're moving a lot, but here is where you need to really evaluate how much you're really moving throughout the day. We'd all like to think that we're super busy, running around nonstop, and we're completely exhausted at the end of the day, so how on earth could we stand to move even more?

Dig deep into your daily activities and be real about the amount of time you spend sitting still. When you take your child to practice, do you sit by and watch the entire practice session. When you're scrolling social media in the evenings, how long are you sitting there, looking at everyone else's posts? How long are your lunch breaks? Do you sit the entire time allotted to your break? After a long work week, do you like to crash on the couch and binge-watch Netflix, so you can unwind and rest?

Do you see where you could stand to move a little bit more? If so, make a point to add short stints of walking into these sitting sessions to burn extra calories, that you're currently missing out on. You'll be surprised how these few additional minutes of walking, instead of sitting, will add up in the big picture of losing weight. You're not changing your entire daily routine to add these few minutes of movement. Baby steps are significant steps when it comes to transforming your body. Super simple, but extremely useful.

Not only does walking around a little bit more help burn calories, but it helps increase your energy, which in turn, motivates and inspires you to do more. You'll walk for five minutes, and before you know it, you'll be willing to walk for five more minutes. It's contagious. We all feel better when our bodies are moving.

BEING REPETITIVE

When you begin your weight loss journey, you pick up habits and routines. You think you need to do this and eat that. You feel more in control knowing day to day exactly what you need to do to lose weight. It takes the guesswork out and becomes more comfortable just to do the same thing over and over again. You don't want to get up every morning and think about what you'll do today to lose weight. You like your routine, and you're sticking with it.

However, what if your current routine is the exact thing that is holding you back from reaching your weight loss goals? You'll end up being on the hamster wheel of trying to lose weight, and only seeing minimal results. No, we want to see the weight come off and come off quickly. Who doesn't? I want you to write down in your notebook, your daily routine, and look for ways you're holding yourself back.

Look at your exercise routine. Do you show up every single time, and do the same movements? Or do you have a five-day workout routine that works your entire body by the end of the week? Either way, you have your routine set up, you need to change things up. Your body is a brilliant machine, and it knows how to become sedative with a repetitive routine. It knows what to expect, and becomes immune to the weight, the reps, and the time you put into it.

You don't have to change your entire regimen, but you do need to tweak things and tweak them often. By adding reps, increasing weight, reducing rest time between sets, adding more cardio, or decreasing your cardio time all change up your routine. However, changing up your routine with different movements for different body parts will make a substantial difference when it comes to losing weight and forcing the body to work harder. You don't want your muscles to become stagnant. The more muscle mass you have, the more fat your body will burn. So you must keep those muscles guessing and struggling.

You are also running the risk of getting bored. It's hard to stay motivated, and if you begin feeling you're just going through the motions, you're liable to start skipping workouts or quitting altogether. Keep your routine fresh and something you look forward too. Challenge yourself. Don't fall into the stale state of just going through the motions. Make every workout count. Your weight loss goals depend on it.

WHAT'S IN YOUR CUP?

Yes, I mean literally, what's in your cup. What do you drink throughout the day? Do you consume surgery drinks? Are you adding packets of sugar to your coffees and teas? How about your creamers? Calories are in just about everything, but we tend to forget about the little things we add to our drinks.

I had a client one time think that she was nailing her diet. She came to me completely frustrated that she wasn't seeing her body changing. She was sure she was tracking everything she ate and was almost certain to get her protein in daily. When I asked her to write what she ate every single day, for three days, I agreed with her. She was doing everything right, so we thought.

I would see her several times a day at a local coffee shop. I'd drive by and see her car there. She came to do a training with me, and I asked her what kind of coffee she was getting throughout the day. She was defensive, as she assumed I was thinking that she was getting high-calorie coffees. She told me she only ordered black coffee. Here was the problem. She was adding enough sugar and creamers in her coffee that her macros were being used up just on her coffee consumption in a day. Therefore, all the food she ate was making her way over on her calorie total.

You have to be cautious about what you drink. A calorie is a calorie, no matter how you consume it. The same goes for smoothies and protein shakes. You can add enough items into your smoothie that you'd be better off eating a brownie. Every piece of fruit, veggie, liquid, for the exception of ice, count towards your calorie intake. Tracking your drinks, if they have calories, is a must. Being able to dial back the calories in your drinks alone will help you lose more weight without minimal effort.

Another issue is consuming alcoholic beverages. Some think that if they only drink on the weekends, it doesn't count. It does. Alcohol is terrible to consume if you're really serious about your weight loss goals. By drinking on the weekends, you're truly holding yourself back from gaining serious results, and crushing your goals. If drinking is a must, look for drinks that are lower in calories and sugar, but I'd advise skipping the alcohol altogether while wanting to reach your goals.

STARVING YOURSELF

I could write an entire blog about the dangers of consuming too many calories and not getting enough calories. Both are equally bad. Your body depends on food to function properly. Restricting your calories can be dangerous. I know it seems like the right thing to do when you want to lose weight, but this can backfire on you in several different ways. Your body creates a billion different cells a day. Every cell performs a function. These cells die off and are replaced with new cells, over and over again. If you're not eating enough or properly, your new cells will not be healthy.

Did you know that if you're not consuming enough calories, your body will actually hold onto body fat? Yes, you'll never get rid of those love handles or pooch we all hate around our midsection. Your body will not trust you to feed it enough, so it will not let go of the body fat. It depends on this stored fat for energy, because you're not replenishing it with the proper nutrients. So by avoiding eating, you're really not doing yourself any favors.

Along with storing fat, your body will be affected by the lack of food. Your metabolism slows down, your energy levels will decrease, and your organs will struggle with taking care of your hair, nails, skin, and so on. Our bodies are just like vehicles. They need oil, gas, fluids, and movement to be in the best condition. The only difference between us and cars is that you can replace your vehicle, not your body.

Be educated on how many calories your body requires a day. You must know this so that you can track everything you eat and know that you're within your calorie allowance. If you're always going over, you'll gain weight. If you're under, you're endangering your health. Your body depends on you to know this, and for it to let go of body fat, you have to get these calories dialed in.

Being super restrictive with your calories will ultimately leave you feeling deprived and isolated from enjoying time with loved ones. You'll avoid get-togethers, keeping yourself from overindulging on foods you once enjoyed. Starving yourself is a dangerous game that can lead you down the path to different eating disorders before you even realize what's happening. You have to learn how to balance a diet with your real life. Your body depends on it.

USING THE SCALE

I've written several articles about depending on the scale. Before I tell you why I'm against weighing yourself, let me point out how using the scale can benefit you. However, if you're obsessive about what the scale tells you, I'd highly advise staying away from it completely.

The weight scale can be a great tool to use when you're trying to lose weight. It's a reminder of where you're at and where you've been. It can be a reality check and help you keep on track with your weight loss goals. The scale is an excellent gauge of how much you need to keep going or allowing you to relax, knowing you're making progress.

Depending on you, and how you treat yourself, the scale can become your worst enemy. You become dependent on what it tells you and derails you when it's not showing the number you had hoped for. You climb on that scale daily, sometimes several times a day, wanting it to justify your efforts and wishes. It can become an endless cycle that only serves as a mental torment that you can't escape from. Yes, I'm talking from experience.

I wish someone had told me years ago how to recognize my weight loss success without using the scale. When I began weight training, with light cardio, I would get on the scale first thing in the morning, before doing anything else. I needed that scale to drop so I could be reassured that I needed to keep showing up to exercise and diet. I needed the scale to show me my success'. Well, it wouldn't do that for me, no matter how hard I worked.

The scale kept creeping up, slowly but surely. I was frustrated, and quite frankly, disgusted. How could I be doing everything right, but the scale was showing me that I was doing it all wrong? What I didn't understand, in the beginning, was that the scale was actually showing me I was succeeding. When you first begin exercising, your body retains extra fluid as your muscles are experiencing micro-tears. The tears are a process that muscles go through to grow and develop. They tear, and then they heal, and that's how you get results. The body recognizes these tiny tears as an injury; therefore, it holds more water weight to heal quickly.

As the body is gaining more muscle mass, the scale will reflect that as weight gain. You probably think that's precisely what you don't want to happen, right? First off, you won't gain mass amounts of muscle mass. It's not that easy. As a female, you're not capable of naturally gaining tons of muscle. You don't make enough testosterone. So now that we've put that myth aside, you need to look at the reality of what muscle looks like, compared to fat. Muscle tissue is long and lean. Fat is a wide mass, that just hangs out in the body, and serves little purpose.

Gaining muscle increases your metabolism and makes you longer and leaner looking. However, if you depend solely on the scale, you'll think you're losing at reaching your goals. Not true at all! You need to be sure to take measurements, pictures, and pay close attention to how you feel. Do you have more energy? Do you sleep better? Do you just, all around, feel better? Use these markers to gauge how you're progressing, not just the scale.

Your body will show you how well you're doing. The scale will shed some insights on your progress, but there's a bigger picture that needs to be recognized. If you feel defeated after getting on the scale, put it away for a while. Take a break from it, and do a mental evaluation of your body. You'll get more accurate answers that way.

CONSISTENCY

If you're currently working out here and there, your weight loss will stall. If you're sticking with your diet during the week but indulging in high calories foods on the weekends, your weight loss goals will not happen. You cannot succeed with anything if you're not consistent.

Just like you can't out-exercise a bad diet, you can't do your fitness and nutrition sometimes, and expect your body to continue to lose weight. Your body's results depend on your staying steady with your workouts and nutrition.

Being inconsistent will only lead you to quit your weight loss goals. You must remind yourself daily that to get to your goals; you have to show up and do the work, even on the days you don't feel like it. You don't have to be hardcore, and exercise every day or altogether avoid any special treat with your diet, but can't do the "all or nothing" method.

On the days you dread your workout, and you feel like you don't have an ounce of energy left, go for a quick walk. You're keeping your body moving, and your mind used to sticking with a routine. You won't always be enthusiastic and motivated, but making yourself do something minimal is better than avoiding it altogether. Set up rewards for yourself to look forward too. A dessert on Saturday night. A massage on Sunday if you do all of your workouts for the week. A pedicure if you stick with your diet. Make it fun!

SETTING YOUR GOALS INCORRECTLY

Once you decided to lose weight, you were probably extremely excited to get started and start seeing results. You know how you want your body to look. You're determined to crush your goals this time. There's no turning back.

However, a few weeks go by, and you're not quite where you thought you'd be by now. I get it. You wanted to lose ten pounds, drop a pant size, lose back fat, and be able to run for twenty minutes nonstop without feeling like you're going to die. Sound familiar?

I can tell you, if you even had two of these things on your list, starting out, your goals are set way too big. You can't expect your body or mind to be able to accomplish this much in such a short period. You'll fade out before ever seeing what your body is capable of achieving.

Setting goals is as crucial as how you implement your plan. Goal setting is a clear plan of attack, and without it, you'll blunder around, hoping something works. You have to think your goals out. You need to see your goals. You have to know why you're setting these particular goals.

Setting goals correctly will be the difference between you reaching them, and you falling off the wagon. I've created a simple sheet on how to set goals that you're sure to achieve. My method that has helped countless clients of mine succeed will be vital to your weight loss goals. This simple method will show you the clarity and motivation you need to hit every one of them. Be sure to grab your sheet below.

Wanting to lose weight, and actually doing it are two very different things. I know you're working hard at it, but using these simple tweaks will get you the results a lot faster. You have to set clear, concise goals, stay consistent, and track all of your food. It can seem like overkill, but if you're serious about losing weight, you have to do it properly.

Show up daily to change your body. Commit to staying on track and put away all of your excuses. It's a job to lose weight, but giving it your time and patience, it will pay off. I promise you that. Losing weight doesn't have to be a long journey if you put forth the effort and stick with a solid game plan.

If you need some fun, simple ways to keep you on track and inspired, please sign up below to be on the inside loop of tricks and tools to fast track you to all of your goals. I'd love to be a guiding light on your path to greatness.

Aimee Schwinabart is the founder of The Purely Fit—online workouts, nutrition, and fitness coaching that actually work! She specializes in short (super effective) daily workouts combined with customized nutrition plans to help real people shed excess fat to reveal toned, lean muscles. The Purely Fit approach to looking and feeling great prioritizes small, steady, super efficient workouts and nutrition upgrades to help you stay with it once and for all!