Lean, healthy, and a toned body is on everyone’s mind these days and all of us are sincerely working towards reaching our goal weight, but there are a few mistakes that can ruin our efforts, pull us back, and in fact lead to more weight gain. Weight loss is undoubtedly a process which involves a lot of hard work, dedication, and also a bit of will power, but certain mistakes can slow down the pace or completely stall the entire process. But fret not, you can easily avoid these mistakes that ruin your efforts to lose weight and rectify them asap, so let’s find out what are these mistakes that are holding back your progress.
1. Giving up All Forms of Fats: In a mad rush to drop extra pounds, many people give up all forms of fat, including healthy fats that play an important role in mobilizing stored fat and burning them up. Going a diet that eliminates healthy fats will slow down weight loss and also lead to vitamin A, D, E, and K deficiencies because these are fat-soluble vitamins. So, instead of skipping all forms of fat, consume healthy fats in moderation and check out Rati Beauty weight loss diets on how to include them in your daily diet to lose weight.
2. Sleeping for 5 Hours or Less: Lack of sleep can interfere with production of essential fat-burning hormones and enzymes, hamper cellular repair, increase hunger hormone “ghrelin,” and stress, all of which would lead to increase in abdominal fat. So, do give your body enough rest, sleep for at least 7 hours each night, and also avoid coffee and caffeine at least 6 hours before bedtime.
3. Eating Junk Food at Breakfast: Breakfast is the most essential meal of the day which and starting such an important meal with junk food can reverse all your weight loss achievements. A healthy breakfast sets the pace, amps up the metabolism, and keeps us active throughout the day. Our body needs essential nutrients like protein, fibre, vitamins, fiber, etc., and lack of nutrition will only lead to weight gain. So, instead of eating packaged cereal or bread and jam for breakfast, choose healthy breakfast options from the Rati Beauty weight loss diet.
4. Having No Cheat Meals: Scheduling a cheat meal once a week is an important factor in any weight loss diet because when you cut calories by a great degree to lose weight, the body tends to lower down metabolism to conserve fat stores. Without a cheat meal, you would hit a weight loss plateau sooner than you think since the metabolism hits low to save energy. Hence to reset metabolism and to curb cravings, “once a week” cheat meal is necessary for tricking the body to making it believe that food is available and it’s okay to continue burning fat. Cheat meal helps to reset a sluggish metabolism, so do indulge in a cheat meal when you are out with your family or friends to continue losing weight at a faster pace, but do make sure that weekends do not turn into a binge party.
5. Eating Too Less: Surviving on cucumbers and drinking protein shakes through the day will not cut into fat layers, nor is it a long-term or sustainable strategy. Get on a diet which promotes healthy eating, includes the right kind of food, and keeps you in a calorie deficit. And we have loads of such diets on the Rati Beauty app.
6. Too Much Importance on Exercise To Burn Fat: You can never outrun a poor diet, even if you think you can burn it all the extra calories in the gym. Exercise can only complement a good diet, it can never lead to successful weight loss.
7. You are Thinking About Fat Loss Pills and Fat Cutters Instead of Straightening out the Diet: Fat cutters and pills are marketing gimmicks and at the most, they can release the water weight, not melt the layers of fat.
8. Moving but only in the Gym: If you are a fitness freak, but only in the gym, spending the rest of the day glued to your work desk, then don’t expect to drop any significant weight. Hours of weight training, cardio and yoga will pay you off but slacking off for the rest of the day won’t. So keep moving, get your own groceries, take the stairs, spend time organizing your work area and home, get up from the chair every 30 minutes, and you would see the pounds come off really easily.
9. Making Only Short-Term Goals: Some people are not regular with their workouts and do not follow their diet strictly. Weight loss is easy if you take it seriously and follow it like your other routine work. Don’t think working out on any two odd days in a month will reap you any results. Follow your weight loss diet to the T. Don’t make unrealistic goals of dropping entire weight in one month – stick to your diet, exercise regularly, make healthy lifestyle changes, and you would definitely see results. Without a long-term approach to weight loss, you may lose some odd pounds in two weeks, but chances are high that you would gain it all back when you slack.
10. Giving up Too Soon: Instead of getting demotivated for not seeing any results in the first week itself, focus on eating healthy, getting into a calorie deficit, being active, and exercising regularly. If you keep giving up every now and then, you will never be able to reach your desired weight goal, especially if you have a lot of weight to lose. Also, don’t forget – you didn’t gain weight overnight, and you wouldn’t lose it in a day or a week, so patience is the key here.
11. Too Much Stress: Chronic Stress is a big factor standing between you and your desired weight. Stress increases the level of cortisol which lowers metabolism, leads to cravings, and increases belly fat. So, check out these ways to lower stress and increase metabolism.
12. Frequent Snacking: Insulin is a blood sugar regulating hormone, which also has another function, it encourages the body to store fat and also prevents breakdown of stored fat. Frequent snacking raises insulin levels in the body and too many insulin spikes through the day will result in creation of new fat cells. Restrict snacking to just twice a day, without indulging in high-calorie food. Opt for healthy snacks like apple and nuts such as almonds, walnuts, or even peanuts.
13. You Rely on Food-Ordering Apps for Daily Food: With the spurt of online food ordering apps, life has become much easier for a lot of busy bees out there who find the whole cooking process a time-consuming process. Though ordering food may seem like an easy way to get food on your plate, it would lead to weight gain when done on a daily basis. If weight loss and getting fit is on your mind, go slow on outside food and switch to homemade food. We cannot even begin to tell you how much change it can bring to your body. If you are someone who also works out religiously, eating healthy will get to your dream shape sooner than you think.
14. Sticking to Routine Exercise: When you do the same kind of workout day in and day out, the body adapts to your routine and the body tends to burn fewer calories. Bring variation in your routine, try functional training along with cardio, yoga, and weight training, and you will see the results really quickly.
15. Letting the Guards Down During Weekends: Do you schedule your cheat meal during weekends? Because a majority of us do! But weekends are a time to socialize and get together with family and friends, and we tend to drop our guards down and “cheat meal” turns into a two-day affair, ruining your progress and undoing all progress made during the week days. Make sure you treat cheat meal as a single meal and not a cheat day or a cheat weekend.
Hope these tips would help increase your pace on the journey towards achieving your dream body and weight.
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