Kitchener Personal Trainer

So you made a decision to lose weight and decided to find out via internet how to do this. You read articles and blogs. You watch videos on Youtube. Why is there so much conflicting information but never mind you decide to do it a certain way. In the beginning it goes pretty well, you have lost a few pounds but then…It stops. You stop losing weight, you might have even gained some of the weight back. What happened? You ask yourself, “why am I not losing weight? I’m doing everything I can!” You are frustrated and ready to give up. But don’t give up until you read the fitness mistakes you are making and why this is preventing you from losing weight. Here they are:

1. Fitness mistake number one is thinking you are losing actual fat pounds in the beginning. What do I mean? Well in the beginning you are losing water weight. You have most likely been bloated as well as gained weight and the body when on a diet plan or losing weight plan goes and eliminates excess water first. That’s why you feel like you have lost a lot of weight in the beginning. But be careful and don’t get cocky, keep going. Don’t have any treat days just yet. If you do, you might gain the weight back.
2. Reading the label on the front package without reading the actual ingredients on the back as well as nutritional information. . The front label is most likely a marketing tactic companies use to get you to buy their product. An example is: “low in fat”, “heart healthy” and “fat free”. What you need to do is read the ingredients as well as the nutritional information on the back. When looking at ingredients, the first few ingredients is what the product is mostly comprised of. The last few ingredients means it has traces amount of the ingredients listed. Also the shorter the list of ingredients there is, the more natural and healthy the product is most likely to be. If the list is long and you can’t pronounce half of the ingredients listed, stay away. When looking at the nutritional information you want to be thinking about macro nutrients such as protein, fats and carbs. So when you look at the fat grams you want to know what percentage of fat it has in it. So you take the grams of fat, multiply it by nine and divide it by total calories. You will get the fat percentage that way. Do the same for protein except you are going to multiply by 4 . And for Carbs it is also 4. Doing things this way will ensure you are getting the right amounts of nutrients as well as calories for the day.
3. Not doing enough cardio. I know, I know you don’t like cardio. People don’t like cardio because it feels uncomfortable. This is because it generally raises your heart rate, warms your body and makes you sweaty. But this is actually a good thing. You want this kind of bodily reaction. You will burn calories this way. You need to do cardio. Many so called experts who aren’t really experts at all will tell you you don’t need to do any cardio at all but I’m here to tell you, you really do.
4. Not doing any weight training. Many people start off with good intentions at the gym. They have joined the gym and have researched calories and Macros and know exactly how many Macros they need and how to calculate them. But when they hit the gym, they only stick to cardio machines. This is a huge mistake. You need to do some type of resistance training and free weights and barbells are the best way to go. If you can avoid the strength machines and go straight to the weight room. Yes it’s intimidating at first but so is everything you try that is new and foreign to you. Get over your fear and start weight training. This will speed up your metabolism and burn fat. It also changes your body and how it looks. Cardio can’t do this on it’s own. You need to combine both.
5. Not eating enough food or drinking enough water. Many times people are not eating enough calories and nutrients to support their weight loss journey. They think by cutting out entire food groups like dairy or carbs that they are going to lose weight and keep the weight off. This is false thinking. You may lose the weight initially but its a guarantee that you are going to gain the weight back and then some. Every food group should be consumed in moderation, unless you have a health issue that prevents you from eating that food group like being Lactose Intolerant, having Celiacs Disease or being Diabetic. You need to make sure you are not starving the body or it will rebel against you by storing all food as fat. Make sure you are eating the right amount of foods for you. Everyone is different. Also make sure that your body is properly hydrated. If you’re not properly hydrated, the body immediately thinks it needs food when actually it needs water. Drinking enough water will prevent you from overeating.
   
   

These are just a few ways to tweak your weight loss plan to create optimal results. There are more ways to ensure you see success. Can you think of any? What has worked for you? Have you gone on a weight loss plan and it worked and you kept it off? If so comment below what worked for you.