Common Mistakes You Must Avoid While Losing Weight

Mistakes to avoid while weight loss | Common Mistakes You Must Avoid While Losing Weight

Weight Loss Tips and Diet Plan

Losing weight is possible even if you are not an extreme dieter. It takes determination and effort to move from an unhealthy weight to a healthy one. The key to losing weight lies in the correct amounts of exercise and eating a balanced diet rather than restricting your calorie intake to extreme rates.  Oftentimes people give up when they realise they are making mistakes.

It is very important to be consistent with your diet plan during weight loss as it reduces the likelihood of burning fat deposits and prevents the build-up of fat around your abdomen area. This article will discuss some common mistakes among weight loss dieters that can easily be avoided if you follow the right plan.

How to Lose Weight?

Following are a Few Tips for Weight Loss

  • If you want to lose weight, it's essential that you focus on what's most important for your health and well-being.
  • It is important to eat higher quality meals and snacks that are more filling than normal ones. 
  • Never skip breakfasts. Your body needs some energy and nutrients to kickstart the day.
  • Also, make sure to drink lots of water to keep your body going.
  • Exercise routines that are not balanced will lead to burning out from exhaustion and will gradually spill over into other parts of your daily life.
  • Make sure to include lots of fruits and vegetables in your diet, only if your diet permits. Add fruits and veggies which are rich in antioxidants and have a high fibre content.
  • Plan your meals according to the type of diet your dietician/physician recommends. In case you have not consulted any dietician, please consult them to achieve greater results and avoid any health complications later. 
  • Make sure you have done enough research about the diet and exercise that you want to follow. Also, keep in mind to know all the possible side effects of diets and exercises you want to follow. Consult an expert, to know if the preferred diet and exercise are suitable for you or not.
  • It is important to keep yourself motivated during workouts. So choose a good ambient place and suitable music to keep you on track during your workout regimes.
  • Losing weight can be a challenge for anyone. It also requires some setup. However, the hardest part is often knowing what you should be eating instead of how you're eating.
  • Getting enough sleep for your diet and exercise to work is very essential. You need at least 6 hours of sleep for your body to function properly and relieve all the stress. Not having enough sleep might also increase your appetite, eventually leading to obesity.

What can be Your Diet Plan for Weight Loss

There are numerous diet plans which have proven to be successful and shown great results. While sticking to a diet is difficult, it is a proven systemic way to get faster results. Here are a few diets which can be useful to achieve your weight loss goals.

1. Keto Diet:

Also known as the ketogenic diet, it is a high protein and carbohydrate diet with minimal or no carbohydrates. It requires a lot of planning and must take your physician consultation before starting this diet. It is difficult to maintain this and continue this diet initially as the side effects may include nausea, diarrhoea, fatigue etc till your body gets accustomed to this diet.

2. Dash Diet:

Dash diet lowers your salt intake, to reduce your sodium intake which causes high blood pressure. It also focuses on increasing fibre content, to lower blood pressure. This diet is very useful for those with high blood pressure.

3. Intermittent Fasting:

Instead of focusing on food, it focuses on the timings of your meal. It restricts taking food at certain periods during the day or even for some days in a week. Intermittent fasting has many different types and makes sure you do enough research before starting any type of intermittent fasting.

4. Paleo Diet:

The paleo diet is a mix of protein-rich and fruit and vegetable-based diet. Pulses, salt, sugar, etc are avoided in this diet. While it has its own benefits, it might still cause some side effects like nutrition deficiency. 

5. Vegan Diet:

It is best suited for those who do not take any animal products such as milk, meat, eggs, etc. It can also reduce weight if taken properly but might increase certain nutrition deficiencies.

6. Low carb Diet:

This diet focuses on reducing carbohydrate intake, it helps in regulating blood sugar levels.

What are Weight Loss Foods?

1. Fibre-rich foods:

Cruciferous veggies like brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower have a high fibre content. Oats, quinoa, etc type of food should be included in your diet. Oats are fibre-rich food, which also fill your appetite, make you feel full quickly, and slowly release energy.

2. Nutrient-rich foods:

Include more plant-based food in your diet. While your body is going through changes, experiencing exercise, and acclimating to a new diet, it needs proper nutrition for you to observe improvements.

3. Antioxidant-rich foods:

Antioxidants protect cells from free radicals formed during various metabolic processes. While there are no direct benefits of antioxidants regarding weight loss but they have an indirect effect on it. Green tea, berries, and dark chocolate are rich in antioxidants.

4. Nuts and Seeds:

Nuts contain protein, fibre, and healthy fats which reduce waist size and overall cholesterol. There are rich energy-giving foods that could keep you up all day. Have it in between your meals when you need your dose of energy.

5. Protein:

Proteins are a must-have item in your diet. Never neglect your proteins as they are key elements for building new cells, repairing cells, and also providing energy.

6. Other supplements:

One can use other food ingredients and also supplements that can boost your weight loss progress to a good level. It is important to know the components well before and check with your physician before taking any supplements.

Some of the good food and supplements you can add to your diet are:

  • Apple Cider Vinegar:

It contains acetic acid that will help to break down fatty acids. It also suppresses your appetite and reduces fat storage.
    • Garcinia Cambogia:

    Garcinia Cambogia also known as Malabar tamarind in some parts, the rind of the fruit contains hydroxycitric acid (HCA) which works in suppressing your appetite and also helps in reducing fat mass.

      • Guggul: 

      The resin is mostly used in Ayurveda for weight loss, hypothyroidism, skin infections, etc. It greatly reduces overall cholesterol and also decreases appetite. 
        • L-carnitine:

        L-carnitine is a supplement in burning fatty acids, thus reducing overall weight.

          Make sure that before taking any supplement or adding any food item into your diet, consult your physician/dietician.

          How can you Lose Weight at home?

          Covid-19 has disrupted many lives and changed people’s lifestyles drastically. While everyone has been adopted to work from home or study from home lifestyle, having a sedentary lifestyle will shatter your weight loss goals. Here are some ways to lose weight at home-

          1. Proper and Balanced Diet:

          Have nutrient-rich food that your body requires. High fibre foods such as oats have complex carbohydrates and make you full with small servings. Include healthy fat from sources such as coconut oil, ghee, etc. Also, include proteins and nuts.

          2. Maintain Timings: 

          As mentioned earlier, never skip breakfasts and maintain regular timings for every meal.

          3. Increase daily activity:

          It is very essential to exercise every day and keep increasing your workout duration especially if you have a sedentary lifestyle either due to work or even covid-19. Make small changes in your lifestyle to include some physical activity. For example, using a bicycle for small distances, taking the stairs, taking your pets for a walk, etc. 

          4. Exercise:

          Yoga, cardio, swimming, weight training, whatever form of workout you prefer, every form has its own way and purpose. Choose them wisely and do your workout in the mornings or evenings regularly.

          5. Decrease Stress: 

          Stress often increases health complications and induces weight gain due to hormonal changes. Do things that make you calm down and bring work-life balance.

          3 biggest & common weight loss mistakes

          Fad diets 

          If you think there is a quick fix or magic solution to weight loss, sets us up for failure and disappointment. Celery juice, detoxing, keto, or several other popular diets are a temporary fix at best. Unless you wish to make the diet a permanent lifestyle, any weight lost will come back. Removing entire food groups, such as carbohydrates, deprives the body of getting essential nutrients. 

          Overestimating exercise calories  

          Studies have shown that on average, people overestimate the number of calories they burn by up to 28%. The accuracy of smartwatches or devices also varies in terms of reliability. It is in fact, quite hard to count calories outside a lab. When you are trying to meet a caloric deficit, even being off by 200-300 calories a day can make a huge difference. 

          Calorie deprivation  

          Weight loss occurs when one consumes lesser calories than what one burns. So, people inevitably eat less to lose weight. Unfortunately, this is not going to be sustainable or healthy in the long term.

          What are Weight Loss Myths and Mistakes?

          There are a number of mistakes that people make when they try to lose weight. One of the most common mistakes made by dieters is cutting out fats. Though fats are essential in the diet for keeping the body working properly, eliminating them drastically reduces calories consumed and burns more body fat.

          Many people are afraid to lose weight because they are worried about breaking their habits, or dieting without losing weight. But what many fail to realise is that a successful weight loss program is entirely possible at any time and by switching to the right diet and making certain lifestyle changes, you can burn off pounds at any time.

          Takeaway

          To lose weight quickly, we usually end up making plenty of mistakes that hamper our progress. Losing weight in an unhealthy manner can be more harmful to your body. Having healthy food, getting enough sleep, proper hydration, and living stress-free life also play a key role in weight loss. If you want to add some supplements to your diet plan to increase the process of weight loss then you can visit our website of Mars by GHC to purchase our Weight Loss Max product.

          Frequently Asked Question

          1. Is fasting good for losing weight?

          Research suggests that alternate-day fasting is as effective as a typical low-calorie diet for losing weight. Fasting also impacts metabolic processes in the body that may work to reduce inflammation, as well as enhance blood sugar regulation and physical stress response.

          2. Is intermittent fasting safe?

          Intermittent fasting is pretty safe for most people, but it's not good for everyone. Skipping meals may not be a good way to manage your weight if you're pregnant or breastfeeding. If you have kidney stones, gastro reflux, diabetes or any other medical problems, consult your doctor before starting intermittent fasting.

          3. What are some trainer tips on weight loss?

          6 Trainer Tips on Losing Weight
          1. Prepare your meals in advance. 
          2. Cut out empty calories and fill them up with healthy snacks. 
          3. Seek guidance from a personal trainer.
          4. Enjoy eating and still lose weight. 
          5. Go easy on the exercise.
          6. Don’t get discouraged; set an easy and attainable goal.

          References

          1. Calorie Estimation in Adults Differing in Body Weight Class and Weight Loss Status

          2. The role of viscous fibre for weight loss: food for thought and gut bacteria
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