LeAnne Ward, a nutrition expert from Brisbane, says that the most important thing when losing weight is consistency, but too many of us are not honest with how much we eat and how often we move when we want to lose weight. LeAnne says that she usually has clients who want to lose anywhere between five and ten pounds, and they always struggle to lose the last 1-2 pounds.
Here are the 10 mistakes people make and 10 tips that will help you lose weight and stay on track.
1. You are not consistent
LeAnne says that the first reason you’re not seeing results is because you’re not consistent enough. “If you’re healthy Monday through Friday and then you’re completely off on the weekends, then that’s not enough,” she said.
“Two days is enough to mess up what you started and you probably eat and drink a lot more than you think on the weekends.”
Instead, she advocates keeping an honest food diary for two weeks, so you can see any inconsistencies in your diet. You may notice that you have a few bad habits, whether it’s that second glass of wine on Thursday night or the muffin breakfast when you’re in a rush on Friday.
2. The weekend disturbs your healthy eating
In the same way that consistency is king, LeAnne explains that too often the weekends throw her clients off track. “Weekends are typically times when we lose structure, consistency, and don’t eat as much at home,” LeAnne said. “When you don’t cook the food yourself, you always find that things have been added to it to make it taste good.”
The easiest way to combat this is to try to consider it. For example, if you like to have larger meals on the weekend, maybe skip the snacking. Alternatively, go for an early lunch and then just have dinner if you want to have a few drinks.
3. You eat healthy food, but you are not in a deficit
The “golden rule” for weight loss, LeAnne explained, is to be in a calorie deficit. This means eating less food than your body needs. “If you’re not losing weight, you’re not in a deficit,” she said. The opposite of being in a caloric deficit is a caloric surplus, and if you want to stay at the same weight, you need to be in “maintenance.”
4. You eat when you’re not hungry
While many of us think we only eat when we’re hungry, in fact, LeAnne sais too many of us have “head hunger” instead of true “belly hunger.”
“Head hunger is eating when you’re bored, when you’re sad, or when you’re happy,” Lin said. “But it’s important to remember that no amount of food will ever truly satisfy you if you weren’t hungry to begin with.”
5. You follow your food intake incorrectly
Many people use apps like MyFitnessPal to track their intake, but then are surprised when they don’t lose weight. She says that it’s worth remembering that you may underestimate how much you’re eating when you put it into the app, and you may also be adding in a bite here and a snack there that you think doesn’t mean anything.
6. You miscalculated things
“Look for an online calculator and add in your height, weight, age, activity level and body fat if you have it for the most accurate calculations for your body,” LeAnne said. Then, remember that you need to eat at a 10-20 percent deficit to lose weight.
She says to make sure that you enter information as accurate as possible for the most accurate results, because too many of her clients simply calculate things wrong.
7. You think you move more than you actually do
When it comes to activity, LeAnne said more people think they move more than they actually do. “Most of my clients have desk jobs and think they’re getting a lot of exercise with 30-45 minutes of exercise every day, but moving their bodies for half an hour out of 24 hours just isn’t enough,” she said.
Instead, if you want to get a little more out of your weight loss, LeAnne says you should make sure you get about 10,000 steps in as well as your workouts. “Steps are really underrated for weight loss,” she says.
8. You make critical decisions when you get tired
A big reason many of us don’t lose weight is that we self-sabotage by making big decisions when we’re tired, LeAnne said. It’s better to make good healthy decisions earlier in the day because you’re more likely to stick to them, rather than leaving them until 9pm when you’re likely to be tired and emotional.
“Plan your day and make conscious, good decisions early,” LeAnne says. This should contribute to weight loss in no time.
9. You need a break
Often, when we struggle with losing weight, it’s because we simply need a break. “If you’ve been consistent for four weeks and the scale is still holding up and not budging, that’s probably a sign that you need to take a break from dieting or even try a reverse diet to eat more for a period of time,” she said.
“Too many of us push through the fat loss phase and don’t get the results we need.” You can go back into a deficit later, but give your body the fuel it needs when it needs it.”
10. You give up too quickly
Finally, the dietitian explained that losing weight especially takes time. When starting a diet, LeAnne said you shouldn’t get on the scale after just two weeks because you won’t see any results. Meanwhile, if your weight loss goal is 10 pounds, it’s worth remembering that it could take as long as six months.
“Take a lifestyle approach and do something that is sustainable for a decent period of time.” “Fat loss happens in the background and you can’t see it on the scale at first,” she said.
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