Everyone tells you what to do when you decide to lose weight, but there are things you shouldn’t do. Make losing weight easier by avoiding the pitfalls!
With obesity rates in many states now exceeding thirty-five percent, it’s no secret that many Americans need to, and are trying to, lose weight. But, losing weight, especially weight from excess fat, can be a challenge with all of the mountains of information surrounding us, much of which can be conflicting.
When it comes to health and to weight (fat) loss, there’s no one absolutely correct formula for every person, and that’s due to biochemical differences, genetics, and other individual factors. However, there are some physical facts that apply to everybody. Because no two of us are exactly the same, it can make the weight loss equation a little bit trickier. If you or someone you know is trying to lose weight, make sure that you’re not making one of these common mistakes that could be greatly hindering your body’s ability to lose the weight!
Wanting a Quick Fix
In a perfect world, weight would come off as quickly and easily as it seems to go on. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, but many individuals are still seeking out that magic pill or the quick fix solution. Many diets that promise extreme results are not only not maintainable, but they trick the body, and in doing so can cause issues down the road. Most, if not all, diets actually set you up for failure, because you can only trick your body for so long before it rebels. True and lasting weight loss is a process that takes time, consistency, and nourishment of the body. Your body needs to be HEALTHY in order to lose weight, so focus on your health first and watch the weight come off. If you truly want to lose weight with no intention of finding it again, then don’t expect a quick fix!
Increasing Exercise & Simultaneously Cutting Calories
This is a HUGE one, as many people falsely believe that the key to weight loss is to be hungry (eat a little) and exercise a lot, to get as big of a calorie deficit as possible. Unfortunately, that’s just not how the body works; if it did, nearly everyone would easily lose a lot of weight whenever they wanted! Doing too much exercise when the diet is poor and nourishment is low causes the body to assume that there’s not enough fuel, and therefore it turns down the heat, which means that your metabolism slows down. A slow metabolism is the last thing you want if you are trying to lose weight! To lose weight, you either need to increase your exercise AND increase your energy intake or, decrease your activity AND decrease your energy intake.
Not Getting Enough True Nourishment
The body requires sufficient amounts of protein to allow the liver to run optimally through its detoxification process and is also necessary for muscle development. Outside of ensuring adequate macronutrients in the diet, it’s essential to also consider your overall nutritional status. If you’re deficient in healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, or other such vital nutrients, the body will not only lack health, but it will struggle to help you digest, assimilate, detoxify, and lose weight! If you find it difficult to get your nourishment in foods, you should try taking supplements to verify that your body receives the nourishment it needs. You could take a vitamin supplement as well as a mineral supplement (Sunwarrior offers great options for both with their Vitamin Mineral Rush, RAW vitamins, and Liquid Light!). It’s important to focus on getting as much nutrition as possible from the whole foods you’re eating, but where that isn't possible, make sure to supplement that diet with the fuel your body needs to function..
Extremely Limiting Any Particular Food
Whether on a diet or not, many people cut out a certain group, such as ALL sugars, or all carbs. This can actually cause more harm than good. While cutting out any of the toxic sugars, carbs, or other such ingredients is important, it’s also important to make sure you’re eating natural, whole fresh foods. This will include naturally occurring sugars, carbohydrates, and other such components of food that some people demonize. Any dramatic or extreme methods such as cutting out entire food groups can cause haywire for the metabolism, hormones, and other systems of the body. Focus first and foremost on the source and quality of the food you’re eating, not on restricting yourself. {9kucur9p}
Fat-Free or Low-Fat Diets
Like mentioned above, any extreme methods or natural food group restrictions can be harmful, and this applies to all of those fat-free and low-fat diet trends. There is much misinformation out there about fat, but the right kind of fat is a very necessary and helpful tool to boosting not only health but also weight loss. Natural fats (avocado, cream, coconut oil) provide a lot of benefits: aiding digestion, satiety, & assimilation of fat-soluble nutrients (vitamins A, D, E & K). Without adequate amounts of healthy fats, weight loss can be quite a struggle. When there is a low-fat or non-fat food product, that’s either going to mean it has more sugar, carbs, or chemicals and is going to be more highly processed, which can be addicting and can pack on the pounds! Did you know that protein in its natural state comes with a healthy dose of fat? Fat is absolutely necessary to keep all systems running efficiently, allowing you to lose weight and maintain energy.
The best way to lose weight from fat is to consistently live a lifestyle that is appropriately active and that relies only on whole, fresh, natural, and nourishing foods for fuel.
Enjoy a great dinner with this vegan pizza!
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