When you are trying to lose weight it can seem you are bombarded with advice from all angles - what to eat, what not to eat, exercises that will burn the most calories, supplements you need, weigh or not to way and let’s not forget all the helpful hints on how to stay motivated. It can be confusing, contrary and annoying. I’ve looked at some of the most common weight loss tips that you should ignore.
1 Don’t Eat after 7pm
Chief among bad dieting advice is people telling you never to eat after 7 o’clock at night. Besides breakfast, the actual timing of your meals does not make any difference to your weight loss goals. The only thing that matters is that you consume less calories than you burn, plain and simple! Keep track of your calorie count rather than cutting off your food supply at 7PM.
Frequently asked questions
2 Only Cardio Needed
Though going on a 30 minute run every day can burn about 270 calories, it isn’t cardio workout alone that will best help your with your weight loss goals. Ideally you should be including strength training as part of your routine because it does wonders for increasing your metabolism, which will in turn help you to burn even more calories than you had been previously.
3 Daily Weigh Ins
Daily weigh ins are an absolutely terrible idea and will only serve to dent your confidence and give you an unhealthy obsession. So what if you weigh 135 on a Monday, 136 on a Wednesday and then 134 on a Friday? You shouldn’t be beating yourself up over tiny fluctuations in weight; they can be caused by many different factors like water retention at certain times of the day. Stick to weekly weigh ins for a more stable review of your progress.
4 Exercise = Don’t Have to Diet
All experts will tell you that regular exercise and healthy diet is the only foolproof way to lose weight and keep it off, not a combination of one without the other. Just because you do an hour and a half in the gym every single day, it doesn’t mean that you can go home and get a Chinese takeout and still expect to see the pounds drop off. It is a lifestyle commitment that requires you to make changes in more than one area of your life.
5 Skip Meals to save Calories
You should not be starving yourself all day just so that you can have a big meal in the evening to meet your calorie goal. Eating a little amount of healthy food throughout the day is a better way to lose weight, because if you go too long without food your body will go in to starvation mode and your metabolism with slow down, therefore burning calories and burning fat much slower than you would like. Keep your metabolism ticking over by not skipping meal times.
6 Diet Drinks Are Great
Sure, diet drinks might be low in calories which is attractive, but what they will not be so low in things like artificial sweeteners which can be just as addictive, even more so perhaps, than their ‘regular’ counterparts. If you want something refreshing and sweet tasting, then the best option is to go for drinks like herbal teas or fruit infused waters.
7 Own a Pair of Dream Size Jeans
People always suggest buying a pair of jeans or a dress in the size that you want to be, but rather than being a motivator, these items of clothing can sometimes become the exact opposite if your progress is going little bit slower than you had expected. Keep things simple and just embrace your body at each stage, celebrate each pound lost, not just the very final goal. You’ll feel better as you achieve each smaller benchmark than the end goal which might seem a long way off.
The most important advice for weight loss is that it is a lifestyle change that will be most successful. Change your eating habits, get into an exercise routine. Only by doing this to lose the extra pounds and then continuing after you’ve reached your goal will you gain and maintain a healthy weight.
What’s the piece of weight loss advice that annoys you most (because you know it’s wrong)?
