Embarking on a weight loss journey can be both exciting and challenging. However, understanding the nuances of effective weight loss is crucial to avoid common pitfalls that could hinder your progress. Let’s explore some of the most common mistakes I see people make that can lead to plateaus or cause you to gain the weight back.
1. Too Much Cardio
The misconception that intense cardio is the ultimate weight loss solution is widespread. Sure, it burns some calories, but excessive high-intensity cardio like running, jogging, spin classes, or boot camps can actually do a number of things that work against you. For one, cardio doesn’t build much muscle. You might be able to build a little bit depending on the exercise, but it isn’t going to be enough to boost your metabolic rate. Remember, having muscle is directly proportional to how many calories you burn in a day.
Muscle also directly affects your hormones in a positive way– namely growth hormone and testosterone. These hormones make it easier to burn fat and stay lean and healthy. Second, too much cardio will cause stress levels to rise in the body. If cortisol is out of balance, it becomes much harder to lose weight. Third, too much cardio will actually cause you to burn your muscle, especially when paired with a calorie deficit. When you do this, you drop your metabolic rate big time. This is why most people who do lots of cardio while restricting calories will reach a plateau and eventually gain the fat back.
Lastly, cardio does nothing to build a nice, toned body. Isn’t that what we’re after if we’re putting in the work to exercise? Cardio is exactly that– cardiovascular. It means it works the cardiovascular system and not much else. Resistance training is king when it comes to losing fat and keeping it off.
2. Eating Too Few Calories
Calorie counting and calorie deficits are some of the most misunderstood concepts. Distinguishing between weight and fat loss is vital. Extreme or prolonged caloric deficits may lead to the loss of water, muscle, and even bone mass. This is often the case with quick-fix diets or when the person has calculated their calorie deficit to be too low. Let’s explore what happens you over restrict.
When you send the signal to your body that there’s not enough food available, it will do whatever it takes to ensure your survival. To do this, it conserves energy by lowering both its metabolic rate and active thyroid hormone (T3). This slows down the metabolic processes in the body. You’ll require less calories to function on a daily basis, which means you’ll need to lower the calories further to keep losing weight. It eventually gets to the point where you’re hungry ALL the time. This is where willpower begins to wane, as the biological drive to eat becomes too strong.
This might lead to you indulging or binging. If you’re able to stick with it, the calorie restriction becomes prolonged and the body will stop or slow down non-essential functions. These can include reproduction, hair growth, skin regeneration, etc– processes that are not crucial to survival. This is why some women lose their period or might notice their hair or nails becoming unusually dry or brittle. If you’re missing out on key micronutrients (vitamins/minerals), it will take those from the stores you have in your own tissue, such as magnesium and calcium from bone.
If protein is too low, the body will need to pull from your own muscle. This is all in an effort to keep your vital internal organs functioning.
Bottom line– STOP undereating. If you’re hungry all the time during your weight loss journey, its time to change the plan.
3. Your fat is too low
Reducing fat intake to cut calories may seem logical, but it’s not. Entire textbooks are written on the importance of fats, but I’ll focus on a few examples to make the point. When you lower the fats, you also lower the fat-soluble vitamins A,D,E, and K from your diet. It’s never logical to sacrifice essential nutrients in an effort to reduce calories because it will work against you in your efforts. The thyroid gland, in particular, requires more vitamin A (in the retinol form) than any other gland in the body. Exercise, stress, or sickness can rapidly deplete our retinol stores, so it's vital to continuously replace them. The last thing you want when trying to lose weight is a sluggish thyroid.
Besides the lack of nutrients, did you know that the brain is made up of 60% fat? The brain occupies only 2 percent of the body’s total mass yet houses 25% of the body’s total cholesterol. Fats and cholesterol are critical for the functioning of our brain cells, and cholesterol actually acts as an antioxidant in the brain to reduce oxidative damage. We can all agree that we need a healthy brain! What good is weight loss if you’ve decreased your brain function in the process? Yikes. And lastly, fats make our food taste good. And when you’re satisfied and you actually like the food, you’ll stick with it long term. If not, your body will upregulate your hunger in an effort to get the nutrients you need.
4. Intermittent Fasting Considerations
Intermittent fasting can be effective, but it must align with your body's natural rhythm. Forcing a fasting schedule that contradicts your body's hunger cues can lead to constant hunger and eventual failure. Since when does it feel good to be hungry all the time? Plus, it can increase stress which increases cortisol levels. You don’t want to imbalance cortisol levels if weight loss is your goal. Some people wake up and are instantly hungry. Others can go several hours without food. There’s really no strict “rule” here, because its highly dependent on what the person’s body is telling them. Listen to your body and find a fasting approach that suits your individual needs, avoiding drastic measures that may trigger binge cycles. Everyone's a little different in this area, so don’t follow strict fasting schedules. In fact, it's best to cycle fasting rather than doing it on a daily basis.
5. Avoiding Real Food
Viewing food as an enemy is a common mistake. People are afraid to eat. However, real food is your ally, providing essential nutrients and the fuel you need to thrive. It’s medicine, and if done right, will help you lose weight and feel great, not sabotage it.
Neglecting real food for processed substitutes such as protein shakes, smoothies, protein bars, etc., hampers your body's ability to metabolize nutrients efficiently. Your body will increase its hunger to meet the demand for real food. You’ll fall into a place where you’re hungry all the time and won’t be able to stick with it. Eat real food and your appetite will actually normalize (and in many cases go down) over time.