If you can’t see any results in your weight loss, although you’ve been going full force since January 1, check out the following things you might be doing wrong. We are all aware that losing weight is hard, but it’s even more difficult if you don’t know what is that you do wrong that prevents you from getting lean.
However, we can help here by giving you the answers of experts discussing the fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle factors that might lead you in the wrong direction. From controlling your stress levels to adding intervals to your workout routine, the following advice will speed up your fat loss.
1. Not Doing Intervals
Your attempts to lean out are impeded by both, doing steady-state cardio or having long breaks between sets. Instead, you should use intervals to increase the fat-burning potential of your routine. Have periods of strenuous training with short resting periods in between. (A great example is Burn Boot Camp).
According to the spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Jim White, R.D., a 30-minute intense workout equals an hour slower workout, and it will additionally break the monotony, speed up the metabolism, and burn up more calories.
2. Consuming Sports Drinks
The apparently healthy 20-ounce sports drinks filled with electrolytes, often contain about 34 grams of sugar, so you will agree that they aren’t always needed in your workout. If you consume them when there’s no need, they will only add empty calories contrary to your goal to lose weight. If your workout sessions last more than an hour, consume them moderately. But if they last up to an hour, stick to water.
3. Loading Up on Protein Bars
Many protein bars which are supposed to be physique friendly can contain up to 18 grams of fat and 500 calories, which is you must admit a huge snack. Your next post-workout snacks should be whole foods that provide both energy-replenishing carbs and muscle-building protein.
4. Snack on Junk After Dinner
The main problem is what you eat after dark, and not the nighttime eating. For many people, such snacks include chips, crackers, cookies, and similar. When your post-dinner hunger attacks, Jim White advises consuming almonds, cottage cheese, or celery with peanut butter.
5. Skimp on Sleep
Solid sleep is not only good for weight loss, but for our overall health. According to many studies, the lack of sleep leads to uncontrolled eating during the day and it can result in poor workouts. If you are tired throughout the day, you probably won’t be able to do a strenuous workout which will burn a significant amount of calories. Jim White recommends sleeping seven and a half to nine hours to help increase your weight loss.
6. Not Eating Often Enough
Although you might think that skipping snacks and even meals can help you lose weight, it almost always provides the opposite effect. Since it can damage our metabolism and increase food cravings, the best option is to fuel up often. According to Jim White, the best way is to eat 3 hours after larger meals, and 2 hours after snacks. Refueling within half an hour of exercise is crucial if you exercise.
7. Not Planning Ahead
Jim White advises us to plan our meals for the entire week and to schedule our workout sessions. He even says we should cook our meals on Sunday and consume them throughout the whole week.
8. Letting Stress Build Up
You will surely sabotage your efforts to lose weight if you eat when you’re stressed out. Instead, you should try yoga, meditation, or going to the gym. The owner of RightFit Nation and a N.A.S.M.-certified personal trainer, Matthew Kornblatt, says that exercising will clear your mind when you’re under stress.
9. Drink a Lot of Water
Kornlatt reminds us that consuming H2O throughout the day hydrates our body, accelerates our metabolism, and suppresses our hunger. If you drink a glass of water when you feel hunger starting, it will reduce your desire for food. However, if your hunger doesn’t go away, eat some healthy snacks. You will have fewer chances of overeating after consuming some water.
10. Distracted Dinner
The best way to enjoy your meals is at a table, where you will focus only on the food. If you are in front of your computer or TV while eating, you might eat more as your attention will be on the screen, instead of on the food. If your consciousness is just on the food you eat, you have more chances to stop eating when you are full, so you will consume the right amount each time.
11. Improper Refueling
The owner of Bodyfuel, Inc, Sally Berry, R.D., says that most guys often consume a nutrition bar before their workout, and then a recovery drink after the workout, which is way more than it’s actually needed. In some cases, eating after a workout is insufficient. When the post-workout meal or snack is skipped in a 2 to 3-hour workout, there are more chances of overeating later in the day.
Via Burn Boot Camp
