7 Common Mistakes When Losing Weight

Women want beautiful summer photos, to bask on the beach, to attract men’s attention with a flat stomach and slim legs. Men, on the other hand, dream of defined muscles, six-pack abs, and attention from the opposite sex. But there’s a problem — the holiday dishes haven’t disappeared without a trace, but persistently remind themselves in the form of love handles and cellulite. What do we do? Of course, we try to lose weight in every possible way!

Answer honestly — how many times have you promised yourself to get in shape? It doesn’t matter. This time it will work. But first, let’s look at the mistakes that are most often made.

Lack of a specific goal

Most people just want to lose weight, although they don’t understand why. What will it give? It’s the same as if you were just told to hammer nails into a wall. You’re working, but the goal is unclear. It’s a different story if you were told to hang a picture frame on the wall from the start. A plan immediately appears in your head:

Choose a place for the photoHammer a nail into the wallHang the photo

It’s much more productive to work towards a goal in this way. Imagine how your life will change. Your health will improve, people will become friendlier, relationships with the opposite sex will improve. Isn’t it worth working on yourself for that? But first, you need to understand what weight you want to achieve. This leads to the next mistake.

How to understand how many kilograms you need to lose?

Are you familiar with the situation when a slim girl complains about being overweight? Men start showering her with compliments, which irritates women. Often, this is a way for a person to attract attention. But sometimes, she really thinks that way!

There’s a problem with weight and appearance — we evaluate them subjectively. For some, 80 kg is a dream, for others — a nightmare. However, there is a medical norm of height to weight ratio. This indicator is called the body mass index (BMI). You can determine yours using the formula:

BMI = Weight in kilograms / (Height in meters * Height in meters)

If the number is more than 25, then weight loss is really necessary. You need to reach a figure between 18.5 and 24.9 to meet your personal norm. Based on this same formula, you can understand what weight will be optimal for you:

Ideal weight = BMI 22 * Height in meters * Height in meters

We start the journey to the target value

In the pursuit of quick results, many people give up food, which is absolutely not allowed! In the wild, finding food is not an easy task, so our body has learned to save. If food enters the stomach 1-2 times a day — metabolism slows down and the body goes into «energy-saving mode». In this case, the body resists weight loss with all its might — perceives it as a threat to life. Frequent intake of low-calorie food, on the contrary, «convinces» the body that there is enough food and metabolism speeds up — you get rid of excess energy reserves in the form of fat.

Give up flour and sweetsSurprisingly, even this simple measure may be enough! Our body works like a very economical car — it can go far with a small fuel consumption. It needs small portions of food. When you eat a chocolate bar, your «car» has to hang additional «gas tanks» to store so much fuel — that’s why you gain weight and volume.

Do regular cardio workoutsAnything will do, the main thing is high intensity. Running, swimming, jumping, squats, team games, dancing, boxing… Don’t be shy to try different sports, find what brings you pleasure.

Drink a lot of waterFew people know, but fat, in addition to energy, contains a large amount of water. Remember, for example, the humps of desert camels. They consist of fat, which when «burned» gives the animal energy and water. In the human body, of course, there are no such formations, but fat is used just as economically in conditions when you drink little water. In addition, water is involved in all metabolic processes, they slow down when it is lacking.

Constantly evaluate the results of your workFor this, you will need scales and a diary. Measure your weight every day, record the indicators, daily diet, and amount of physical activity. This way you can understand which measures were effective and which were not. It would also be good to take pictures of your reflection in the mirror every week, signing the dates. Thanks to these tricks, you can evaluate progress and motivate yourself.