Weight loss is hard, especially in the beginning. But it’s not impossible. You can create great life habits which will help you reach your goals (especially with the support of your 28 family!). But there may be a few things that we commonly fall victim to that could be sabotaging your weight loss efforts. Here are the five most common…
1. Being too hard on yourself
The hardest part of any new health challenge is the beginning—you’re learning something new, you’re trying to break bad habits, and it’s easy to feel like you’re doing it wrong or that everyone else around you knows what they’re doing better than you do. The key to success is to be kinder to yourself and focus on the positive changes that are happening in your life, rather than beating yourself up over the small setbacks that inevitably happen along the way. Be compassionate and treat yourself how you’d treat a friend going through the same thing!
2. Not allowing yourself to rest and recover
Your body needs time off from exercise and eating well to repair itself and build new muscle tissue. It’s important to take care of your muscles too whilst they’re transforming – don’t forget to foam roll or do a little self-love massage to help reduce inflammation. This will also help to improve your flexibility, mobility and range of motion, keeping you on track in the long run – instead of burning out!
3. Believing there’s a “magic number” or goal weight for happiness
When you’re trying to lose weight, it can be easy to get discouraged and give up when you don’t see results right away. But it’s important not to get lost in the numbers. The scale doesn’t tell the whole story on how healthy your body is or how much muscle or fat you’re carrying. At the end of the day, how we look is one thing – but what really matters is how we feel. Your mood, energy levels and wellbeing are all huge measures of success! So tune into your body and how you feel – not the number on the scale.
4. Not staying hydrated enough
Water has many health benefits including regulating body temperature and helping with digestion. It also helps flush out toxins from our system so they don’t build up inside our bodies and cause problems later on down the line — including obesity!
5. You’re actually building muscle!
Sometimes, when we see the number on the scale go up during the first few weeks of exercise – it may actually be a sign we are building muscle. This extra muscle helps boost metabolism, which burns more calories throughout the day and is actually a positive. Muscle mass is denser than fat and therefore heavier. This is a great reminder that the scale is really not the best tool to measure how fit you are when you’re just getting started! Focus on how you feel.
Are you guilty of any of these? Don’t worry – you’re not alone. The key to success is consistency and mindset. Try to be aware of your actions and be kind to yourself if you’re just starting out (or getting back into things). You’ve got this!