Episode 126: 10 Fitness Mistakes That Are Inhibiting Your Weight Loss
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Summary
So you finally did it! After hemming and hawing for weeks, you finally got up the motivation to start a workout routine.
You got a cute new workout outfit, you found a gym, class, or program you're ready to commit to, you got your hair in that high messy bun that says you mean business, and you are ready to get in there and prove to those mean girls from high school you do NOT have cankles!
But a month later, you've only lost a pound and feel that hyped up motivation slipping through your fingers.
What the hell! Wasn't starting supposed to be the hardest part?? What went wrong??
1. Not eating before working out.
Fasting has been trending this year and for some that's meant fasted workouts have become the norm.
However, when you workout in a fasted state, your body is basically starved of the very fuel it needs to work at more intense levels, leading to declines in performance and a lower overall calorie burn (read: a less effective workout).
You also may find you get light headed, nauseous, and shakey as a result of a drop in blood sugar.
My recommendation? Fuel your body with food that will help you perform better and push harder in the gym. I.e. carbs and protein. carbs are needed for you muscles to contract, and protein is needed for muscle growth, performance, and recovery.
You can eat a small, easy-to-digest snack 30-60 minutes before a workout, or a full, balanced meal around 2 hours before. Experiment to see which works best for you.
Examples of pre-workout snacks: apple and peanut butter, banana and brazil nuts, protein shake, toast and eggs, oatmeal and eggs, almond butter toast, sweet potato and chicken, etc.
2. Working out in hot-ass rooms.
Sweating does not equal a good workout or a higher calorie burn.
It just makes you dehydrated, tired, and more at risk for over-stretching.
And because it dehydrates you, it can also end up reducing the intensity at which you can workout leading to a lower calorie burn.
3. Doing the same workouts but expecting continuous results.
Just because you're sweating and your heart rate is up doesn't mean you're automatically doing an effective workout.
If you're doing the same workout, lifting the same weights, using the same reps and sets, your body will very quickly adapt to what you're doing and hit a plateau.
If you want to change your body, you have to change your routine with something called progressive overload where you gradually increase the stress put on your body so it's forced to adapt and transform.
You can do this by increasing your weights, your reps, your speed, your range of motion, your sets, your number of workouts, and even the type of workout (for example if you normally do steady state cardio, start throwing in some high intensity interval training).
4. Working out too much.
Working out is a stressor to your body and you absolutely can overdo it to the point that your body starts to shut down, produces too much cortisol, and jacks with your results.
Signs of overtraining are: not being able to perform at the same level as before, fatigue, depression and anxiety, mood swings or irritability, trouble sleeping, feeling sore muscles or heavy limbs longer than a day or 2 after training, getting overuse injuries, losing motivation, and getting sick more often.
I had a client recently who had been over-training for a long time, and it was a constant battle to get her to taper back. Her fear was that if she didn't keep going, the weight would creep on.
Then after a surgery forced her to take 6 weeks off, she actually lost 5 pounds, was sleeping better, had less anxiety around her food, and in general felt way better.
5. Working out too little.
We are all about taking baby steps to create lifelong habits here. Which is why I usually start people off with a simple goal like 'workout just 10 minutes per day'.
But make no mistake, that guidance is about forming habits, not about transforming your body right off the bat. It will lead to sustainable transformation if you continue to build on it.
If you really want to see that scale drop, you've got to work up to around 180 minutes per week (that's 45 minutes 4 times per week or 30 minutes 6 times per week), making sure about 120 of those minutes is relatively intense.
6. Working out in the 'fat burning' zone.
If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times, a higher percentage of fat burned does not mean you burn MORE fat.
80% of a cupcake is going to be smaller than 50% of a birthday cake.
Instead of working out a low intensity and burning a high percentage of fat, workout at a higher intensity and burn more overall calories and therefore a higher amount of fat.
7. Thinking cardio is the key to weight loss.
Cardio is great! It's good for your heart, your brain, your mood, your sleep, even your sex life.
Too much cardio can actually cause a decline in muscle mass leading to a reduction in metabolism.
If you really want to lose weight, resistance training reigns supreme.
While you can burn a lot of calories during a cardio session, it doesn't last terribly long.
With resistance training, not only are you building muscle which leads to an increase in metabolism, you're burning extra calories up to 2 days after your workout as your body gets to work repairing your muscles.
8. Lifting too light.
Ladies: you will. not. get. bulky. lifting. heavy. weights. We literally don't have the hormones for that.
And by holding onto those 5 pound weights long after you can lift heavier, you're missing out on the metabolism-boosting, strength-enhancing, toned-muscle-giving benefits of lifting heavier weights.
9. Sacrificing form for intensity.
Proper form helps you workout more efficiently. Basically when you don't have good form, your body wastes energy on unnecessary movements and targets unintended muscle groups. Versus using proper form which allows you to lift heavier, push harder, and avoid injury.
10. Choosing a negative lens through which to view working out.
Consistency is always the single most important component of any weight loss plan or exercise routine. And if you're choosing to look at exercise as a pain in the ass chore that you have to do, or if you're looking at it as repentance for that cookie you ate, you're forming a really shitty relationship with fitness that will not stand the test of time.
Shift your lens. Choose to view it as much-needed you time. View it as a way to deal with stress or anxiety. View it as an opportunity to get moving and listen to killer music after a long day of sitting. View it as the energy-boosting, mood-lifting, confidence-building activity that it is and you're chances for sticking with it will sky rocket.
Want to be sure you're doing all the right things in the gym and getting the most burn for your buck? Click here to join the next round of Follow Your Gut! Last chance before the doors close this Sunday!
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