Fat-loss can improve the life of anyone with a lot of excess body fat. It’s one of the most talked about topics because it has a huge impact on your overall health, performance, and appearance. While fat-loss can be achieved through any number of methods including diet, exercise, and more; there are some mistakes that you should avoid if you want to get the most out of your efforts.
Fat-loss mistake No. 1: Training abs to get a six pack.
The first fat-loss mistake you should never make is training abs to get a six pack. While it’s true that your abdominal muscles can be tightened and enlarged by training them, you won’t see the result of your hards work unless you burn more calories than you take in and burn the fat that covers them up. Abs are revealed by burning more calories than you take in, not by working out your abs!
Fat-loss mistake No. 2: Doing cardio to get rid of belly fat.
Cardio is just a small part of losing belly fat. Cardio is not the only thing required to get fit and it shouldn’t be your only choice when trying to shed pounds. Attention to the diet is also crucial to burn fat everywhere, including the belly.
Stress and poor sleep are also linked to belly fat, so managing stress and getting more sleep should be an important part of any fat-loss plan that specifically targets belly fat.
Fat loss mistake No. 3: Eating a rigid, specific number of meals to lose fat
There is no perfect, required amount of meals to lose body fat. So don’t stress and give up if you can’t get some artificial number of meals just right.
Eating more frequently can help reduce hunger and fatigue when eating fewer calories for fat loss. But, there is no magic frequency for that. Spread your meals as evenly as you can across the hours you are awake, and that should help.
Similarly, although fasting for long periods can influence your metabolism and things like insulin sensitivity, fasting is not required to lose body fat. And the impacts of fasting on metabolism and insulin sensitivity are not as big as the impacts of fat loss. So if eating one meal a day does not work for you, there is no need to stress about that.
Fat-loss mistake No. 4: Eating as much as you want of foods that are “good” for weight loss
Eating as much as you want of foods that are “good” for weight loss is a frequent mistake.
Many people think that if they eat enough of the right foods, they can eat whatever they want and still lose weight. This is not true! Even if you’re eating a healthy diet of lean proteins, fruits and vegetables (and even whole grains), if you’re consuming too many calories per day, then your body will store them as fat no matter how healthy those calories are.
Fat-loss mistake No. 5: Believing you can turn body fat into muscle by training hard enough.
Many people believe that if they train hard enough, they can turn fat into muscle. This is not true. The body does not have the ability to convert one type of tissue into another and there’s no evidence that it does so in any case. Muscle building and fat loss are two different processes.
You do, however, need to build muscle through resistance training (weightlifting). And the more lean mass you have on your frame, the more calories your body will burn at rest and during exercise. But take care, if you’re trying too hard at the gym by training 6 days per week with high intensity cardio sessions as well as intense weightlifting sessions each day (not recommended), then you may be damaging your ability to gain muscle. And, you may be exercising so hard that it’s very hard to keep eating a calorie reduced diet that is needed for fat loss.
Fat-loss mistake No. 6: Not paying attention to what you eat, as long as you don’t go over your calorie limit for the day.
This is a mistake that can be made by anyone. It’s easy to get so caught up in the excitement of losing weight and getting fitter that you forget about what you’re putting into your body. The problem with focusing on calories only without worrying where they come from is that you may not be giving your body the nutrition it needs.
To avoid making this fat-loss mistake, focus on eating healthy foods instead of just focusing on calories. Find the healthiest version of foods that satisfy your cravings, or learn how to make healthier versions yourself. For example, you may love sweets. So find the sweets that still help you fill all your nutrition goals, such as low-sugar, dairy based sweets that will give you protein but not too much sugar and calories.
Fat-loss mistake No. 7: Having a cheat meal once or twice a week.
This is a common fat-loss mistake. People will say, “I’m only going to eat clean for four days and then have a cheat meal on Friday night.” Then they’ll go out, and eat whatever they want. But what they don’t realize is that one meal can easily erase a lot of their hard work that they put in all week!
It’s important that when you do have these meals (which should be measured) they don’t throw off your whole week’s worth of progress. If this happens too often, it can slow down your weight loss progress by making it harder for you to lose weight consistently over time–and sometimes even ruin all the hard work that went into getting leaner in the first place!
Fat-loss mistake No. 8: Doing rest days wrong
Rest days are important to recovery, but they’re also an opportunity to put in extra work that can help you build muscle. If you’re training hard and eating well, resting for a day or two should be enough time for your body to recover from the previous workout and get ready for the next one.
However, rest days should involve some light activity. Just because you are not doing a strenuous and intense workout, that does not mean sitting on the couch all day is best. Make sure your rest days involve plenty of light activity like walking or yoga.
Conclusion
We hope that by reading this article, you’ve been able to identify some of your own fat-loss mistakes. Maybe you’ve been training abs to get six-pack abs, or maybe you were not paying attention to how much of the “good” foods you are eating. Whatever it is, now is the time to take action! The best way to ensure success in any area of life is by starting with an honest assessment of where things stand right now–and then making small changes over time until they become habits.
