You’ve just finished a run. How many calories did you burn? Chances are, your guess outpaces reality, to the tune of, say, a mochacchino? Overestimating calorie burn is the front runners’ weight loss mistake. But it’s not the only misstep. Sneaky slipups can de-rail your earnest weight loss efforts! Thanks to the Doc, here’s how to avoid the 5 most-common-weight-loss-mistakes you may be making right now!
1. Miscounting Calories
Running and walking are both great ways to stay in shape, but if you want to drop weight faster, running definitely wins! It’s because running is more strenuous, so there’s no surprises the potential calorie burn is far greater — 2.5 times more calories than walking. You can burn about 8.5 calories a minute when moving at a comfortable pace. But, you can easily overspend your calorie deficit with something as simple as a latte and a small biscuit, cracker or canned fish in brine.
Doc Tip: Get a better estimate of your calorie burn with an online calculator or with a GPS watch that allows you to input your height, weight, and other stats. If you’re prone to overindulging post run, avoid blowing your calorie deficit by finding a couple of “reward” foods with easily controllable portions, like the Doc’s Whey Protein Isolate or plant based Pea Protein Isolate in either chocolate or french vanilla.
2. Sleep Deprivation
Yep, that’s right. It’s not always your food choices or the fact that you haven’t shown your face at the gym for four weeks (although that probably isn’t helping either) – it’s all about sleep! If you’re feel a bit sleep deprived then this could take a toll on your waistline and health. Not only does does a lack of sleep make you feel run down and ragged, it also deprives you of the motivation to work out and eat well. It can also put you at increased risk of putting on weight! This is because sleep helps to regulate the hormones that make you feel hungry or full. When you don’t get enough sleep, the hungry hormones increase – making you feel hungrier than if you had a good night’s rest… it’s not called beauty sleep for nothing!
Doc Tip: Try an hour-long nap during the day, a workout in the evening (to help give you a little energy), and low to no light in the bedroom. You should also make sleep a priority because if you don’t sleep nothing else works well.
3. Exercise Overload
Who would have thought? There is actually a thing as too much exercise! Working the same muscles over and over again or not giving your body time to properly rest and recover can be detrimental to your success.
Doc Tip: If you want to ensure that the number on the scale going down is due to fat loss (and not the break down of muscle) it is important to follow an exercise program that balances cardio and resistance training with adequate rest periods woven in.
4. Skipping Meals
It’s true that eating fewer calories than your body burns is the key to weight loss success. It’s a topic we have covered pretty extensively here at The Doctor’s Kitchen (you can read more here and here). However, if you aren’t eating enough to properly fuel your body then your weight loss, and your metabolism, can come to a halt! If you continue to deprive your body of essential vitamins and nutrients it can enter starvation mode where anything you eat is more likely to be stored as fat in an effort to keep you going.
Doc Tip: The best and healthiest way to lose weight is to make sure you’re getting the nutrients your body needs, within your optimal calorie range. Our Docs can work out exactly how many calories you need to be eating to lose fat. You can book in with one of our Doctors anytime online.
5. Rushing Results
Quite literally. It can be hard to keep motivation in your weight loss journey, especially if you feel like you aren’t seeing the results you want. Trying to change everything at once or reaching for TV-ready results is often overwhelming enough to cause you to abandon your weight-loss plan. In fact, many people give up just before they start to any results let alone long lasting ones! Developing new habits takes time and effort, don’t be disheartened.
Doc Tip: Make small changes, one at a time. Just remember that returning to your old behaviour will eventually lead you back down the path to where you started. Focus on trying to be consistent with your diet and exercise programs, especially after you start to see results! Take progress photos or track your progress (including your mental health) in a journal to look back on when you’re feeling discouraged, and remember how far you have come!
So, you’re eating just the right amount of calories for your needs but still aren’t seeing the results that you want? You might not be eating enough of the right foods or the right portions. Where you get your calories from is just as important as how many you consume. It will also have a significant impact on how you feel, how you perform, and how well you recover from your workouts. After all, nutrition is all about providing your body with the foods that it needs to function at optimum efficiency. You should be aiming to get your calories from a varied and balanced range of sources to help you achieve your goals!
The Doctor’s Kitchen Australia incorporates premium whole foods and superfood ingredients to create nutritionally complete + purely delicious meals that are portioned to help achieve overall wellness and good health. Our Docs offer a complete vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, gluten free and dairy free menus. You can book in with one of our Docs at our HQ at Carina. Or now, at the Rosalie Milton Clinic, to get started on the Doc’s weight loss meals.
The Doctor’s Kitchen and our doctors service all Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, and Toowoomba areas.
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