Three Mistakes I Made On My Journey To Weight Loss
Avoid common pitfalls on your path to shedding pounds and achieving lasting health!
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Have you been trying to lose weight forever and nothing seems to work for you? Welcome to the club. I had been a privileged member of this club for a year and a half. Losing weight was my only goal for those 18 months, but somehow nothing seemed to work. I used to put in 2-3 hours at the gym, eat completely healthy food, distance myself from my favorite foods (chocolates and Nutella too), and I had even quit sugar (no sugar for 18 months, I should get an award)! Let’s just say that If losing weight was a subject, I had memorized all the chapters of the subject, but somehow, I always failed the exam. So, when I sat back and analyzed what had gone wrong, a couple of fitness-crazy friends of mine gave me their two cents, Turns out, just like most students do, I had made the silliest mistakes — and today I’ll tell you about the mistakes that I made on my journey to weight loss.
Although losing weight is a herculean task, if you map the journey on a paper, it really zeroes down to two things — determination and a plan. But, we often tend to get carried away by the plethora of (mis)information available on how to lose weight. So, whatever your diet plan is, whatever your workout routine, you need to keep steer yourself away from these mistakes:
1. Focusing On The Weighing Scale Too Much
I weighed a whopping 90 Kg when I started my weight loss journey. In a week, I had lost 1 kg and I was super kicked about losing more weight. I thought I could easily lose 4 kg in a month and then fit into a size M in no time. But, I stopped seeing any change in the numbers on the weighing scale after a month! I was demotivated and frustrated, and this desperation to see the numbers going down led to me to crash diets. It was the stupidest move ever. (The thing with crash diets is that it literally crashes your diet. You just end up losing weight temporarily but it all comes back again!)
The weight keeps fluctuating throughout the day. Also, sometimes, increases estrogen levels and other hormonal changes in women can sometimes cause water retention and hence an increased number on the weighing scale.
What You Should Do
Take pictures of yourself every day! No kidding! Document your weight loss and you will see the difference in your fat loss over a period of time. The numbers on the weighing scale are dependant on a number factors like fluid retention, muscle gain, or the weight of undigested food. So, measure yourself with a tape and see the inch loss instead.
2. Incorrect Calorie Intake (Neither Too Much Nor Too Less)
When I was trying to lose weight, I was obnoxiously annoying. Every time I went out to eat with my friends, my choice of food was frowned upon. Because, I counted calories in every dish and I ate really bland food — my friends fondly monikered my type of food as ghaas phoos (veggies). I used to eat too little because I thought that would just help me in losing weight. Apparently, that’s not how it works! When you consume too many calories you end up putting on weight, and on the flip side, when you eat too less it makes you ravenously hungry and you end u eating more eventually. so, it’s best to maintain a balance.
What You Should Do
Instead of choosing low-fat or fat-free foods and limiting your calories, indulge in foods that are rich in protein and fiber. Choose a combination of foods and focus on nutrition. It is important to have a sufficient amount of vitamins, minerals, proteins, fiber, calcium, and a bit of fat too. So, don’t keep that tummy empty, just fill it with high protein and high fiber foods to up the metabolic rate and lose weight.
3. Too Much Or Too Less Of Exercising
If we haven’t established it already, another important prerequisite for weight loss is to maintain a balance. You can’t overdo anything. That’s exactly why crash diets backfire. I used to go for 50 mins of HIIT (High Intensity) workouts and then go for another 60 minutes of weight training or pilates. It felt really good and I thought I was losing a lot of weight, but turn out, the only thing I had lost was my bone strength. It was too much for my body and I developed severe back pain, and I had knee injuries. This was an I-dug-my-own-grave kind of situation as I was advised to just walk and give my body some rest for 2 months. I piled on 6 Kgs in those two months!
What You Should Do
Over-exercising causes stress in the long run. So, include weight training or resistance training as it can boost your metabolism. It also increases your muscle mass (which is why you will see an increase in your weight, but this is good weight), which in turn promotes fat loss. Too much cardio isn’t a good idea!
Just like a certain writer’s book— The 3 Mistakes of My Life, my weight loss journey was all about learning from my mistakes and making my fitness journey a best seller. Today, I weigh a sweet 62 kg and the best part is I don’t have to break up with my favorite foods, or work out like a maniac at the gym. I’ve learned to balance it out — a balanced diet, a balanced work out routine, and a balanced life.
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