5 Epic Weight Loss Mistakes

The big and vast world of fitness, dieting and nutrition can seem incredibly confusing to a lot of people some of the time. Scrap that – a lot of the time.

With so many different diet plans, training regimes, TV shows promoting healthy eating and hundreds upon hundreds of weight loss and diet gurus, it’s a crazy (and big) minefield of information out there, and wading your way through, trying to find the best approach can be a pure uphill struggle.

The main issue is that there are so many myths out there surrounding weight loss. I mean with the crazy amount of information you can find online about weight loss, it's hard to figure out what is true and what is just a pure myth. It's really no surprise that the vast majority of people are confused about all the weight loss info out there.

With that in mind, this article cuts through the myths and deals in pure fact to help you avoid making these five epic weight loss mistakes that a lot of people make. Don't worry, we'll help guide you through the minefield of information.

1. Not Counting Calories

Calories aren’t the only thing that matter when losing weight, but they are the most important factor. By not counting them, you’re simply guessing your food intake and chancing poor results.

To lose weight you must consume fewer calories than you burn. It doesn’t matter what type of diet you follow – vegetarian, low carb, high protein, paleo, raw food, etc., you need to be in a calorie deficit to burn fat.

Eliminating certain foods or food groups may help to lower your calorie intake, but it may not be enough all of the time.

2. Missing Macronutrients

Macronutrients are protein, carbohydrates and fats. Some weight loss diets focus on eliminating, or at least severely reducing one of these three (usually fat or carbs.) If you've seen a diet like this you may think it makes sense. This is a huge mistake though.

Getting rid of protein is the biggest crime when it comes to this myth. Why? Protein is essential as it helps to build and repair muscle tissue and plays a role in the hormone and enzyme production. Protein is also thermogenic, meaning it digests slower and actually burns calories in the process.

Like protein, fat is also essential and is useful for hormone production and recovery and immunity purposes. While fat may be pretty calorie-dense, with each gram of fat containing nine calories, you do need at least a small amount of fat in your diet for your body to function properly.

Carbs may not be essential in the same way as protein and fat, as your body can make carbs from the other two macronutrients, but cutting out carbs will make most people feel severely lethargic, and can cause a metabolic slow down. You might lose weight very quickly going no-carb, but progress will soon plateau.

3. Performing Hours of Cardio

Cardio is great for adding a little extra calorie burn, but too much can be detrimental.

Traditional steady state cardio, such as a long run, 45 minute cycling session or a steady plod on a machine at the gym is a highly inefficient way to lose fat. Your body becomes accustomed to so much low intensity exercise, feels like it doesn’t need to maintain muscle mass and actually starts burning this rather than fat.

You might lose weight, but it won’t be the right type of weight.

4. Ignoring Weight Training

Behind diet, weight training is second in the weight loss hierarchy.

“Won’t weight training make me gain weight and get all big and bulky?” you cry. Fear not, weight training is an incredibly useful tool for shedding the pounds and looking leaner and more defined in the process.

5. Not Tracking Anything

Without a food diary or workout log, how do you know you’re progressing?

It’s easy to forget exactly what you ate at breakfast, how many pushups you did in your last session, or what your energy levels were like on your last low carb day if you don’t write anything down.