Not Losing Fat? 3 Mistakes That Are Holding You Back

Are you training hard, eating clean, doing everything you can but still struggling to lose fat? 

In this article, I will cover three mistakes that are holding you back from losing body fat and how you can finally fix them for good.

Over the years, I have worked with so many clients helping them get lean and shed stubborn fat by avoiding these 3 common fat loss mistakes.

Mistake No 1: You’re Eating More than Your Body Needs

Despite what most people believe, fat loss comes down to two things: your energy intake and expenditure. 

This means If you’re in a calorie surplus, you will gain weight, and if you’re in a calorie deficit, you’ll lose weight.

When it comes to creating a caloric deficit, diet plays a much bigger role than exercise and will account for accounts for 80-90% of your success.

There’s no pill or training program that can outdo bad nutrition.

It won’t matter how many days you work out per week, or how hard and long workouts are. To lose body fat, your day-to-day nutrition sustained over time, is the most important factor.

To burn body fat, you must create a calorie deficit. The calories in must be less than calories out. You can do this either through diet, exercise, or a combination of the two.

The problem is that this is not very straightforward. There’s no way to tell if you’re in a calorie deficit without doing some form of tracking?

I know tracking is not fun for most people but you don’t need to do it for the rest of your life to get the results you want. You only need to track for a week and I promise you that this exercise is going to be a big eye-opener.

The first time I ever tracked my food, I was shocked when I discovered how easy it was to overeat nuts.

For example, a handful of peanuts is 25 grams. And because it is so easy to eat several of these, in my case I used to easily eat 3 or 4 handfuls, which is equal to 100g.

Now 100g of peanuts gives you approx.586 calories. This is equal to a full meal of chicken breast and salad. 

If you snack on any type of nuts, it’s important to be mindful of your portions especially if you want to lose body fat.

Nuts are calorie-dense and can keep you struggling forever to reach your fat loss goals.

It’s easy to fix this mistake by taking some action.

Download a food tracking app, set your calories at maintenance, and start tracking your food and drink intake for at least a week. After a week of tracking, you will know what changes you need to make to reach your fat loss goal.

Mistake No 2: You’re Exercising the Wrong Way

Even though exercise plays a small role in fat loss, it has other important benefits such as building and preserving our muscle mass.

The problem is that many people think they need to exercise more to get better results. And so, they exercise harder and longer in the hopes of burning more fat quickly.

But the problem is that when you train harder, you become hungrier. This means, more exercise equals a voracious appetite. 

And training hard while cutting your calories is a bad idea. You’ll feel weak and tired with zero energy. If you keep doing this for some time, your progress will stall pushing you back to your old bad eating habits.

So, instead of going on a restrictive diet and increasing your exercise, focus on lifting weights. You will be able to maintain your muscle and improve your fitness. 

Having more muscle on your frame is the best thing you can do for your body because: 

• You will burn calories during exercise and even at rest. 
• More muscle helps regulate your blood sugar. 
• Building muscle shapes your body giving you the physique you want. 
• Having more muscle allows you to recover faster from injury.

So, start doing weight training and while at it, make sure your workouts are short and intense. You don’t need to train for more than an hour. If you always spend 2 hours at the gym, that’s a good sign that you’re not training hard enough. Your workouts must be intense to elicit an adaptation to either lose fat or build muscle. 

So, make your workouts count.

Mistake 3: Apart from Your Workouts You’re Sedentary

Most people think working out three times a week is enough to stay lean, strong and muscular. Training 3 times a week is a good start, but it’s only good for maintaining your current level of fitness. 

If you’re looking to keep getting fitter, then training 3 times is not enough. The minimum exercise recommended for adults is 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. And remember that this is only meant to maintain their health and wellness.

The problem is that for most people, even getting 150 minutes of exercise per week is a struggle.

Our levels of physical activity have reduced a lot because more people are working from home, meaning we are moving less. 

This becomes even more difficult with so much to do between work, kids, and constant travel.

But, if you’re able to create time for exercise, you might start your day by doing a morning workout, and then sit at your desk for the rest of your day.

Studies show that doing a 30-45-min intense workout and then sitting the rest of the day is equal to having not worked out at all.

But, it is way better doing that one workout than none at all.

There are several ways you can add movement to your day.

Give yourself regular 10-15 min breaks after sitting for 2 hours straight. These short breaks will add up such that by the end of the day, you’d have done 60 minutes of extra physical activity besides your regular exercise.

Set a reminder to notify you at 2-hours intervals to stand up and walk away from your desk. 

You’ll be more productive doing this because you’ll also be giving your brain and eyes a much-needed break after concentrating for long periods.

That’s it. Three common mistakes holding you back from losing body fat and simple ways to fix them. 

If you’re struggling to build muscle and lose fat, I’d love to help.

Reach out to me with any questions you might be having and I will definitely do my best to help you out.