Avoid These 15 Weight Loss Mistakes for Better Results
Discover 15 common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight and learn how to avoid them for faster, healthier results.
Losing weight can be a challenge for some.
Sometimes you may feel like you're following a healthy lifestyle, but you're not seeing the results you want.
In fact, you may be following incorrect or outdated advice, which can prevent you from seeing the changes you're looking for.
Here are 15 common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight.
1. Focusing Only on the Scale
It can be common to feel like you're not losing weight fast enough, despite following a healthy lifestyle.
It's important to remember that the number on the scale is only one measure of weight change. Weight is affected by several factors, including fluid fluctuations and the amount of food remaining in your body.
In fact, weight can fluctuate between 2 and 4 pounds over the course of a few days, depending on factors such as the amount of food and fluid you've consumed (1 Trusted Source).
Hormonal changes in women can also lead to greater water retention, which is reflected in the weight you see on the scale (1 Trusted Source).
If the number on the scale doesn't change, you may be losing fat mass while retaining water. Additionally, if you exercise, you may be gaining muscle mass and losing fat.
When this happens, your clothes may feel looser—especially around your waist—even if the number on the scale remains the same. Measuring your waist with a tape measure and taking monthly photos of yourself can indicate whether you're losing fat, even if the scale number doesn't change much.
Summary
Many factors affect your scale weight, including fluid fluctuations, increased muscle mass, and undigested food weight. You may lose body fat even if your scale reading doesn't change much.
2. Eating Too Many or Too Few Calories
Weight loss requires a calorie deficit. This means you need to burn more calories than you consume.
For many years, it was believed that cutting 3,500 calories per week would result in a loss of 1 pound (0.45 kg) of fat. However, recent research shows that the required calorie deficit varies from person to person (3).
You may sometimes feel like you're not eating many calories, and this may be true. However, studies suggest that people often tend to incorrectly estimate the number of calories in a meal (4Trusted Source, 5Trusted Source).
One study asked adults to exercise on a treadmill, estimate the number of calories they burned, and then suggest a meal with the same number of calories. It found that participants significantly underestimated or overestimated the calories in exercise and food (4Trusted Source).
You may eat healthy but calorie-dense foods, such as nuts and fish. Eating moderate portions is key.
On the other hand, excessively restricting calories can backfire. Studies on very low-calorie diets suggest that they can lead to muscle loss and significantly slow metabolism (6Trusted Source, 7Trusted Source).
Summary
Eating too many calories may prevent you from losing weight. On the other hand, eating too few calories may lead to hunger and reduce your metabolism and muscle mass.
3. Lack of or Over-Exercise
During weight loss, you inevitably lose some muscle mass and fat, although the amount depends on several factors (8Trusted Source).
If you don't exercise at all while restricting calories, you're likely to lose even more muscle mass and experience a lower metabolic rate.
In contrast, exercise may help:
- Reduce the amount of lean muscle mass you lose
- Increase fat loss
- Prevent a slowdown in metabolism
The more lean muscle mass you have, the easier it will be to lose weight and maintain it (9, 10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source).
However, over-exercising can also cause problems.
Studies show that over-exercising is unsustainable in the long term for most people and can lead to stress. Additionally, it can negatively impact endocrine hormones, which help regulate bodily functions (12, 13Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source).
Trying to force your body to burn more calories by over-exercising is neither effective nor healthy.
However, lifting weights and doing cardio several times a week can be a sustainable strategy for maintaining your metabolic rate while losing weight.
Summary
Lack of exercise can lead to loss of muscle mass and a lower metabolic rate. On the other hand, over-exercising is unhealthy and ineffective and can lead to severe fatigue.
4. Don't Lift Weights
Resistance training significantly boosts weight loss.
Studies show that weight lifting is one of the most effective exercise strategies for building muscle and increasing metabolic rate. It also improves strength and physical function and may help increase belly fat loss (15Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source, 18Trusted Source).
In fact, a review of 32 studies including more than 4,700 people with obesity found that the best fat-loss strategy is a combination of aerobic exercise and weight lifting (18Trusted Source).
Summary
Weight lifting or resistance training can help boost your metabolism, increase muscle mass, and promote fat loss.
5. Choose Low-Fat or Diet Foods
Low-fat or diet-friendly processed foods are often considered healthy options for weight loss. However, they can have the opposite effect.
Many of these products are loaded with sugar to enhance their taste. For example, a 170-gram (6-ounce) container of flavored low-fat yogurt contains 23.5 grams of sugar (more than 4 teaspoons) (19 Trusted Source).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that a 2,000-calorie diet should include less than 12 teaspoons of added sugar per day (20 Trusted Source).
Low-fat products can also make you feel hungry, which can lead you to eat more than your body needs.
Instead of low-fat or diet foods, try choosing a combination of nutritious, minimally processed foods. When possible, choose fruits and vegetables — this includes canned and frozen varieties — because they are naturally low in fat but also packed with nutrients.
Summary
Fat-free or "diet" foods are often high in sugar, which can lead to hunger and consuming more calories than your body needs.
6. Overestimating the number of calories you burn during exercise
Many people believe that exercise "boosts" their metabolism. While exercise does increase metabolic rate to some extent, it may be lower than you think.
Studies show that average-weight and overweight people tend to overestimate the number of calories they burn during exercise, often by a significant amount (4Trusted Source, 21).
People may also overestimate their exercise levels. In one study, 29.1% of participants reported higher levels of physical activity than they actually did (21).
Exercise is still essential for overall health and can help you lose weight. It's good to understand how much exercise you're getting and how many calories you're burning.
Summary
Studies indicate that people tend to overestimate the number of calories they burn during exercise.
7. Not Eating Enough Protein
Getting enough protein is crucial if you're trying to lose weight. In fact, protein has been shown to aid weight loss in several ways.
It may (22Trusted Source, 23Trusted Source, 24Trusted Source):
- Suppress appetite
- Increase feelings of fullness
- Lose weight regain
- Maintain or increase metabolic rate
- Protect muscle mass during weight loss
One study also found that a high-protein diet, containing 0.6–0.8 grams of protein per pound (1.2–1.6 g/kg), may help control appetite and alter body composition (22Trusted Source).
To aid weight loss, make sure every meal includes a protein-rich food. Remember, your protein choice isn't limited to meat or dairy. Beans, legumes, quinoa, and flaxseeds are also great and affordable options.
Summary
Eating high amounts of protein may promote weight loss by reducing appetite, increasing feelings of fullness, and increasing metabolic rate.
8. Not Eating Enough Fiber
A low-fiber diet can negatively impact your weight loss efforts, as well as your overall health (25).
Studies suggest that a type of soluble fiber, known as viscous fiber, helps reduce appetite by forming a gel-like substance that retains water. This substance moves slowly through your digestive system, making you feel full.
Research suggests that all types of fiber may promote weight loss. However, a review of several studies found that viscous fiber reduced weight and waist circumference even without a calorie-restricted diet (26Trusted Source).
While studies are ongoing, research suggests that fiber may also interact with gut microbes, producing hormones that help you feel full (27Trusted Source).
In addition, fiber may reduce the risk of certain chronic diseases and improve digestion.
Summary
Eating enough fiber helps you feel full and may aid weight loss even without following a restrictive diet.
9. Excessive Fat Eating on a Low-Carb Diet
Ketogenic and low-carb diets may be very effective for weight loss in some individuals.
Studies show that they tend to reduce appetite, which often leads to an automatic reduction in calorie intake (28, 29, 30).
Many low-carb and ketogenic diets allow unlimited fat consumption, assuming that the resulting appetite suppression will keep calories low enough for weight loss.
However, some people may not feel a strong enough signal to stop eating. As a result, they may consume more calories than necessary to achieve a calorie deficit.
If you are consuming large amounts of fat in your food or drinks and are not losing weight, it may be worth trying to reduce your fat intake.
Summary
Although a low-carb, ketogenic diet helps reduce hunger and calorie intake, adding too much fat or total calories may slow or prevent weight loss.
10. Overeating, Even When You're Not Hungry
For years, conventional advice has been to eat every few hours to avoid hunger and slow metabolism.
However, this can lead to consuming more calories than your body needs throughout the day. You may never feel completely full.
One research review found that eating only two or three meals a day may improve symptoms such as reduced inflammation and a lower risk of weight gain (31).
The recommendation to eat breakfast every morning, regardless of appetite, also appears to be flawed (32Trusted Source, 33Trusted Source).
One study asked women who typically skipped breakfast to add a meal before 8:30 a.m. for 4 weeks. It found that those who ate breakfast consumed more calories daily and gained weight by the end of the study (34).
Eating only when you're hungry appears to be key to weight loss.
Summary
Overeating can slow your weight loss efforts. It's important to eat only when you're hungry.
11. Setting Unrealistic Expectations
Setting weight loss and other health goals can help you stay motivated.
However, setting unrealistic expectations is common and can be detrimental.
One study found that the vast majority of participants hoped to lose more than 10% of their body weight, which the researchers described as unrealistic. Research suggests that not meeting weight loss goals is associated with dissatisfaction and future weight loss challenges (35).
If you have a weight loss goal, it may be helpful to choose something practical, such as losing 5% or 10% of your body weight at a rate of 1 or 9 kg per week (36Trusted Source). This may improve your ability to achieve your goal while losing weight at a healthy rate.
Summary
Unrealistic expectations can lead to frustration. Set practical goals to increase your chances of achieving them while losing weight in a healthy way.
12. Not Tracking What You Eat in Any Way
Eating nutritious foods is good for your health and weight loss. However, you may be eating more calories than your body needs.
More importantly, you may not be getting the necessary amount of protein, fiber, carbohydrates, and fat to support your weight loss efforts and maintain your health.
Studies suggest that tracking what you eat can help you get an accurate picture of your calorie and nutrient intake, as well as provide accountability (37Trusted Source, 38Trusted Source).
One study found that people who recorded their food once a day lost 0.63% more body weight per month than those who recorded their meals once a month. Those who recorded their meals and exercised more frequently also lost more weight (37Trusted Source).
In addition to food, most weight-tracking websites and apps allow you to record your daily exercise. Recording each of these aspects can give you a better understanding of your overall health.
Summary
If you don't track what you eat, you may be consuming more calories than you think. You may also be getting less protein and fiber than you think.
13. Drinking Sugary Drinks
Many people avoid soda and other sweetened beverages in their weight-loss diet. Reducing the amount of sugary drinks you consume is generally a healthy choice.
However, drinking fruit juice instead isn't necessarily the best choice.
Even 100% fruit juice is high in sugar and may lead to health problems and obesity, similar to the effects of sugar-sweetened beverages (39Trusted Source).
For example, a 12-ounce (372-gram) serving of unsweetened apple juice contains 35.76 grams of sugar. That's even more than the 23.1 grams of sugar in a 12-ounce (258-gram) serving of cola (40Trusted Source, 41Trusted Source).
Furthermore, liquid calories don't appear to affect the brain's appetite centers in the same way as calories from solid foods.
Research suggests that you may end up consuming more calories overall, rather than compensating for liquid calories by eating less later in the day (42, 43).
Summary
Cutting down your intake of sugar-sweetened beverages is a healthy choice. Even if you drink fruit juice instead, you'll still be consuming a lot of sugar and are likely to consume more calories.
14. Not Reading Labels
Ignoring or misreading label information can lead to consuming unwanted calories and unhealthy ingredients.
This is easier said than done, as many foods carry labels with seemingly healthy nutrition claims on the front of the package. These claims can create misconceptions about the content of a particular ingredient (44, 45, 46).
For comprehensive information about your food, it's important to read the ingredients list and the nutrition facts label on the back of the package.
Summary
Food labels provide information about ingredients, calories, and nutrients. It's important to understand how to read labels accurately when choosing foods.
15. Not Eating Whole, Single-Ingredient Foods
Eating too many processed foods may be a barrier to weight loss.
Studies in animals and humans suggest that processed foods may be a major factor in the rising rates of obesity and other current health problems (47Trusted Source, 48Trusted Source).
Some researchers believe this may be due to their negative effects on gut health and inflammation (49).
In addition, whole foods tend to be self-limiting, meaning they are difficult to overeat. Conversely, it can be easy to continue eating processed foods even when you're not hungry.
Whenever possible, try to choose whole, single-ingredient, minimally processed foods.
Summary
Eating too many processed foods can hinder weight loss, as it makes it easier to eat more than the recommended amount. Whole foods, on the other hand, are harder to overeat.