5 fat loss mistakes many beginners make

Milkshakes might bring all the girls to the yard but boxes of Roses and Celebrations chocolates bring everyone to the gym. If your New Year is full of good intentions then here are the five most common mistakes which can be made and how you can learn from them the easy way.   

1.    Tea works but not that one – let’s start with the obvious, by now you or someone you know has gotten a text to say that your local beauticians, Pharmacy or tanning salon has “Miracle fat loss tea” back in stock. If this worked so well and the way they suggest then the obesity crisis that we’re currently facing here in Ireland would be solved in about a month. The same goes for detox juice packages. If it’s heavily marketed, doesn’t involve getting you up off your bum more and eating less then it’s a waste of your money. Tea and coffee are great, offer a ton of physiological benefits, are even better to enjoy in company, do more of that.

2.    Extreme isn’t necessary – for some reason the current trend is that exercise can no longer be presented as something you do to feel and look your best. It’s become a game of one up-manship where people are no longer happy to train an appropriate amount. You have to be doing ultra-marathons, Iron man’s, Boot camp with a former Army instructor because you need someone who’s a professional at shouting at you. Where competition and extremes start, is where health ends. Don’t make the mistake that more is better because there’s a balance in all good things and this includes working out. Be extreme in your addiction to consistency to training and nutrition, NOT in your approach to exercise intensity and duration.

3.    Calories count – the single biggest mistake I see most people making is not tracking their calorie intake so they rely on guesswork as opposed to using an app like My Fitness Pal. Calorie intake is the primary driver to fat loss. Yes, energy expenditure from exercise is rather helpful but the process is far less miserable when you track your food and allow it to reveal where you were going wrong. What we typically see when we look at client’s food log are A) they’re eating too much and B) the extra calories were coming from either too much junk food/alcohol or too many fats, even the good ones! and/or C) nutrition is on track Monday to Friday but Saturday and Sunday are a car crash. Those that refuse to track and record calorie intake do so because they don’t want to face the reality that they’re eating too much and NOT missing some special food or time window in which to eat. Finally, as nice as that vegan, dairy and gluten free chocolate brownie is, you do know it probably contains more or the same number of calories as the regular one right?

4.    I’ll wait until – Gyms or fitness classes can be intimidating places for someone that’s new to it so rather than waiting until you get fit to get fit just book in for a one to one with a trainer. This can give you the confidence to get some of the basic movements down, how to warm up etc. We have people we work with all the time that come to us to put together a program they can use from home or in their own gym they attend.

5.    Walk the weight off – right now we’re living in a country where obesity and being overweight is the norm. If you have a good amount of weight to lose then the most undervalued way to drop weight is to start with walking. 30-60mins of walking per day is a safe, low intensity way to burn calories and when combined with some basic foam rolling and stretching offers an excellent way to help you drop a load of weight and feel much better. Someone that’s overweight needs to be treated carefully because every activity is difficult when you’re quite overweight. The last thing they need to be doing is high intensity intervals, burpees and to be shouted at to move faster.

Conclusion – the celebs you’ve seen that endorse detox products are paid to do so and they don’t work. Extreme intensity in training typically brings with it burn out and injuries and calories do count so count your calories even for just two weeks to give you a clearer picture on your food intake, start now and never undervalue the benefits of walking, particularly if you’ve been inactive or are quite overweight.

Thanks for taking the time to read and please share with those that you know could do with the help.