Misconceptions About Weight Loss

Before I started my health and fitness journey, I had a lot of misconceptions about weight loss and fitness in general. A lot of these misconceptions come from the misinformation we were taught growing up and have internalized from what we see and hear around us. I'm going to present some of the misconceptions that many people have about weight loss.

#1: I Need to Do Extreme Diets to Lose Weight

I'm sure you have seen advertisements about a detoxing tea/pill that will help you lose weight fast, or a crash diet method that would help you lose weight fast. Please be advised that attempting to "lose weight fast" is not sustainable and will most likely fail. Cutting out a nutrient such as carbs or fat which is essential for nourishment & growth, is also not helpful, as well as the water/smoothie fasting method. Relying on a substance to lose weight isn't going to help you reach your long term goal. The reason why crash diets do not work in the long run is because you will fall off of that diet eventually, it will not improve your health and you will end up gaining back the weight. You may see temporary results, but it isn't a helpful tool to burn calories long term.

#2: I Don't Have Time or Money to Lose Weight Now

I hear this saying from people very often. I used to believe that I wasn't able to lose weight either because I didn't have the time or money. The problem is not the lack of time or money, but the lack of information, resources and willingness to do some research. Knowledge is free, so take advantage of learning and un-learning ideas about weight loss. People make weight loss seem way harder than it really is. You do not need to go on an extreme diet or go hard at the gym. You do not need to buy groceries that is way out of your budget. You can still continue your exact diet, but have LESS of it, and still lose weight. All you need to do is:

1. Find out how many calories you have been consuming daily (MyFitnessPal, Lower your calorie intake, get rid of high calorie dense food/snacks/drinks.

2. Get some cardio in ( an hour walk in the park, walking up and down stairs, full body cardio workouts).

I guarantee that if you just follow these simple steps, you WILL lose weight. Make sure to track your progress weekly. If you are still gaining weight or remain the same, you aren't eating properly and may need to figure out better strategies to help you keep track of your calorie intake.

#3: I've Done Every Workout But I Still Don't Have a Snatched Waist !

Okay, everyone (most), wants a snatched waist (including me). For the longest, I've always dreamed about having a small waist but didn't believe that it was attainable for me. I would look at my rolls and didn't think it was possible for it to look snatched. I tried it all — core exercises, ab workouts etc. but that did not help. The problem is that you have to lose the weight first in order to see your waist go down. You have to be at a certain body percentage to get that "snatched waist" and for any muscle definition. My waist slimmed down and my belly fat decreased as well when I was eating less calories and getting in a lot of cardio. Even after my waist got smaller, I wasn't able to see a whole lot of definition because there were still fat around my waist. Get to a lower fat body percentage, then the core exercises will work more effectively.

What are other misconceptions you think you may have about weight loss?