Top 3 Common Mistakes that are Stopping Weight Loss (and What to do Instead) from a Registered Dietitian
by Kimberly Marsh, RD
Many people set a resolution at the beginning of January to lose weight. Most people also often get frustrated when the weight is not coming off and give up by the end of January.
Often, lack of weight loss is not due to lack of effort. People are trying so hard to follow their chosen diets and exercise plans. But maybe their efforts are misdirected. Here are the top 3 most common mistakes I see people make when they come to me as a registered dietitian for weight loss.
The number one most common mistake is over restriction of calories. If you over restrict calories, your body is going to actually slow down your metabolism and prevent you from losing weight.
The body does not naturally want to lose weight. And if we go too low in calories, our body will feel like it is starving. It will slow down our metabolism in an effort to hang on to every calorie. You will have very little energy, exercise will be difficult, and you might have slower thinking time.
What should you do instead?
As a dietitian, I always recommend to eat as many calories as you can while still moving toward your goal. The best place to start is to track what you are eating normally. There are many free apps to do this. Then when you have an average for what is normal, you should go down up to 200 calories. This won’t promote quick weight loss, but will prompt sustainable weight loss.
The second most common mistake is having unrealistic goals and expectations. Really good sustainable weight loss is going to be one to two pounds a week. And often people will recommend that after losing 10 to 20 pounds, you should stop and just try to maintain that weight for a while before continuing to lose weight.
It is important to remember that our body doesn’t really want to lose weight. So it may take some time for weight loss to kick in. But patience and persistence will pay off. Weight loss is not a process for the faint of heart.
What should you do instead?
You can still have a larger, overarching goal. But set smaller goals for smaller time frames. Then you can reach all those smaller goals and keep positive momentum to keep going.
The third most common mistake I see is choosing a diet plan that isn’t sustainable. Most people who have tried to lose weight have followed a strict diet for awhile, lost a few pounds, then they give up on the diet and gain it back (or more).
If you want to avoid this yo yo dieting, you need to create sustainable, lifestyle changes.You aren’t following a diet until you lose weight.You are changing how you eat for the long term.
What should you do instead?
The easiest way to create sustainable changes is to make one or two small changes at a time. Then when those are easier, make more changes.
Another thing to think about is setting “minimums” for yourself. Think about what you could do even if you are sick, very stressed and busy, or traveling. This could be anything from 10 pushups a day, eating at least 1 vegetable every day, etc. But having these minimums will keep you on track with your overall goals.
Kimberly Marsh is a dietitian located in Parker, Colorado. She provides nutrition counselling on diabetes, mindful eating, and weight loss. She can be found at https://kimberlymarshdietitian.com/ for further information.
Images: From Unsplash and Pexels
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