Clean eating and healthy fitness habits can get jumbled or misinterpreted by various opinions around the web. This can cause people to keep weight on, when that weight should be falling off. Since it is harder for women to lose weight, we want to list mistakes women make when it comes to weight loss and give solutions so that health goals to be achieved.
#1: Keep Portions In Check
Even if you eat a healthy diet, portion control is essential for weight loss. A lot of people will have their roasted potatoes, brown rice, salad, and protein source (be it meat or vegetarian), but the portion is often huge. Calories can rack up, even in a bowl of steel cut oats with almonds, sliced bananas, raisins, and a glass of orange juice.
How to Fix: Make sure that your meals are no bigger than two fists combined. Eat out of a small bowl to keep your portions small; and don’t refill it either! Remember to always have at least two-thirds of the meal consist of vegetables.
#2: Rev Your Routine
If you consistently go to the gym about 3-4 times a week, you want to see results. The truth is that a lot of women don’t know how to exercise for their body types. Many women will focus on leg exercises, often neglecting the rest of their body parts. The rate at which you exercise can play into the rate at which you lose weight.
How to Fix: Rev up your workouts by implementing short bursts of high intensity circuits. High intensity bursts can burn up to 36% more fat than working out at a slow pace. Try to do more reps per exercise with lighter weight as well.
#3: Don’t Forget Cardio
Cardio is one of the most important steps to losing weight. This is especially important if you are trying to get rid of belly fat. Crunches can tone your abs, but the washboard won’t appear until you burn the fat on top of the muscle.
How to Fix: Burn calories much quicker with high-intensity interval training, as mentioned above. Every time you go to the gym, aim to get at least 20 minutes of cardio in at the end of your workout. Hot yoga is also a great way to help you lose weight because it helps you eliminate toxins in the process.
#4: Don’t Eat While Distracted
With all the smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other screen devices, it can be hard steer clear of screens. A high percentage of people watch television or search the web while eating or snacking. This can cause you to eat 15% more food than a person who eats without any distractions.
How to Fix: When you sit down to eat, just sit down to eat. Don’t open an app, check your email, or watch a new episode of your favorite show. Eating without any unnecessary distractions can help you control exactly how much you eat.
#5: Do Your Dining Research In Advance
Eating out is an easy way to avoid making your own food. If you are trying to limit your caloric intake, eating out can be difficult because you may not know how many calories are in each menu item. A slice of pizza may only have 500 calories, but the healthier looking turkey sandwich may be 950 calories.
How to Fix: A lot of healthier restaurants have nutritional information now, which is why it is best to do your dining research ahead of time. Look up nutritional facts prior to going to a restaurant so you know exactly what to get. Better yet, start meal prepping your lunches to ensure you have healthy, low-calorie meals!