Are You Making These Fat Loss Mistakes?

You cut calories, added more cardio and switched to “healthier” snacks, and your body still looks the same. That is frustrating, and it is common. “Fat free” labels and quick-fix gadgets lead plenty of people in the wrong direction. Here are the 5 fat loss mistakes we see most often, and what to do instead.

Mistake 1: Cutting All Fat From Your Diet

It sounds logical: to lose fat, eat less fat. But cutting fat out completely can backfire. Healthy fats support your energy, mood, heart and hormones, and they help you feel full. The goal is choosing the right fats:

• Nuts and seeds: and nut or seed butters.
• Avocado: in salads, on toast or in smoothies.
• Oils: olive, avocado, canola, peanut and sesame oils.
• Fatty fish: salmon, tuna, mackerel, trout and sardines.

Limit saturated fat, and avoid trans fats, which hide in some fried foods, commercial baked goods and anything with “partially hydrogenated” oil on the label.

Mistake 2: Skipping Resistance Training

If your plan is all walking, biking or swimming, you are missing a big piece. Strength training (working against resistance such as your body weight, bands or weights) builds muscle, improves your body composition and helps protect you from injury. In a trial of 160 older adults with obesity who were dieting, combining aerobic and resistance training improved physical function more than either one alone, and helped preserve muscle and bone (Villareal et al., 2017).

Mix it up across the week:

• Endurance days: lighter weights, about 15 to 20 reps.
• Muscle days: moderate weights, about 8 to 12 reps.
• Strength days: heavier weights you can lift with good form for about 4 to 6 reps, once you have a solid base.

Mistake 3: Never Changing Your Routine

Results often stall because your body has adapted. After a few weeks of the same program, give it a new challenge:

• Do a bit more: add a few minutes or a little distance to your cardio.
• Lift a bit heavier: when medium weights start to feel light.
• Try new exercises: to work your muscles in different ways.

Mistake 4: Going It Alone

Designing a safe, effective fat loss program is hard on your own. A personal trainer builds the plan around you, teaches you good form, adjusts as you get fitter and holds you accountable, because someone is expecting you. Read why you need personal training.

Mistake 5: Judging Progress Only by the Scale

Your weight can swing a few pounds from day to day with food and fluids, and if you are building muscle while losing fat, the scale may barely move. Use the scale along with monthly photos, a tape measure and how your clothes fit. Looser clothes mean you are on the right track.

For more, see the best way to lose weight and low impact exercises to shed fat.

When to Talk to Your Doctor

Check with your doctor before changing your diet or exercise if you have diabetes, heart disease or another medical condition. Get checked if you are losing weight without trying or feel unusually tired.

Research

• Villareal, D. T., et al. (2017). Aerobic or resistance exercise, or both, in dieting obese older adults. New England Journal of Medicine, 376(20), 1943-1955. PubMed

Everything we do follows The Gray Method™: find the cause, fix it, then build you up so it stays fixed.

Lose Fat the Smart Way

Our weight loss program combines strength training, cardio and simple nutrition habits, with degreed, certified coaches who specialize in adults 50+ and work alongside our Doctors of Physical Therapy.

Not sure where to start? Our Free Fit-After-50 Assessment is about 30 minutes, one-on-one, with a gentle movement screen and a personal roadmap. No cost, no pressure, no contracts.

Call our office at (239) 223-0484 to schedule your assessment.