Weight Loss Mistakes

Weight Loss Mistakes

Did you know that right now of every three American adults, one is obese, one is overweight, and only one is lean?  With that in mind, all of us are in jeopardy for gaining more weight. Understanding a little more about what happens to excess calories can help us to make wise choices.  That said here are common mistakes that we make when thinking about our weight.

1.    I can lose it later: 

·       Many of us think that we can indulge all we want when we’re on vacation or during the holidays, and get back to healthy eating behaviors later.  Unfortunately, we’re wrong.  It takes longer than we think to lose the weight we just put on in that period of time.  Why?  For one, we’ve lost muscle.  About 25% of dieters lose lean muscle mass, and muscle burn calories.

·       When we lose weight our liver, kidneys, and other organs shrink.  When that happens they use less calories to function and alter our metabolism, which means we need to eat less.

·       Don’t forget when you lose weight you burn fewer calories when moving around because there’s less of you.  So the same activities you were doing at a heavier weight have become much easier at a lighter weight.

·       Once you reduce calories your metabolism starts to slow down.  That’s because your body is trying to hold on to its fat stores during what it thinks is a famine.  That said you burn fewer calories throughout the day.  And, “once you lose at least 10% of your weight and your weight is stable, you may need to eat 10 to 15% fewer calories to keep the weight off.”

The takeaway:  It’s harder to lose all the weight gained due to a slowed metabolism and less lean muscle mass.

2.     Once it’s off, it’ll stay off:

·       We’re excited when we initially start losing weight and are usually pretty good about staying on track.  However, after some time passes we start to go back to our old eating habits, and eat more.  Eventually, we wind up gaining back the very weight we just lost because we’re subtly increasing our calories, which means we may not notice initially.

The takeaway:  Many of us regain our weight by gradually increasing our caloric intake.

3.    Fat is fat, no matter where it is:

·       You may be aware that when you overeat your body stores fat, but did you know that certain things cause you to store it in your legs, and certain things cause you to store it in your belly?  Science has shown that fat stored in the legs is caused from actually gaining new fat cells.  However, fat stored in the belly is from an increase in fat cell size.  That’s why you’ll typically see weight lost in the belly first and the legs last.  Also, fat stored in your legs is healthier than fat stored in your belly.  People who tend to gain fat in their legs have a better metabolic profile, which means they are less likely to get high cholesterol and high triglycerides, diabetes, and hypertension.

The takeaway:  Increasing your caloric intake can cause fat to wind up in your legs that can be challenging to lose, or it can be stored as belly fat that can lead to other health concerns.

4.     All extra calories are equal:

·       It turns out that calories are not equal.  For instance, women due to their female hormones tend to store fat in their legs.  And, smokers and those who are heavy drinkers tend to store fat in their belly.  Saturated fat and added sugars like sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup may also wind up in your belly.  Research has shown that fructose significantly increases visceral fat found in the belly, while glucose did not.  To help reduce visceral belly fat try limiting added sugars from soft drinks, cookies, cakes, ice cream etc.

The takeaway:  Calories from foods high in sugars and saturated fats create deep-belly fat.

5.    I can work off the extra calories:

·       It’s a common thought that if you exercise more you can just work off that big meal you ate.  However, studies have found that changing what you eat actually causes weight loss, not exercise.  Why is that?  One reason why physical activity does not cause as much weight loss may be due to the fact that it does not rev up your metabolism states a study in Obesity Reviews.  Also, exercise does not prevent your metabolism from slowing down as you continue to lose weight.  Typically, as you lose weight your metabolism slows down, which means you burn fewer calories with the same work out.  For example, say a 150 pound person works out for 30 minutes on the elliptical.  They would burn about 306 calories.  Once that same person loses 10 pounds, at that point they will only burn 286 calories.  In order to burn the same amount of calories as before they would have to work out longer. 

The takeaway:  Exercise is great for your health, for preventing disabilities and problems with old age, but just don’t rely on it to lose weight.  Instead, focus on what you’re eating.

Reference: 

Bonnie, L., Nutrition Action, April 2015, 8 Weight Mistakes, p.1, 3-6.

Eating Well, March/April 2014, Diet vs. Exercise: Which is better for weight loss?, p.14.