"How to Lose Weight for a Healthy Body: The 6 Most Common Misconceptions and 10 Tips That Will Help You on Your Weight Loss Journey"
It's no surprise that weight loss is on the minds of many people. With weight-related disorders like obesity at an all-time high, we must address weight loss with facts and not just opinions.
This blog post will outline some misconceptions about weight loss and give you ten tips for losing weight the right way.
So with no further ado, let's dive right into the five most common weight loss misconceptions:
There is no magic potion, best workout program, or most optimal diet for getting the results you want!
The fitness industry is notorious for churning out weight loss programs based on fads rather than science. These fat loss programs are often over-priced and can still be dangerous for your health. They offer quick results but usually don't work in the long run, and I understand why it happens! In this competitive market, to be able to sell your product, you need to be unique. That often means you need to undervalue your competition and put your approach as the special and single best thing out there!
So if you are the person saying that weight loss is achievable no matter what type of diet you apply, as long as you create a caloric deficit, you will not sell as many plans as the person claiming that plants will turn you into superman and that meat rots in your gut. You definitely won't be trending as the guy who says that putting butter in your coffee is the missing link to losing tens of kilograms.
Unfortunately, we humans love trends, and we tend to forget what worked so well just a few generations ago. We also love being sold the dream, even though we know it might not be accurate deep down inside. Still, it feels good to be lied to sometimes.
Obese individuals have an easier time losing weight than leaner individuals!
This seems to be yet another widespread misconception about weight loss. We need to understand that if a person has to lose 5 or 50 kilograms to reach the ideal weight, the same hormonal changes will happen.
The same increase in cortisol levels and increases in feelings of hunger and the suppression of leptin, which is a hormone that makes us feel full, will happen no matter the amount of weight the person needs to lose!
That means that the person that needs to drop just 5 kilograms will have the same struggle as the person that has to drop 50 kilograms, the main difference being that the person that needs to lose more weight will have to put in work and will power for a much more extended period. The person who has to lose that significant amount of weight might have to go through a few phases in their fat loss journey where they will have periods of weight loss and weight gain. This person will also face plenty of situations when they will fail their diet and exercise protocol, making their journey not easier like what most people believe but quite the opposite way more physically and mentally challenging.
Carbs make me fat; it runs in the family!
This is absolute nonsense! Carbs do not make you fat; what makes you fat are excess calories. Even if you eat proteins and fats, weight gain can occur when your calorie intake is too high.
Carbs are not inherently fattening; it's still calories that matter! People fail to understand that with every gram of carbohydrate that we ingest, we store 2.7 grams of water with it. That's why when you go on a low-carb diet, you can see an immediate drop in body weight due to dropping water. When you introduce carbohydrates, your scale weight will go up 1-3 kilograms which does not mean that you gained fat.
Again I repeat, you can achieve weight loss on a high carb and low carb diet as long as you are in a position where you burn more calories than you consume. Factors that should determine whether you go low carb, moderate, or high carb should be your personal preference, daily activity levels, specific goals, and current fasting blood sugar levels. This does not mean that I endorse highly processed foods that are usually high in sugars and fats and cause plenty of health issues. So feel free to stop eating cake and start consuming more potatoes and rice!
If you need help structuring your nutrition plan for your specific goal contact us for a personalized training and nutrition plan or take a look at our cheap yet effective dieting templates specifically curated for dropping weight.
Genetics make me fat; it's the fault of my ancestors!
Studies have repeatedly shown that both genetics and environment can have an impact on gaining weight and obesity. However, we can not solely blame genetics for weight gain as the surrounding in which we are brought up, particularly your household's eating culture, will significantly impact your weight and health in the long run. Parents have a huge responsibility to keep their children active and create healthy eating habits, so once they grow up, they don't have to struggle with the damage they could not have been responsible for in their childhood years. The long-term adverse effects can be detrimental for young adults once they start paying more attention to how they look in front of the mirror.
This article from Harward T.H. Chan School of Public Health dives deep into why your "genes are not your destiny."
Artificial Sweeteners are fattening, are they?
I must help you understand this common misconception. There are two camps related to how they view artificial sweeteners and their impact on weight loss.
One camp shouts eat and drink your artificial sweeteners; they are safe and effective for weight loss. In contrast, the other camp swears that they cause weight gain and should be avoided at all costs. They go even as far as saying that a regular Coke is better than diet coke.
So let me try to break it down for you in the most straightforward way! Artificial sweeteners do not cause weight gain as they are 0 calories. However, multiple studies show that people with higher consumption of artificial sweeteners tend to have higher body weight when compared with groups that do not use artificial sweeteners in their daily diet.
So how do we explain this?
My take on it in the most simple words would say that artificial sweeteners can, via brain pathways, cause addiction which can result in us overeating processed, highly palatable calorie-dense foods. This view aligns with what many prominent researchers believe to be accurate as well.
That's why my recommendation is to limit the intake of artificial sweeteners and only use them occasionally as it can be a powerful tool for weight loss when implemented appropriately into your diet plan. I will never have a regular coke over diet coke, but I will also not have my diet coke more than twice a week, and I will have my protein shakes unflavored to limit the total intake of artificial sweeteners.
Several large-scale prospective cohort studies found a positive correlation between artificial sweetener use and weight gain. A similar pattern has been observed in both adults and children.
Study 1
Fueling the Obesity Epidemic? Artificially Sweetened Beverage Use and Long-term Weight Gain - Obesity, 2012.
Study 2
Artificial sweetener use and one-year weight change among women - Preventive Medicine, 1986.
Study 3
Patterns of weight change and their relation to diet in a cohort of healthy women - The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1990.
Study 4
Beverage consumption patterns in elementary school-aged children across a two-year period - Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2005.
Study 5
Total beverage consumption and beverage choices among children and adolescents - International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 2003.
I will train my way to weight loss. Does it work?!
I see plenty of people going all out when starting their fitness journey, from not being active to doing 10000 steps daily and hitting weights five times a week. In most cases, 9 out of 10 people will give up sooner or later. What makes that type of approach even less sustainable is that those people also attempt to cut their calories in half during intense training. This results in overtraining/under recovering, impacts sleep negatively, and disrupts your mitochondrial function and glucose tolerance, which is in most cases already problematic with most people embarking on a weight loss journey.
Do not get me wrong; I am a big proponent of physical activity. Still, I recommend a science-based sustainable approach that promotes long-term sustainable progression in training and increases the number of calories from highly nutritious food sources that will fuel your workouts and make you feel energized throughout the day. Once you have a good base, then it's possible to achieve any weight loss or muscle-building goal that you might have.
What should you focus on for a successful body transformation journey?
For successful weight loss, the key is not a quick fix but a long-term approach. It can be challenging for people who are used to eating unhealthy food and don't have healthy habits to change their diet overnight. But by making small changes over time, you'll feel better about your weight and how you look and be able to maintain that weight once you reach your goal! There's no "one size fits all" formula for weight loss, and that's why I will share with YOU these ten tips that might help you on your weight loss journey. Applying a few of them will increase your chances of losing weight and feeling better.
10 tips that you might not be paying attention to in your weight loss journey!
There are so many tips that can help you to lose weight, and I choose the following ten not because they are the best ones but because they can easily be applied by anyone no matter how little experience you have with the process.
Do not compare yourself with fitness influencers and their 8-10 week transformations!
I am here to help you burn fat and make your journey sustainable and health-conscious. Looking at some natural, photoshopped transformations online can help you get some motivation but will more often make you feel like you do not stand a chance compared to those guys and will put the pressure to achieve something unrealistic. Scientifically we can see that the most effective weight loss rate is about 0.5 to 1 kilogram a week. Also, science shows that pace at which we put muscle is extremely slow. For most beginners, if training and nutrition are optimal, the rate of putting on muscle is just around 0.25 to 0.75 kilograms a month. Now we know that we can assume with much confidence that pics we see online of a 40-year-old man that replaced 10 kilograms of muscle with fat in a matter of 10 weeks are not real.
Unfortunately, the fitness industry is very competitive, and we cater to humans that want results FAST! However, it is my duty not to get lost on this road to make a living and maintain as much integrity as possible to help you achieve your goals and live an optimal life.
Focus on getting stronger instead of prioritizing scale weight!
If you're someone who judges their success purely by what the scale weight shows, you are already signing yourself up for disaster. In over ten years of helping hundreds of people on their fat loss and muscle building journeys, I have never seen the scale weight move precisely the way we planned it. That's why you must track other parameters because they can help you track your progress the right way.
Parameters such as how you feel, how you sleep, can you lift heavier, do you look different in the mirror, and do you fit clothes that you haven't been able to wear in the past are equally important if not more than what the scale shows.
Here is an example of 3 people that gained weight but looked way better after their body transformation journey with Fortius.
Prioritize your sleep so you can lose weight efficiently.
Women that sleep less than 6 hours are more likely to gain. Research shows us that the shorter you sleep, the more your chances of developing obesity increase.
And it is also logical in a way. Scientifically it is proven, but also anecdotally, I know that myself and I are sure you have felt the same way have a much higher chance of craving highly processed palatable foods after a night of poor sleep. Not sleeping also increases your cortisol and is detrimental to muscle growth and recovery.
Some quick tips that will have an immediate effect on the quality of your sleep:
daily sun exposure
limit blue lights at night
have a productive day
no caffeine after midday
simple low sugar carbs with dinner (rice, potato, oats)
cold room
read a book before bed
Utilize 10-15 minute power walks after meals to ramp up your activity levels!
People often undermine the impact their daily activity levels can have on their ability to lose weight. You can lose weight effectively without ever going to the gym as long as you are active throughout the day. This is where the impact of power walks comes into play. 3-4 times a day for 10-15 minutes will help you ramp up your daily step count and help you burn extra calories, but it also helps you digest food better and results in a more productive day. Physical activity comes in so many ways and forms so do not limit yourself to your gym visits.
Focus on the following foods:
Increase your intake of whole foods! Those are foods that come in the shape of how our mother earth created them.
Eat more protein due to its satiating effect and thermic effect, which means that a portion of the protein you eat will be burned during the digestion process and not stored in the body.
Consume more fibers which means increasing the intake of vegetables, potatoes, oats, beans, and fruits. Higher fiber intake is great because fibers can not be completely broken down during the process of digestion. Therefore, they won't be stored in the body. Higher fiber intake helps you feel fuller, which is great when your goal is losing weight.
Have someone to hold you accountable at all times!
Working with a personal trainer has been shown as way more effective than doing things on your own. When you have someone who can structure a good plan for you, guide you, and hold you accountable, it will significantly impact the amount of success you can have when it comes to getting good results. Sometimes it is just not affordable to hire a fitness professional. In that case, have your spouse or your best friend aware of what you want to achieve and let them be your push and support on that journey. You should also know that personal trainers and fitness professionals work in different ways, so you can for sure find an option that will fit your budget.
Here you can have a look at some of our personal training and online coaching services as well as the link to our FREE Fortius Fit Fitness App.
Do what you love but also know what is the most effective when it comes to losing weight.
You can have the best workout program out there, but I doubt you will get far with it if you hate it. At the same time, a thing such as playing football twice a week with your buddies might have a harmful effect when your goal is to drop some fat and achieve a beach body physique. Do not get me wrong, I do not have anything against you playing football with your mates, but how many of them have a decent beach body physique? So what I want to say is that instead of just doing what you love, perhaps give more attention to what is most effective, and in the long term, I am sure a game of footsie here and there won't harm you once you build a good base.
Prep your food and eat out only on the weekends.
No matter how clean you want to eat when dining out, in most cases, you will not know how much sugar or butter has been put in the food you order. That's why I suggest everyone preps their food or join a good meal prep company for you to eat food that you know has been made for your best interest to take you closes to your goal. During the weekend, relax a bit but still be careful what you eat over the weekend as two consecutive days of bad choices can ruin all the effort you may be putting in throughout the week.
Say NO to at least 3 of your favorite foods.
Losing weight is not just a process of getting the weight down, but it is also how you build character. It is an opportunity for you to sacrifice something and show that you are controlling your actions.
If you are used to having a drink a few times a week, say NO to it for the duration of your body transformation program.
If you cant go a week without coke, then say NO to coke and other fizzy drinks and show that the power to resist that urge is present in you.
If you cant go a day without having something sweet, then say NO to sweets during the week. Imagine if we can not resist a dessert for a few days; how weak-willed are we then?
This decision might not be decisive when achieving your goals, but it will build integrity and make you a stronger human.
Remember how long it took you to get where you are now.
We live in a world where everyone wants instant results. People are prone to trying magic potions, fad diets, and 8-week body transformations programs, but the sooner you realize that you can not reverse the damage that has been accumulating for 5, 10, or 20 years with eight weeks program. The better it is for you, and it will save you some unnecessary disappointment and help you be more successful long term. You may be able to lose the weight you accumulated over the years just in a couple of months, but it will be a great challenge that not many can accomplish.
Summary
To lose weight is a weighty subject. In this article, I've covered weight loss misconceptions and given 10 tips to help you lose weight in the right way. The most important thing when it comes to fat loss is consistency- not only with diet but also with exercise. Find an activity that you enjoy doing but that is also effective when it comes to your specific goal. Dieting should be done in phases so as not to overwhelm yourself or experience unnecessary food cravings during your fat loss journey. The key point here is finding what works best for you while being consistent about it all along the way - whether it's 5 lbs or 50lbs!
Stay Strong #BeFortius
