Liputan6.com, Jakarta Trying to lose weight can be hard. Sometimes, you do your best and still don’t see results. You may feel frustrated when your clothes don’t fit better or when the scale does not move. Many people go through this and wonder what went wrong.
Maybe you are eating healthy and exercising, but something still doesn’t work. The truth is, some common habits can slow your progress. Even small mistakes, like skipping meals or drinking sugary drinks, can stop you from losing weight. These habits are easy to miss if you don’t know about them.
In this article, we will look at common weight loss mistakes and how to avoid them. By fixing these mistakes, you can lose weight in a healthy and smart way.
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1. Too Focus on the Scale
Many people check their weight every day. They feel happy when the number goes down and sad when it goes up. But your weight can change for many reasons. Water in your body, food in your stomach, and hormones can all change the number on the scale.
Instead of only looking at the scale, pay attention to other things. Notice how your clothes fit. Take pictures of yourself. Measure your waist with a tape. These things will show you real progress better than the scale.
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2. Skipping Breakfast
Some people think skipping breakfast will help them eat fewer calories. This seems like a good idea, but it often makes things worse. When you skip breakfast, you feel very hungry later in the day. This makes you eat too much at lunch and dinner.
A good breakfast with protein and fiber helps you feel full all day. People who eat breakfast every morning usually stay at a healthy weight. Choose eggs, oatmeal, or yogurt with fruit for a good start to your day.
3. Lack or Over Exercise
Not exercising enough is a big mistake. When you eat less food but don't exercise, you lose muscle. This makes your body burn fewer calories. Exercise helps you keep your muscles and burn more fat.
But exercising too much is also bad. Too much exercise makes you very tired and stressed. It can hurt your body and make you want to eat more food. Try to exercise 3-4 times per week with both cardio and strength training.
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4. Not Eating Enough Protein
Protein is very important for weight loss. It helps you feel full and keeps your muscles strong. Many people don't eat enough protein when they try to lose weight. This makes them feel hungry and lose muscle instead of fat.
Try to eat protein at every meal. Good protein foods include chicken, fish, eggs, beans, and nuts. If you weigh 60 kilograms, you need about 48 grams of protein each day. This helps your body burn fat and stay strong.
5. Relying on Crash Diet
Crash diets promise fast weight loss. They tell you to eat very little food or only one type of food. These diets might work for a short time, but they are very bad for your body. They make your metabolism slow down.
When you finish a crash diet, you usually gain all the weight back. Your body will burn calories more slowly than before. Instead of crash diets, make small changes to your eating habits. This way works better and keeps you healthy.
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6. Eating Too Much or Too Few Calories
To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than you burn. But many people don't know how many calories they really eat. They think they eat less than they actually do. This stops them from losing weight.
Eating too few calories is also a problem. When you eat very little, your body thinks there is no food available. It slows down your metabolism to save energy. Try to cut 400-500 calories from your normal daily intake for healthy weight loss.
7. Overestimating Calories We Burn During Exercise
After a hard workout, many people think they burned a lot of calories. They feel like they can eat more food as a reward. But most people guess wrong about how many calories they burned. They usually think the number is much higher than it really is.
A 30-minute run might only burn 300 calories. That's less than a small piece of cake. Don't use exercise as an excuse to eat more food. Exercise is good for your health, but weight loss happens mostly because of what you eat.
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8. Not Drinking Enough Water
Water is very important for losing weight. It helps your body burn calories and makes you feel full. When you don't drink enough water, your metabolism becomes slower. This makes it harder to lose weight.
Try to drink 8-10 glasses of water every day. Drink a glass of water before each meal. This will help you feel full and eat less food. Water has no calories, so it's the best drink choice when you want to lose weight.
9. Forget About Calories in Drinks
Many people count calories in their food but forget about drinks. This is a big mistake. Some coffee drinks have more than 500 calories. Fruit juice and soda also have many calories and sugar.
Even 100% fruit juice has a lot of sugar. A glass of apple juice has more sugar than a can of cola. These liquid calories don't make you feel full like solid food does. Choose water, tea, or coffee without sugar instead of sweet drinks.
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10. Setting Unrealistic Goals
Many people want to lose weight very fast. They set goals like losing 10 kilograms in one week. These goals are impossible and dangerous. When you don't reach these goals, you feel bad about yourself and want to give up.
Set small, realistic goals instead. Losing 0.5-1 kilogram per week is healthy and possible. Celebrate small wins along the way. This will keep you motivated and help you reach your final goal. Remember, slow and steady progress is better than fast and dangerous changes.