Fat loss mistakes I wish I knew sooner

There is definitely an overwhelming amount of information online, and information overload is not useful. All these information make it difficult for someone that is not trained as a sport or nutrition professional to know what’s the best approach for their fitness goal.

For myself as well, not being a trained expert, and despite spending the largest majority of my free time trying to study and stay up to date, it becomes complicated when so many information seem to contradict each other.

What to do, then?

Well, to go a bit more scientific about it, it often comes down to trial and error, and adjusting on the way.

I am listing below some of the mistakes I’ve made and the myths I’ve busted during my weight loss journey, bearing in mind, as usual, that I am listing here my own personal experience, and adjustments I’ve made in time that work for me.

Enjoy the read!

• No carbs after 5pm: seriously, who came up with this rule? Is 4:59 allowed and 5:01 not? Stop the war on carbs, they are not your enemy;
• Not checking meal volume: too many calories of healthy food is still too many calories. It doesn’t matter if you’re loading on chicken and broccoli. The number one rule to lose fat is to create a calories deficit, and even too much healthy food, will be caloric surplus;
• Not drinking enough water: remember to stay hydrated!
• Being too sedentary outside of exercising: very often, going to the gym is the only active movement I do throughout the day, something I am still struggling with, having a desk job. I try to incorporate more movement throughout the day whenever possible, such as a 30 min walk after lunch, and getting to destinations with the bike vs public transport;
• Thinking it would be ok to have massive cheat meals: I would usually follow a very strict diet for 6 days, then, on day 7, I would allow myself a massive, 4000 calories meal. Caloric deficit needs to take into account the weekly deficit, not only the daily; by introducing that many calories in one day, I basically cancelled all the deficit I accumulated in the previous days. IT’S OK TO HAVE A CHEAT MEAL, but do it with overall caloric deficit in mind!
• Not enough sleep: resting is as important as healthy eating and exercising. Not resting enough is harmful for many many reasons, but at the same time, obesity and sleep deprivation are strictly intertwined.

This is a list of things I’ve noticed on the way, and making small changes has helped me tremendously. Hope you’ll find this useful!