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6 Things to Avoid for Sustainable Weight Loss

Sustainable Weight Loss
22 June 2022 4 min read
6 Things to Avoid for Sustainable Weight Loss

If getting leaner, looking more defined, or fitting into some old clothes is what you’re after, then here are some things to avoid if you’re looking to lose weight sustainably.

Now, we’re not saying these 6 things won’t get you leaner but, in my experience, they’re not the best for long-term, sustainable outcomes. So, if you want to know what to avoid if you want to lose weight, keep it off, and have an altogether healthier lifestyle, then read on!

Looking to add some strength training into your weight loss efforts? Or perhaps some extra conditioning could be the thing to help you unlock the door to a breakthrough in your weight loss? Check out Again Faster's strength training gear, quality conditioning equipment, and the rest of the range while you're at it!

Man doing some strength training

1 - Keto

Sure, avoiding carbs is one way to create a calorie deficit – but it's just damn unnecessary. Carbs are delicious, and provided you're burning more calories than you consume, you'll lose fat. Carbs are fine as long as you’re properly tracking your intake, which leads perfectly on to our second thing to avoid when looking to lose weight sustainably...

2 - Not Tracking (Your Intake)

If you have no idea how many calories you're consuming, chances are your intake is probably going to fluctuate on a daily basis in line with your appetite. Even if you are able to somehow maintain a calorie deficit for long enough to lose a considerable amount of fat, there's no way you can know you'd be doing so without risking excessive muscle loss, or the possibility of over-eating at any time. Your best bet is to track your intake, and like the cardio suggestion below, you should do so in a controlled manner so you're able to manipulate your approach should things slow down.

3 - Doing Countless Hours of Cardio

It’s not necessary at all. It can also lead to loss of strength (and possibly muscle too). Cardio might help with sending you further into a calorie deficit, but not by much. So too will straight calorie restriction. If you are going to add some cardio to your routine to help with losing weight, best you do so in a controlled manner, so that if your progress does come to a halt, you have somewhere to go with it. You want to leave some room on the runway so you can further manipulate the amount you're doing. Plus, we always recommend that you prioritise your weight training, so you can at best preserve your muscle mass.

man exhausted after cardio

4 - Intermittent Fasting

Breakfast foods are amazing, and while intermittent fasting might help you with better adhering to your diet, this is realistically only going to suit a select few people with very busy schedules. Arbitrarily denying yourself food is not nearly as helpful as simply tracking your intake.

5 - Cheat Meals

Cheat meals are so outdated now, and they’re a sure-fire way to blow your entire weekly calorie deficit out of the water. In fact, I'd argue there's no better way to ensure you've completely wasted 6 days out of the week maintaining a calorie deficit by blowing out on a whole pizza and ice cream too. Sure, if you want to set aside one day a week where you have a meal that’s a bit of a treat, that’s fine, but only if it fits into your all-important weekly calorie deficit.

6 - Following A Strict Meal Plan and Excessive Meal Prepping

Yeah, it’s a great shout if you love, like, 8 foods and never ever want to eat anything else. The reality is that while it might make it easier to hit your target calories/ macros - you aren't always going to have access to your pre-prepared meal in Tupperware. So a better bet would be learning how to actually track your macros and be more flexible with your approach to food. That way, no matter the situation, you'll experience minimal food-related anxiety and always be able to hit your macros.

healthy pre-prepped meals

Losing Weight Sustainably and Keeping it Off

The reality is that fat loss is a pretty simple equation that is often made far more difficult by emotion and a lack of understanding of what’s going on in our bodies.

Learning how to lose fat, and the effects of the food choices you make on your dieting as a whole, is ultimately what sets you free from the constraints of any of the above approaches to dieting and fat loss.

For that reason, Principal Nutrition places a huge focus on education (as should any good nutritionist or nutrition course!) This is an educational coaching experience designed to teach you how to eat so that you can lose fat, keep it off forever, and get a better understanding of how to continue manipulating your body composition.

If you want to lose body fat while still eating food you enjoy, and want to gain a better understanding of nutrition, then this is the course for you.

You good? Good!

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