{"id":25007,"date":"2020-05-04T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-03T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rachaelattard.com\/?p=25007"},"modified":"2024-03-08T02:52:10","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T16:52:10","slug":"biggest-diet-mistakes-weight-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rachaelattard.com\/biggest-diet-mistakes-weight-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Biggest Diet Mistakes That Are Slowing Down Your Weight Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Diet is a HUGE part of the weight loss process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whenever someone asks me why aren\u2019t they losing weight <\/a>even though they exercise regularly, I ask them what\u2019s their diet like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In most cases, it turns out that they are eating too much, too little, or they think they are eating healthy when in reality they eat a LOT of unhealthy, highly processed food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These diet mistakes can completely derail your progress and leave you wondering why you started dieting in the first place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So in this blog post, I\u2019m going to walk you through the biggest diet mistakes that are slowing down your weight loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EATING TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you want to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing how much you should eat is going to be of great help if you want to lose weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, a lot of girls I talk to aren\u2019t sure how much they should be eating so they end up eating either too much or too little. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And neither is great for weight loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to lose weight, you need to eat the right amount of calories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not saying you should obsessively count your calories but keeping track of your daily calorie intake for a week or two will give you an idea of how much you should actually eat.<\/p>\n\n\n

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EXAMPLE<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s say you burn 2200 calories per day. If you want to maintain your weight, you should eat around 2200 calories on a daily basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is your ideal calorie intake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t know how many calories you should be eating, please read my blog post on how to calculate your daily calorie intake<\/a> :)<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCALCULATE NOW<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

But if you want to lose weight, you should eat around 200-500 calories less. In this case, that\u2019s around 1700-2000 calories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I want to lose weight, I usually never go for a 500 calorie deficit because I get too hungry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if you want to see results faster and you don\u2019t feel as hungry when your calorie deficit is 500 calories, you can do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, I wouldn\u2019t recommend that you eat below 1200 calories per day. This is the absolute minimum for women who want to lose weight in a healthy way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was younger, I used to think that a more severe calorie deficit would help me lose weight faster. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that wasn\u2019t the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excessive dieting, especially if you do it for a longer period of time will damage your metabolism<\/a> and make your weight loss very difficult or even impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually, any form of dieting and calorie restriction reduces your metabolism a bit tricky. The slower your metabolism is, the hard it is to burn through those extra calories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this leads me to another diet mistake I often see younger girls making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SKIPPING RESISTANCE TRAINING WHILE DIETING<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As I mentioned, when you\u2019re dieting (eating at a slight calorie deficit), your metabolism will slow down a little. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what\u2019s the best way to boost your metabolism<\/a> when dieting?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BEST way to speed up your metabolism is to do build muscle. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This doesn\u2019t mean you need to lift heavy weights and get overly muscular (unless you want to of course).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any type of resistance training will help you boost your metabolism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nowadays, I usually focus on bodyweight resistance<\/a> training 3-4 times per week and HIIT once per week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for my body type<\/a> and my fitness goals, this works perfectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It keeps my metabolism high and it helps me get toned without getting bulky<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t

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BEFORE AND AFTER PIC OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBER<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGET THIS PROGRAM<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

If you want to try some of my resistance training workouts, I\u2019ll link them for you below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full-Body Resistance Training Workout for a Lean and Toned Body<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Home Full-Body Workout for a Slim Body<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full-Body Workout – Let’s Get Lean<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WAITING TOO LONG TO EAT<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Conventional wisdom has some seriously strange ideas about when you need to eat when you\u2019re on a diet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, a lot of people end up waiting until they\u2019re absolutely starving before even having a snack, let alone a meal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And on the surface, it makes sense. I mean, you end up eating only when your body demands it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But think about how much you eat when you\u2019re starving versus when you\u2019re just hungry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re like most people, you end up eating waaaaay<\/em> more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You finish your snack or meal and feel unsatisfied. Then, you reach for something else. And something else. And wrap up your meal with something really not good for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of waiting until you\u2019re starving or light-headed, just eat when you feel hungry :)<\/p>\n\n\n

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Plan on eating three meals each day and supplement with healthy nutrient-rich snacks between lunch and dinner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will help you keep from falling into the trap of overeating when you end up sitting down to a proper meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RELATED POST: HOW TO STOP OVEREATING<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

EATING \u201cHEALTHY\u201d, HIGHLY-PROCESSED FOOD<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Just because a food label says that something is healthy<\/a>, or that it has 20% less sugar or 10% less fat, it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that it\u2019s actually good for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best way to avoid making this diet mistake is to focus on eating clean <\/a>and make your own meals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skip eating out, especially when you\u2019re just getting started, and make the switch to healthy, unprocessed foods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If figuring out what to eat on your own is too much trouble or you find it intimidating (I did), try my FREE sample meal plan<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a great place to start and can help you get through the first week or two when the cravings for junk food and sugar are strongest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BEING TOO STRICT WITH YOUR DIET –<\/strong> BINGING ON \u201cCHEAT DAYS\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you\u2019re on a strict diet, there\u2019s a huge temptation to take a day off. I get it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve tried it and you know what? It made me feel downright awful!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why? Because I was binging on those cheat days<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d eat whatever I was craving because I\u2019d avoided eating it during the rest of the week. I ended up waking up feeling bloated and completely derailed both my weight loss goals and my overall health goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you do decide to have a cheat day\u2014and I don\u2019t really recommend them\u2014keep it to a single meal or snack rather than blowing the whole day on brownies, ice cream, donuts, and pizza. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will help you curb your overall caloric intake and can make it easier to get back to your normal diet after your cheat day is over. That said, cheat days are one of the easiest ways to blow your diet to smithereens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I prefer to eat intuitively<\/a> and stick to the 80:20 rule. This means that I eat healthy most of the time and then 20% of the time I just eat whatever I\u2019m craving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I really try to avoid that whole \u201call or nothing\u201d mentality when it comes to nutrition <\/a>and not think of any food as \u201cbad\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n

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THE RIGHT DIET CAN BE FUN<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Diets don\u2019t have to feel like you\u2019re depriving yourself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, the right diet can be fun and inspire you to finally reach your weight loss goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As long as you avoid these diet mistakes, you\u2019ll be on track to lose the weight and keep it off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if you’re struggling to lose weight and you feel like you need a bit of help with your diet, you can check out my Lean Legs Program 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will help you lose weight, especially in your lower body, and get you toned all over. And if you choose the Next Level You Package, it’s going to teach you how to eat healthy and also how to actually stick to a healthy diet :)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find more info here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post and if you have any questions, feel free to ask! xx<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love Rachael<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t

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