5 Dieting Pitfalls to Avoid if You Want to Lose Weight

If you’re looking to make this your most successful transformation challenge or weight loss venture yet, then here are 5 expert tips that will help you avoid common dieting pitfalls and get you on the right track for the best results ever!

Top 5 Dieting Pitfalls to Avoid if You Want to Lose Weight Fast

#1 “Can’t Have” Mindset

There’s no way around it, if you want to lose weight, you’re going to have to create an energy deficit, which is most efficiently accomplished through a combination of reducing calories (dieting) and increasing physical activity (exercise).

At the same time, be wary to adopt a negative mindset when you want to lose weight. Many people immediately make their weight loss journey that much more mentally taxing and draining by approaching it with a “can’t have” or “won’t allow” mindset.

You may have experienced this before during previous attempts to lose weight. You create a list of things you “can’t have.”

“No carbs.”

“No fruit.”

“No bread.”

“No desserts.”

The list goes on and on and on. As you can see, focusing all of your energy on what you “can’t have” is kicking things off on a sour note.

Instead of adopting the “can’t have” mindset, focus on what you can do to make meaningful changes to your lifestyle. Focus on adding more of the right foods to your diet -- fruits, veggies, lean proteins, etc. -- as well as what new forms of physical activity you get to try.

This subtle shift in mindset can make the process much more enjoyable and with much less stress and feelings of deprivation.

#2 Being Overly Restrictive

Another one of the most common dieting pitfalls to avoid if you want to lose weight is being overly restrictive.

Building off of the previous point, many people immediately start their transformation challenges by removing dozens and dozens of foods from their diet, under the guise that it’s certain foods making them gain weight. In reality, no single food (carbs, gluten, sugar, etc.) is responsible for making you gain weight. It is the excessive consumption of calories.

Furthermore, being overly restrictive can make the process of losing weight seem that much more difficult as well as lead to increased feelings of deprivation, making it that much more likely you’ll quit your diet and go back to your old habits.

Remember, to lose weight, you don’t need to take extreme measure. You don’t need to eliminate entire food groups. You don’t need to adopt extreme exercise programs. You don’t have to only follow any ridiculous detoxes or cleanses.

You do need to create a moderate calorie deficit (10-15% below maintenance) through a combination of diet and exercise. Do that day in and day out and you’ll get the results you want!

#3 Ambiguous Goals

Many people embark on their weight loss journey with the simple goal to lose weight. While a good start, simply stating that you want to “lose weight” is too vague, which can lead to confusion, complacency, and a lack of results.

Instead, make your goals SMART:

• Specific

• Measurable

• Achievable

• Relevant

• Time-Bound

Following the SMART approach for goal setting helps you to identify not only exactly what you want to accomplish, but when you need to have it done and why this goal is so important to you.

An example of setting a SMART goal would be to say that I want to lose five pounds this month. You’ve set a specific, realistic goal that is bound by time, but entirely achievable.

Another example of setting SMART goals would be to say that, “I want to eat a serving of vegetables everyday with lunch and dinner. This gives you something tangible and measurable to focus on instead of saying “I want to eat healthier.”

Making these small tweaks to your goals can lead to massive changes during your transformation challenge.

#4 Not Taking Action

Building off of the previous point, having a plan of action is a great start. But to really make the change, you have to put your plan into action.

It isn’t enough to say you’re going to exercise 4 or 5 days per week or eat a serving of fruits or veggies with each meal. You actually have to do it.

Failing to take action is one of the biggest reasons people fail to see results during their weight loss journey.

Nobody is going to be there to make you exercise or eat “clean.” People can provide support and encouragement. But, at the end of the day, it’s you lacing up your tennis shoes and deciding what foods go into your mouth.

#5 Lacking Patience

The final dieting pitfall to avoid if you want to lose weight is being impatient. Far too many people start a diet and get disgruntled when they don’t see instantaneous results. This leads them to quitting early and going right back to the way they used to live (or even worse, adopting some extreme fad diet and exercise regimen that simply isn’t sustainable).

Sorry to say it, but it took weeks, months, and years of overeating and being sedentary to get where you are, and it will take many weeks and months to get back to your “fighting weight.”

But, that’s ok.

During this time, you will build mental and physical strength, and you’ll establish healthy, sustainable lifestyle habits that will last for years and years to come. The longest-lasting (and most meaningful) changes are those you have to work for.

We know that weight loss can be a challenge, which is part of the reason we created the transformation challenge to begin with. We provide customized diet and training programs along with support and helpful information to help you along every step of your journey.

Diet and exercise are the foundation of losing weight, and we’ve created an extensive lineup of natural supplements to help you accomplish goals, including our top-tasting protein powders and best-selling fat burners.

As you go forth on your weight loss journey, keep these tips in mind and avoid the common dieting pitfalls that can sabotage your progress and results. And, if you need a little extra boost burning calories and staying on track with your diet, make sure to check out our men’s and women’s thermogenic weight loss support aids as well as our high-potency appetite suppressant!