The Mistakes Every Beginner Makes When Trying to Lose Weight and Gain Muscle

It doesn't have to be a new year to get started on a fitness routine. No matter the season, now is the perfect time to make those positive changes.

But, if you've put some initial work in and are feeling a bit frustrated that you still aren't achieving your weight loss goals, don't lose hope. It can be a major downer when you've been hitting the gym for a few weeks and working hard cutting out the bad foods you love, only to see few changes in your body.

Unfortunately, this roadblock causes many people to give up on their weight loss goals, believing that it is nearly impossible to get the weight off. But why do so many people achieve their weight loss goals within a few months, but your weight hasn’t budged at all? Don't lose hope. By sticking to a healthy routine, you're doing amazing things for your health and wellness. But, just to make sure you're getting to those goals, here are a few fitness mistakes newbies commonly make, resulting in little or no results. 

1. Eating Too Little

You may be reading this headline and thinking, “why would I want to eat more if I’m trying to lose weight?” It may be counterintuitive, but eating less food will stifle your exercise regimen. One of the most significant weight loss mistakes those new to weight loss programs make is eating less food. Developing muscle will help eliminate some of the fat stored in your body. However, you can’t build muscle with a calorie-deficient diet.

Muscle tissue is much more active than fat tissue. Therefore, it burns far more calories than fat. So, as you work out and gain more muscle, you will need to replenish your calories more often. Therefore, it is a good idea to eat more to keep up with your exercise routine. 

2. Cutting Carbs

As soon as you start an exercise regimen, one of the number one things you may hear people say is, “you need to cut carbs out of your diet.” They may even recommend diets such as keto to encourage you to cut the carbs. But carbs are not intrinsically bad for you. If you consume unhealthy carbs and aren’t active, chances are, carbs are bad for you. This is because carbs will convert into fat and store themselves in your body for later use. However, when you exercise, getting an appropriate amount of carbs will help you build muscle.

Remember that you shouldn’t reach for the unhealthiest carbs you can find when consuming carbs. Excess bread, chips, white rice, and pasta may be the carbs you love to eat, but they aren’t the healthier options. When reaching for carbs to consume, you should try to take in more nutritious options. These include ones that contain plenty of fibre and protein, such as brown rice, legumes, bananas, sweet potatoes, and oats. 

3. Not Getting Enough Protein

One colossal mistake that those new to weight loss make is not getting enough protein. Getting enough protein will help curb some cravings because protein reduces your appetite by making you feel full. As with carbs, people may want to reach for the worst types of protein that increase cholesterol and fat. However, you can consume many kinds of good protein, some of which aren’t animal protein.

Certain vegetables are a significant source of protein, such as broccoli, sweet potatoes, Brussel sprouts, spinach, and avocados. There are also legumes high in protein, including lentils, black beans, chickpeas, and lima beans. So, if you want to consume healthy protein options, you can get them from alternative sources of food. You can also incorporate protein supplements such as shakes and protein bars into your diet. 

4. Forgetting to Include More Fibre

Along with protein, fibre can minimise cravings and make you feel full. In addition, soluble fibre will help your body’s biome health, producing a much healthier gut. A recent study by Dr. Sherry L. Pagoto revealed that a single component diet, such as one high in fibre, can result in weight loss. Participants in the study consumed about 30 grams of fibre daily and lost about 2.1 kilograms. While this study only tested for a single component, including fibre in the diet could help improve weight loss in combination with other activities. 

5. Not Drinking Enough Water

While adding more fibre and protein to your diet, don’t forget to include more water. Like fibre and protein, water can also help suppress your appetite. Additionally, because it has no calories, you won’t have to worry about adding pounds like sugary juices and sodas. Another great reason to consume water is that it helps push out the waste in the body. Waste not only leads to constipation or other digestive issues, but it could also pack on the pounds.

Drinking plenty of water will keep pushing out the waste and help eliminate the pounds. The standard rule has always been to consume eight glasses of water daily, which is about half a gallon. However, this rule is not etched in stone. If you are very active, you may want to consume more than the standard since you may lose lots of water from sweating. Also, when the weather is hotter, this may be a reason to drink more. While the standard is a good starting place, you should aim to tailor your water drinking goals to suit your lifestyle. 

6. Avoiding Weights and Resistance Training

In addition to diet mistakes, other weight loss mistakes that newbies make are not including weight training and resistance into their routine. One common reason is that they don’t want to build muscle. They only want to trim the fat. However, part of trimming the fat involves building muscle. While you don’t have to look like a professional bodybuilder, you will need to incorporate weight training to help slim down. Choose weights that are heavy enough to handle but not too heavy. For instance, if ten pounds (4.5 kg) is comfortable, consider increasing the weight by another 2.5 to five pounds (1.1 to 2.2 kg) to create resistance. Getting the appropriate amount of weight training will help shred the fat. 

7. Skipping Cardio

On the flipside, some people want to strictly do weight training but skip cardio. Cardio is a great way to burn the calories from your body. So it is a good idea to incorporate cardio into your exercise routine. Although using weights and resistance training is very important, it is also good to include cardio. Experts recommend that you get at least 150 minutes of aerobics per week. However, if you perform high-intensity exercises, you may be able to cut this in half to 75 minutes. 

Key Takeaways for Beginner Athletes

It may be tempting to give up when losing the weight loss battle. But the critical thing to keep in mind is that you didn’t put the weight on overnight, so it isn’t going to disappear overnight. Therefore, patience and perseverance are essential parts of the weight-loss equation. But even with patience, if you don’t see results, it could be that you aren’t doing the right things to help you lose weight. These practices should allow you to start seeing better results with your weight loss goals.