There’s that frustrating moment when you step on the scale hoping to see the fruit of your efforts… and the needle remains stubbornly stuck. In the columns of theExpress.coBritish coaches from the specialized site MuscleFood.com
lift the veil on four common mistakes that sabotage, without us realizing it, a slimming goal. According to these fitness experts, these habits might just have the opposite effect. Here’s why.
Skipping meals starves… your metabolism
This may seem logical: the less you eat, the more you lose weight. In theory only. In practice, skipping a meal can disrupt the body. “As this can lead to extreme hunger, people tend to overeat at their next meal and snack more throughout the day“, explain the coaches interviewed. A strategy which quickly backfires on the initial objective.
The problem doesn’t end there. The body, faced with an irregular intake, slows down its metabolism. It enters “energy saving” mode, stores fat more easily and burns less. Result: weight loss becomes even more difficult, even with an overall calorie deficit.
Too much sport, the trap of overtraining
The will is there, the energy too. You multiply the sessions, you sweat morning and evening… but your body does not follow. For what ? Because excess physical activity can become counterproductive. Experts point out that “Although exercise is an important part of a fitness journey, going too far can do more harm than good“.
The cause: the increase in cortisol, the stress hormone. When cortisol levels remain high for too long, the body begins to store more, especially in the abdomen. Overtraining also tires the nervous system, prevents recovery and can disrupt sleep… all obstacles to effective weight loss.
Strict diets and deprivation: a frequent boomerang effect
The temptation is strong to give in to an express diet. Eliminate all sugars, drastically reduce calories, eat only green vegetables… These approaches sometimes work in the short term. But be careful, because they are not viable in the long term.
“Crash diets can help you lose weight quickly, but they can also slow down your metabolism“, warn the coaches of
MuscleFood.com. By depriving the body, it ends up storing more. And when you stop the diet, the pounds come back, often with a bonus. This phenomenon has a name: the yoyo effect. It tires the body and the mind.
Cardio alone: the great forgotten bodybuilding
Last obstacle often ignored: do only cardio. It is the activity instinctively associated with weight loss. We run, we cycle, we jump rope. It’s effective, certainly… but not enough. “Although cardio may burn more calories per session, weightlifting is ideal for weight loss because it helps increase the amount of calories burned at rest“, recalls the media.
Strength training increases muscle mass, which consumes more energy even at rest. This means that after a strengthening session, your body continues to burn calories for hours or even days. A formidable weapon but too little used, especially for fear of “becoming massive”, a myth according to experts.
What your scale doesn’t tell you
If results are slow to appear, that does not mean that nothing is happening. “Don’t be discouraged if you’ve been exercising and eating healthily, but it doesn’t show on the scale.“, reassure the coaches. Weight can vary for several reasons: water retention, increasing muscle mass, or ongoing digestion.
To measure your progress, change your indicator. “Taking your measurements and taking photos of your progress are better ways to check fat loss“, recommend the experts. In short, your mirror can tell you much more than your scale.