Weight Loss Strategies You Should Never Do

When people decide they need to lose weight, they can sometimes take things a little too far. They’d do anything to lose a few pounds. No matter what weight you begin with, you need to be careful with how you try to lose it.

There are a lot of dangerous strategies that people use, simply because they sound like common sense on the surface. Avoid these weight loss strategies at all cost if you want to look after your long-term health!

Starvation

Sounds like pretty solid science, right? If you simply stop eating, then you’ll lose weight pretty fast. It’s true that most people don’t take things quite as far as near-starvation, but some weight loss tactics come dangerously close to it. Fasting and diets that cut calorie counts to very low levels are both dangerous strategies.

You should be getting at least 1200 calories a day, even if you need to lose weight. Going below this isn’t good for your health. You don’t necessarily need to eat less; you just need to eat better.

Extreme Exercise

It may seem like the best thing you can do is really go for it when it comes to exercise. We’re talking long and punishing runs every day, intense lifting sessions – the works. Makes sense, right? But this can actually do more damage than good.

An injury is the most likely outcome, but there’s also dehydration and electrolyte imbalances to worry about. You should stick to what the experts suggest: get your heart rate up for at least thirty minutes a day with some light running when you’re just starting out with exercise.

Falling For Weight Loss Plan Promises

There are some people out there who would tell you to stay away from commercial weight loss plans altogether. That might be taking things too far, though. There are a lot of great plans out there; you just need to be careful with which one you choose.

If you’ve decided to try the ever so popular keto diet, make sure you actually know what foods are allowed. Don’t just assume things, check out this post to learn more.

After all, a lot of them make some really grand promises. Take your time; research each weight loss plan by checking out independent reviews.

Smoking

Seriously, there are never any good reasons for smoking. Yes, nicotine is pretty potent when it comes to suppressing appetite. And yes, I know that Christian Bale used smoking to help him shed pounds for his role in The Machinist. But the damage you do to yourself outweigh any perceived benefits.

Besides, people tend to gain weight when they quit, so you’re definitely better off not lighting up.

Vague Goals

So let’s say your goal is to lose ten pounds while not losing your figure. Sounds like a good goal, right? The problem here is that it’s a long-term outcome goal. These sorts of goals aren’t the only thing you should have in your plan. They’re simply not that conducive to working towards it.

You need to focus on what some call a process goal – the short-term goals that work towards the outcome. So ‘run every day for fifteen minutes’ would be an example of a process goal. It’s achievable in the short-term and works towards the desired outcome!