4 Weight Loss Myths Debunked
Over the past couple of years, as I’ve coached many women on their weight loss journey, I’ve heard some common misconceptions people believe that make it very difficult for them to lose weight.
Today I want to debunk some of these common myths about weight loss.
Myth 1: Weight Loss Should Be Linear
The idea that many people have here is that you should consistently lose weight every week at the same rate and that it shouldn’t change or shift at all. This is absolutely not correct and this mindset sets people up for failure. It sets up an expectation that is not realistic.
Losing weight involves a lot of different components. It involves your hormones, it involves your gender, the amount of muscle mass you have, how much you currently weigh, your height, your ethnicity, your stress levels. All of these things really matter!
This is why I recommend that my clients weigh themselves weekly instead of daily. You have to take into account things like water retention, poop, or last night’s heavier-than-usual dinner when you get on the scale. All these things might affect how much you weigh at that moment but it’s not a true representation of where you’re at.
It’s also good to have the mindset that you will not always lose weight every week. Every week is different, especially for women, with our monthly cycle. If you weigh yourself on a week that you have your period, you might be bloated or you might be holding a little more water than at other times. If you see a higher number on the scale and don’t consider what is happening in your body that week, you might feel defeated and be tempted to give up on your weight loss journey.
Imagine you start your weight loss journey and the first week you lose three or four pounds. You’re so excited. But the second week, you weigh yourself again - and you lost nothing. Then, the third week, again you lost nothing. You start to feel discouraged, so you have a few sessions where you eat a bag of chips or some ice cream. Then the next week you’ve gained a pound. So now you’re feeling like you want to quit, you feel so discouraged, and you wonder, “Why am I even doing this?”
Here’s what I recommend. Keep a flexible mindset, zoom out to look at the big picture, and understand that there are some weeks you won’t lose any body fat and some weeks that you’ll gain some back. Realize that weight loss is a long game, not a short game. Your goal is to see progress little by little over time, and the process won’t be linear. When you understand this, you’ll stick with your new health journey a lot longer.
Myth 2: Strict mentality is the only way
Many people define success as doing everything perfectly and not derailing from the plan. But that is extremely difficult to do, almost impossible, and most people cannot achieve that. I find that having a strict mentality not only leaves you with very little room to succeed, but with a lot of room to fail!
Most people do not thrive when they feel like they’re constantly failing. I know I don’t. I’m the type of person who does really well with leadership or teachers who can train me with positive constructive feedback. I do not do well when someone focuses only on the negative and I’m constantly being told what I’m doing badly. I strongly believe most people do not thrive in those environments.
So set yourself up for success. You need to create space for yourself to succeed. I absolutely believe in having guidelines to follow, but it’s important to have the expectation of being flexible within the guidelines. Even going outside the guidelines every now and then is completely okay. My clients who have had very successful weight loss journeys have embraced a flexible mindset and an attitude of eating in moderation.
This leads to the next myth I want to bust.
Myth 3: You cannot eat junk food while trying to lose weight
This is totally not true. Would you lose weight faster if you cut out junk food and unhealthy processed foods? Yes, of course you would. But keep in mind that you have to meet yourself where you’re at. If you have been used to eating junk food every day, it would be extremely difficult to suddenly go cold turkey and cut it out completely. You would very likely end up quitting and go back to your old habits.
A better way to think about junk food is to have a mindset of progressing over time. For example, if you’re on a meal plan, you can decide once or twice a week to have a small serving of cheesecake. And that’s okay!
It’s very important to have this progressive mindset and keep improving little by little in your habits every week. I teach my clients to have the mindset of improving one percent per week. Over time, there will be a compound effect and you will make permanent changes in your everyday habits. This is much more effective than going through a short diet, losing two or three pounds, then gaining it back and possibly gaining even more.
If you have a gradual mindset and focus more on the long-term goal of getting healthy, you’ll find that your weight loss journey will be more enjoyable. One of the best compliments I get from my clients is that they do not feel like they are dying because the changes they make are so gradual!
Myth 4: You need to exercise every day
I cannot disagree more with this statement. I have seen this pattern so many times: People jump on a weight-loss journey and they exercise every day, maybe even twice a day, for a week or two, and then give up because they didn’t get the results they were hoping for.
I used to do this and it left me feeling so frustrated. I felt like I was doing all the right things - eating healthy food, exercising every day for an hour or two - and I wasn’t losing weight. What I didn’t know then but know now is that, when you over-exercise your body, you are actually stressing your body and creating a release of cortisol. And when your body is stressed out, it clings to fat, making it very difficult to burn off.
It is so important to have rest days when you are trying to lose weight or even exercising in general. I recommend that my clients move every day if they can but that doesn’t mean doing something intense every day. I always say that on your rest days you are welcome to move and do something light such as going on a walk, doing stretches, a restorative yoga routine, or something like that. But you need to let your body rest from doing any strenuous activity. It is best not to exercise more than three days in a row. Having one to two rest days a week is so healthy for your body.
I hope these tips encourage you and give you a more realistic and healthy perspective on your weight loss journey!
If you have questions or need any help along the way, email me at cktan@verticalmovementwellness.com. Or send me a message on Instagram @verticalmovementwellness. I’d love to support you!
Your Health Coach,
Dr. Cindy Kimmi Tan