5 Things To Stop Doing If You Want To Lose Weight

You’ve probably heard all the advice about what to do to lose weight—eat healthier, exercise more, drink water, etc.

But if you’ve tried all the diets and fitness fads and still aren’t seeing results, it might be time to consider what you need to STOP doing.

You see, often, it’s not about adding more to your routine but cutting out the habits that sabotage your efforts.

From our mindset to our habits, certain behaviors hold us back from reaching our weight loss goals, and in this week’s article and YouTube video, I’m sharing five of them.

So, if you’re ready to see real progress, it’s time to stop doing these five things…

1. Stop Beating Yourself Up

Negative self-talk can be a major roadblock to achieving your health goals. 

When you constantly criticize yourself, you create a cycle of self-sabotage, convincing yourself that you don’t deserve to succeed in your weight loss journey. 

I know this as I used to be my own worst critic. I would look in the mirror and beat myself up for my lack of progress, telling myself things like, “I’ll never lose this weight.” 

This mindset led to self-sabotaging behaviors. I started allowing myself to skip workouts and eat unhealthy snacks because I believed it didn’t matter anymore.

So, how did I stop beating myself up?

I began by challenging my negative thoughts, replacing them with positive affirmations like, “I’m making progress every day” and “I deserve to be healthy.” 

It felt strange at first, but this mindset shift made a HUGE difference. 

By putting a stop to negative self-talk, you start to believe you deserve to reach your goals; and what you believe, you achieve, 

So, reflect on how you speak to yourself. Ensure your self-talk is kind and encouraging. If it’s not, start using positive affirmations every day like I did.

2. Stop Eating All Day Long

When it comes to weight loss, snacking is one of the worst things you can do.

When we eat all day long, our digestive systems don’t get a break. Plus, constant snacking is a surefire way to lose track of how much you’re consuming. You may think you’ve only eaten a few biscuits until you realize the pack is empty!

If you love snacking, this might be a hard habit to break. But one effective method I’ve found is intermittent fasting. 

Intermittent fasting doesn’t mean you have to eat less. Instead, you consume all your daily food in a short window, such as 8 hours, and then fast for the remaining 16 hours of the day.

How does intermittent fasting promote weight loss?

By fasting for a large chunk of the day, you regulate your hunger hormones and improve your body’s ability to burn fat.

I also noticed that my cravings significantly decreased once I started intermittent fasting, and I felt more in control of my eating.

3. Stop Ignoring Strength Training

One of the most common mistakes I see in women looking to lose weight is focusing on cardio only.

They think running on a treadmill for hours each day will help them lose the flab, which it does to a certain extent. But what’s more important for weight loss is strength training.

Here’s why…

Strength training helps to build muscle, and muscle burns more calories at rest than fat. So, the more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns throughout the day, even if you’re not exercising. 

Plus, because strength training builds muscle as well as burns fat, it helps you appear leaner AND more toned.

Incorporating strength training made a huge difference in my weight loss journey. And the good news is that you don’t have to go to the gym or buy expensive equipment.

Instead, start with simple bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges, push-ups, and planks. Then, as you get more comfortable, add a few weights or resistance bands to increase the intensity.

4. Stop The Stress Cycle

Let’s be honest, most of us are stressed most of the time. 

But did you know that chronic stress doesn’t just affect your mental health? It also has adverse effects on your physical health and can hinder weight loss.

How?

Whenever you’re stressed, your body produces a hormone called cortisol. High levels of cortisol can lead to weight gain, especially around the belly area. 

For many people stress can also increase cravings for sugary and fatty foods, making it harder to stick to healthy eating habits. 

In fact, when I lived a high-stress lifestyle, I was always reaching for comfort foods and would struggle to motivate myself to work out.

However, once I started addressing my stress levels, I noticed a significant change in my cravings and motivation and an increase in my weight loss progress.

Many activities can help relieve stress, but for me, practicing mindfulness and meditation was a game-changer. These practices only take a few minutes each day but are super effective at helping you feel more centered and in control.

There is also a significant connection between sleep and stress. Lack of sleep or poor sleep quality can increase stress and disrupt your body’s natural rhythms, making it much harder to lose weight. 

So, if you’re feeling stressed and struggling to lose weight, make sure you’re getting at least seven hours of sleep each night. Then, to improve your sleep quality, create a relaxing, tech-free bedtime routine.

5. Stop Being Obsessed With The Outcome

Here’s the most surprising thing you need to stop – fixating on the end goal.

When you become overly focused on achieving a goal, whether it’s a specific weight or dress size, you set yourself up for frustration and burnout. 

You put a lot of pressure on yourself, making your goal feel overwhelming and impossible. This leads you to give up when progress is slow.

So what should you do instead?

The key is to try to enjoy the journey. It’s easier said than done, I know, but it’s all about shifting your mindset.

For example, instead of viewing exercise as something you must do, seek out physical activities that bring you joy and make you feel good.

Or rather than seeing healthy eating as restrictive, see it as an opportunity to discover new delicious foods and recipes.

The more you can enjoy the daily habits and actions that lead to weight loss, the more likely you will stick with them.

Final Thoughts

Want to learn more about these 5 things to stop doing to lose weight? Then watch the full episode on YouTube for tips on how to kick them to the curb.

As always, let me know what you think about these tips. Which of these five things are you guilty of doing?

Let me know in the comments below! 

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