4 Mindless Fitness Mistakes That Can Stop You From Losing Weight

A good workout means a lot more than just spending countless hours at the gym. If you want to see results, you have to do it right.

Whether you’re just dipping your toes into a new fitness routine or you’ve been a gym junkie for years, a bad workout is still a bad workout.

There are plenty of ways to figure out whether or not your plan is working—but counting the “calories burned” number on the elliptical is not one of them.

We’ve all had times where we just knew our workout was terrible, but you’d be surprised by how often these mistakes actually happen.

Here are 4 surprising fitness mistakes that can prevent you from losing weight:

1. You’re overdoing the cardio: Walking on the treadmill for an hour might not be killing your knees, but it is hurting your workout. Research shows that building muscle burns fat faster than cardio alone. Do yourself a favor and cut your cardio by about 20 minutes, and add in some much-needed strength training. The extra muscle will help kick-start your metabolism, so you can watch the pounds melt away sooner!
2. You’re not sweating enough: Of course, an easy workout is better than no workout at all, but you won’t lose weight with that mentality. Unless you’re constantly challenging your muscles, your body will get used to your fitness routine. When you end a workout dripping with sweat, you can pretty much guarantee that your body had to use a lot more energy to blast those calories. The best way to ensure you’re truly challenging your body is to switch up your routine a few times a week.
3. You’re eating too much protein: Yes, eating protein after an intense workout promotes healthy muscle repair and growth, but you’re probably going a little overboard. For a woman who weighs a little less than 150 lbs., about 12 grams of protein after any workout should be perfect. If you’re consuming more than that, your body will most likely store the excess protein as fat.
4. You’re not exercising often enough: Plenty of studies say that exercising just twice a week can help boost your mood and energy—but that doesn’t mean you’ll start losing weight. Unless your workouts are incredibly intense, you should aim to squeeze in a little exercise in every day. That said, if you’re working out daily, then don’t go overboard on the time—shoot for about 30 minutes per session.

How do you make every workout count? Tell us in the comments!

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