5 Habits You Must Ditch If You Want To Lose Weight

Someone might have told you that losing is hard. Or you have discovered the “hardness” by yourself.

Well, losing weight may not be easy, but it’s not as hard as you may think. Just like success in any life’s endeavours requires us to let go of habits that hold us back, there are habits we must ditch if we want to succeed at weight loss.

Below are some of the habits you must ditch if you are serious about losing weight.

1. Sedentary lifestyle

Sedentary lifestyle, according to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), is “not participating in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on at least three days of the week for at least three months”.

Through movement, we gain freedom. Through movement, we burn calories and get healthier.

Pro Tip: Look for opportunities to move more throughout the day to increase your daily total energy expenditure. You can lose weight by increasing your activity of daily living.

2. Snacking on high-calorie foods

You’re on the road, and you are hungry. So you decide to eat roasted plantain and groundnuts (peanuts) to hold your stomach till you get home. After all, roasted plantain and groundnuts are fitfam compliant foods.

Yes, plantain and groundnuts are good. But many of us (Nigerians) don’t count anything as food unless it has pepper and meat. The combo of one medium plantain and #50 groundnuts is a whole meal in itself because of its calorie content.

The plantain is about 274 calories while the groundnuts can be as high as 599 calories, depending on where you buy it. I doubt if your definition of a snack is an 800 Cal meal.

A snack should not be more than 100-150 Cal. By the way, Gala or any other sausage roll doesn’t meet the criteria either. Those are not fitfam compliant at all.

Pro Tip: Snack on high-fiber and high-water foods like fruits and vegetables. And lean protein like chicken breaks, Greek Yogurt, seeds, and nuts.

3. Eating while watching television or while working on your computer

Multi-tasking may sound like a good idea, but some tasks that shouldn’t go together. Watching television while eating are two tasks that don’t fit together. There is a tendency to overeat when you are not focusing on what you are eating or what’s on our plates. This is a bad habit we must ditch because it makes us eat mindlessly, and affects the brain’s ability to sense fullness which causes us to eat more.

Pro tip: Practice mindfulness when you eat by focusing on the task at hand.

4. Obsession with magic pills and miracle foods

If you have been on a weight loss journey for more than five years, you know by now that magic pills and miracle foods don’t work for long-term weight loss.

Pro tip: The magic is not in the pill. The magic is in how we eat and move on a daily basis.

5. Obsession with the scale

Weighing yourself on a regular basis is good because it helps you measure your progress. It only becomes a problem when you allow it to determine your mood every day, especially when it doesn’t show you the digit you’re hoping to see.

Some people love to weigh themselves every day and whatever number they see on the scale determines what they do (or don’t do) for the rest of the day.

Daily weigh-in is a habit you must ditch if you don’t want to lose your mind. Limit your weigh-in to once a week and follow the same protocol every time to ensure accuracy.

Pro Tip: Use the same scale Put the scale on the same surface/place. Weight yourself at the same time. Weigh yourself in the morning after you have used the bathroom and before you eat or drink anything.

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About the Author

Hello, I'm Esta Morenikeji. I am the Founder and CFO of ZONE FITNESS (No, not that CFO, this one: Chief Fitness Officer). Hello, my name is Esta Morenikeji. I'm passionate about helping women transform their bodies. Feel free to connect with me on Instagram.