Top mistakes people make in their fitness goals

Most of us know what it feels like to plateau in weight loss or muscle building. We eat pretty well, exercise 3-5 times per week - what gives? What's the point in saying no to honey butter chicken biscuits from Whataburger and chips and queso at Chili's if our body is just going to look the same?

The solution might be easier than you think. Following are the most common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight and/or build muscle:

1. Not eating enough
A lot of people have this oversimplified idea that eating less = losing weight. However, not giving your body enough nutrients causes it to think that your starving, so anything you do eat is stored as fat. Furthermore, the lack of nutrients causes all of your body's systems to function at a lower level - so you get sick more easily, your thinking may slow, and your body definitely won't be able to build any muscle.

Eating smaller meals of the right foods 3-5 times per day (or every 3-4 hours) ramps up your metabolism, giving you more energy for your work outs and for the rest of your day. It also decreases your appetite, which helps guard against overeating. The moral of the story - don't skip breakfast just because you indulged in the chicken fettuccine alfredo last night!

For more info, check out Web MD

2. Not sleeping enough

Life seems to just keep getting busier and busier. Between school or work, family, and friends, there are few hours left in the day to sleep - and it's tempting to rely heavily on your Starbucks or Red Bull! But there are excellent reasons to make time for that eight hours of shut-eye. Multiple studies are out that link less sleep with diseases like strokes, cancer, and diabetes. It also decreases your body's ability to burn fat - it needs those hours of rest for the body to function correctly, including releasing the right amounts of hormones. Sleep deprivation can also cause your body to have higher stress and a weaker immune system. So turn off ESPN or Desperate Housewives and let your body recharge!

The Washington Post can tell you more!

3. Varying your workout

After a long day, getting yourself to the gym is hard enough - so settling back into a steady pace on the elliptical while watching TV for half an hour seems the most appealing. While some exercise is definitely better than no exercise, your body needs to be challenged more in order to maximize fat burning and muscle strengthening. Have you noticed how you need to change deodorants and shampoos every once in a while? The same principle applies: your body gets accustomed to whatever you're doing/using, so you need to change it up intermittently to get the results you want!

Ideally, you should be alternating days of weights and cardio, or intermixing the two. Either way, you should be ramping up your heart rate in every work out in order to speed up your metabolism and burn the most calories. When you do the cardio machines, skip the "Quick Start" and select a workout that varies the intensity and really push yourself at the higher speeds! Boot camps with Camp Gladiator can give you an excellent workout and really show you how to push yourself to the limit to maximize results!

Active.com can give you more ideas about how to change it up!

4. Not drinking enough fluids - especially water

Your body needs water to complete every single one of its processes. If you drink less than 64 oz a day without exercise and less than 100 oz with it, then your body is constantly having to deal with dehydration. One of the multiple negative effects of dehydration is that your body retains water. Retaining more water obviously increases your water weight - so one of the easiest ways to lose a few pounds is just to drink enough H2O!

Having your doubts? Natural News can break it down for you!

5. Unrealistic goals

The last thing you need to remember - any weight loss plan that includes looking like the Spartans on "300" in a couple of weeks just needs to be trashed. If you're working toward a healthy lifestyle instead of chasing the newest fad diet, you should count on losing ~ 1-2 pounds per week if you have about 30 or less to lose. When you have more than that, you could lose a little more, especially at first. This might make your long-term weight loss goals seem unachievable - so to help you continue toward that goal, estimate about 10-12 weeks for every 20 pounds you want to lose, and then think about how much better you'll look and feel at each of those marks! For instance - summer starts in about 10 weeks, so imagine how much better you'll look in that swimsuit laying out by the pool 20 pounds lighter!



If you're eating the right foods and exercising 3-6 times per week, and if you watch out for each of these common mistakes - you're going to see results! Shoot me an e-mail at Jamie@campgladiator.com if you'd like to know more about how Camp Gladiator can help you achieve those results!