4 Common Mistakes People Make When They Are Trying To Get Healthy

In my work I meet and speak to a lot of people who want to get healthy and/or lose weight. Over the years, I learned a lot, and I’m now able to see four common mistakes or misconceptions most people make when they are trying to get healthy. And believe me, I made the same mistakes at the very beginning of my journey to get healthy and lose weight.

4 Most Common Fitness Mistakes

1.    Focus On Weight Loss Alone

One of the biggest mistakes people make when they are on a mission to get healthy is they focus on weight loss alone. Being healthy is more than just being skinny. In the past, I have put my body through a lot of fad diets, and my only thought was I have to lose my excess weight fast to get healthy. Although I lost a few pounds during all those fad diets and reached my goals, I wasn’t able to keep it off and fell back into my old eating patterns.

The minute I stopped caring about my weight and focused on being and eating healthy, losing weight and keeping it off came as a pleasant long-term side effect. Most fad diets that promise you to lose all your weight in just a few weeks are actually not healthy in the long run. They are too extreme and strict.

The key to getting healthy and losing weight permanently is making step-by-step changes to how you eat and live. The focus shouldn’t be on fast weight loss because once you reach your goal and start to eat normal again, your weight will pile back on. Getting healthy is more than just a diet, it is making achievable, healthy, and permanent changes to your life.

2.    Not Taking Time To Prepare

The number 2 reason why so many people fail to live a healthy lifestyle and lose weight is that they don’t take the time to prepare. Over the years, we got used to how easy and convenient processed and fast foods are. Being healthy definitely means more work for you, I’m not going to lie about that.

It takes more time to prepare fresh, whole food than it takes to get a pizza out of the freezer and pop it into to oven. But does this mean you have to give up your social life, work less, or don’t spend much time with your partner or kids to spend your free hours in front of the stove? Not at all.  It all comes down to planning and prepping. Make a weekly meal plan and shopping list before heading out to buy your groceries. Ensure that you have all ingredients, including healthy snacks, for the week ahead. Spend part of your Saturday or Sunday, or any other day, on cutting and bagging your fresh produce, cook things ahead or freeze for later.

And most importantly don’t complicate things. You don’t need to cook fancy dishes that take all evening to eat healthily. You’ll see there are plenty of recipes out there that only take 20 to 30 minutes of your time and are super delicious. Keep the fancy dishes for special occasions or cook them during the weekend when you have more time.

ALSO READ: Batch Cooking 101: Tips & Tricks to Save Time and Money 

3.    Trying To Be Perfect

Changing lifestyle isn’t about perfection, and you shouldn’t feel guilty if you indulge yourself with something not so healthy or skip a workout once in a while. We are all humans, and there is a strong social connection to food and drinks. So don’t beat yourself up when you had a great evening with family or friends or just with your partner and had a (or a few) glass(es) of wine and a big chunk of a chocolate cake or apple pie. As long as these cheat moments are not on a daily basis, it is ok to enjoy them without feeling guilty, and they won’t harm your health or weight loss efforts.

4.    Not Having Support

It is important to surround yourself with like-minded people and have the support of your family for when things get rough or difficult. A great network around you is not only important to cheer you up, you can also learn from each other. Exchange easy, healthy recipes or tips and tricks to make living a healthy lifestyle fun and achievable. If you don’t have a network or a person to go to I’ll gladly be that person.

So don’t forget to sign-up for my newsletter or connect with me on social media (Google+ or Facebook) or just send me an email and I’ll help you out.

Alos, don’t be too hard on yourself. It is not all about losing weight or being the perfect healthy person… it is all about living a healthy lifestyle while still enjoying every moment of your life.