If you think eating fewer calories is enough to lose weight, you’re wrong. Five sneaky mistakes might be quietly sabotaging your weight loss journey and keeping the scales stuck.

If you’re tracking every bite you take, every step you make, and continually skipping desserts, you should see a significant change in weight, right? Well, not entirely.

Here are five important things you need to pay attention to.

Recalculate your ‘maintenance calories’

In simple words, your maintenance calories refer to the number of calories your body requires to maintain its current weight. By eating fewer calories, you go into a calorie deficit, enabling fat and weight loss.

However, keep in mind that you need to accurately measure your body composition in order to arrive at the right maintenance calories. This is done based on your gender, age, and height. If you have overestimated your maintenance calories, it would make it harder to lose weight.

Recalculate your daily activity and exercise

As per Body Scan, most people typically grossly overestimate their daily activities and exercise.  Gardening, cooking, cleaning the house, walking the dog- these do not constitute an ‘active lifestyle’. When it comes to your daily activities that genuinely affect your calorie deficit, you need to think more about NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis).

So, instead of driving to your destination, consider walking or cycling instead. Similarly, use the stairs instead of the elevator, or park a little further from the entrance, so you will have to walk it instead.

Use technology to help you on your journey

In order to properly maintain your calorie deficit journey, you need to track your progress accurately. Instead of depending on your notes app, opt for a reliable fitness app or a tracker.

That said, remember that these apps and devices simply give you an estimate and not the real numbers.

Recalculate how much you are eating

A lot of people often underestimate how much food they are actually consuming daily. The best way to accurately record how many calories you are consuming is to take a look at the labels of whatever you are eating. You can also track the calories using apps, so you know exactly how many calories you are eating daily.

You lack consistency

The key principle of any weight loss journey is consistency. You need to maintain a calorie deficit daily, not just on some days of the week. So, if you end up splurging during the weekend and indulging in excess calories, ensure that you balance it out during the week.

These small tweaks can end up making a major difference in your weight loss journey. Try fixing these common mistakes and let us know if it helped.

Tell us how you calculate your daily calories

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Written by

Avantika Das

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi