Find an exercise that you love to do. You’ll have a much more successful weight loss strategy. Movement you love is one of the keys to optimal weight loss, along with strength training and ensuring you’re not overexercising. In this third part of my series on mistakes that prevent optimal weight loss, I’m discussing the most common exercise mistakes we make.

 

Exercise Mistakes When Trying to Achieve Optimal Weight Loss

1. You don’t do exercise you love
2. You purely focus on cardio
3. You exercise too much

 

Find Movement You Love

In this next installment of mistakes we make that prevent optimal weight loss, I’m talking about the exercise mistakes we make. By far, the biggest exercise mistake you can make is choosing something that you don’t like to do. 

Exercise is important. When it plays such a big role in your life, you want to ensure that you enjoy how you move. Finding joy in movement is how you stick to a long-term exercise plan.

 

The Type of Exercise You Do Matters

Many dieting strategies say that cardio is the best way to lose weight. And while that might work in the short term, it’s not sustainable, and it’s not the most optimal way to lose weight. Excessive cardio without strength training means that your body is only losing weight, not maintaining lean muscle mass – which really is what you want to do for optimal weight loss. 

While your nutrition strategy will form the basis of your overall weight loss strategy, exercise does play a vital role. Make sure you’re doing movement you love, that has a strength training element, and that you’re not exercising too much, as this can have a detrimental impact on your optimal weight loss, as well.

What problems have you had when it comes to exercise? What’s your favorite type of exercise to do? Let me know in the comments on the episode page.

 

In This Episode 

• How to create a healthy relationship between you and exercise [4:45]
• Why cardio isn’t the most effective exercise strategy [13:15]
• How to set realistic strategies for your goals [16:00]
• Why your nutrition needs to be solid overall, regardless of your exercise routine [16:30]
• What happens when you exercise too much [22:45]

 

Quotes

“We cannot rely on exercise in order to create a consistent deficit to lose body fat. Will it help? Sure, over time, it will help. But we can’t use exercise as the primary focus to help us lose weight optimally.” [6:31]

“Don’t work harder. Give yourself permission to find what you like to do when you move your body. Do you like to dance? Do you like to do yoga? Do you like to strength train? Do you like to run? Do you like to do a combination? How does your body like to move?” [7:07]

“Strength training will stimulate your muscles in a way that will allow them to have micro tears, sounds scary, but that’s how they grow, and then those muscles build back. When we have this muscle build, our Basal Metabolic Rate will be optimized.” [15:02]

“Strength training does not have to be super heavy. We just want to stimulate those muscles.” [20:23]

“Work smarter, not harder. Know what you need to be doing to get the actual result that you want.” [27:49]

 

Resources

31 Days of FIT.  Learn more HERE.

Muscle Maintenance During Fat Loss. Waitlist HERE.

Fit Woman Collective™. Learn more HERE.

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*** Ali Novitsky MD, this podcast, and podcast write-up are NOT providing medical advice ***

 

Related Episodes 

Episode 144: Mindset Mistakes Preventing Optimal Weight Loss

Episode 109: Get Snobby with Your Extras

Episode 131: Fasting for Weight Loss Pitfalls