Do you think you have a few pounds to lose? Have you tried upping your exercise only to find that you didn't lose weight? Or, maybe you even gained a pound or two (and it wasn't muscle)?
If so, you're not alone and chances are, you suffer from one or more fat habits that keep you from reaching your real potential.
Here's a look at the most common fat habits and some slim-down solutions.
Overdoing Sports Drinks, Bars, Gels and Blocks
Sports drinks, bars and gels are great and can enhance your performance, but many athletes overuse them and intake hundreds of additional calories.
Not all training sessions require sports nutrition supplements. If you're training for a triathlon or marathon, you only really need on-the-go fuel for your long rides and runs.
Sports drinks are great for exercise that lasts at least 90 minutes because they provide such readily available carbs for your muscles. Water is fine for shorter workouts. But you can eat real, satisfying foods to fuel most exercise just fine. Use sports nutrition products for longer training sessions and races—but you don't need them every day of the week.
When it comes to your recovery nutrition, eat real food instead of a high-calorie recovery drink. Many recovery products are calorie-rich. Besides, you're better off eating real foods that combine lean protein with carbohydrates, like a turkey sandwich, Greek yogurt with fruit, protein pancakes or other protein-rich options.
Using Food as a Reward
Many active individuals know their cheat meal and can't wait for their post-workout pig-out. They think of food as their reward for working out. It's not uncommon for athletes to eat several times the calories that they just burned during their workout as their recovery meal.
Assuming that you can eat whatever you like just because you've completed your training for the day, is what keeps you from getting leaner. Exercise (even intense exercise) burns a paltry amount of calories compared to the calories you can down in a matter of minutes from decadent foods.
If you're hungry after a hard workout, try to manage your appetite with filling foods like fresh fruits and veggies, lean protein and whole grains. If you mentally need that cheat meal, then schedule it after a race or your hardest training day, but don't eat it every day.
Enjoying a Few Too Many Brewskis
If you enjoy a few brewskis after your workouts while watching your favorite show, you probably wouldn't think those drinks are contributing to your weight woes. News flash: They very well could be.
One of the all-time worst diet-wreckers is alcohol. And even a small amount can be bad news for your diet. In fact, one study recently found that out of all the habits that can lead to weight gain, drinking alcohol was the worst (even worst than eating out and watching lots of TV).
Here's why: Alcohol is known to induce alterations in the brain that activate your appetite. At the same time, it acts on other areas of the brain that enhance the feel-good response of food, so we want to eat more.
Research shows that having alcohol before a meal will boost hunger and increase our enjoyment of eating the food, so you'll have a harder time controlling your portion intake. In addition, alcohol is known to disrupt your sleep, which leads another physique-destroying habit: lack of sleep.
Not Getting Enough Zzzzz's
Hundreds of studies now show that those who get insufficient sleep tend to be heavier than those who get 7 to 9 hours a night. When you get less than seven hours of sleep per night, hunger hormones are increased and so is desire for high-fat and high-calorie foods.
In addition, other studies show eating at night trips up the body's natural hunger and appetite control mechanisms, making you eat more calories. Because humans aren't bats or vampires, it's a good rule to not eat past 8 p.m. and strive to get at least seven hours of sleep each night.
Being Lazy
Sure, you may work out hard, maybe you've even completed a race or two. But if you're still gaining weight, chances are you're being lazy and don't move around much during the day.
Research shows that people who are the leanest move the most during the day and burn more calories from what's called non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). These are people who fidget, they get up and walk around, and they don't sit for long periods of time.
Many athletes are so exhausted after working out, that all they do is sit around and watch TV, given the opportunity. They essentially burn fewer calories because they move less. One study found that women burned 70 fewer calories during the days they had a hard workout versus when they didn't exercise.
In order to break this habit, limit the time you spend sitting or watching TV and make sure you get up at least once an hour to walk around and expend some energy. A good rule when watching TV is to get up during the commercials and stretch or move.
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