Happy New Year!

It’s officially 2019.

What are you going to do to improve your health this year?

Maybe you want to lose some weight?

(Which, BTW, I think trying to lose weight is a BAD idea and you can read why here.)

I’m sure by now you’ve tried some things and had both good and bad results.

That is, maybe you’ve dropped some weight, only to see it creep back on.

Here are 7 mistakes you might be making when trying to achieve your health and fitness goals this year…

1_ You follow someone else’s plan.

Are you going to follow someone else’s plan for health?

This is an easy mistake to make and honestly it’s a mistake I make on a regular basis. However, I see it more as experimentation than a mistake.

What I mean is that it’s easy for you to see someone else talk about their health success and even offer some solution – like a fitness program and diet.

There’s usually not too much harm in giving it a try. BUT you have to keep in mind that your situation and your body is different.

This means that, just because it “works” for someone else, it may not work for you.

Keep reading to understand why…

2_ You eat too much.

This is most often the case these days…we simply indulge in too much food.

This is why nearly 100% of diets “work” when you follow them… they get you to eat LESS.

(You can learn here why eating less can be a bad idea – and even dangerous for your health.)

The simple fact of the matter is that we adapted to live in times where food was sparse and nowadays we have an overabundance of food. That’s right, you are essentially programmed to eat about as much food as possible!

3_ You don’t eat enough.

That’s right, you are probably not eating enough. That is…

You’re not eating enough of the right foods. You want to steer clear of highly processed foods, especially seed oils (like canola) and those with added sugar.

Instead you want to eat real, whole foods. You want foods with nutrients. Otherwise, you’re starving your body of nutrients it needs to thrive – regardless of how many calories you do or don’t eat.

You’re not eating enough when you crash diet and/or chronically restrict calories. If you go for weeks at a time at a caloric deficit, you’re doing more harm than good, even though you’re losing weight!

4_ You move too little.

Similar to overeating, this is common for a majority of people. You’re not active and you simply don’t move your body.

So, rather than sitting (or standing) in one place for long periods of time, get up and move every 30 minutes. It doesn’t have to be anything complex; you can…

Stand up. Jump up. Do some push-ups or pull-ups. Walk. Run. Whatever it is, just move around. If you can get outside, even better!

5_ You exercise too much.

That’s right! Just like it may not make sense to eat too little, it also may not make much sense for you to exercise too much.

Although uncommon, this happens to a lot of people. The problem is that you’ve already done too much. Too much stress. Too many late nights. Too much exercise.

This is a recipe for a crash. That is, your hormones resist the overload of stressors; You can become hypothyroid and disrupt your hormones in a bad way.

If you’ve reached this point, it’s time to dial things back by paying close attention to the recommendations below…

6_ You spend too much time inside.

How would being indoors be so bad? After all, you’re protected from all the “bad” elements like the sun, cold, heat, etc.

Well… It turns out that our bodies need sunlight and we actually get benefits from varying degrees of exposure from not just the sun but also cold and heat.

Add to that the fact that the indoor air you breathe is likely stale and polluted and it makes sense to get outside just about every chance you get.

Getting sun gives you vitamin D, and helps set your circadian rhythm in a healthy way that allows you to sleep better – and burn more fat!

Cold exposure promotes both the conversion of fat from white “fluffy” adipose tissue over to brown, dense adipose tissue that not only helps keep you warm and making you skinny(er).

7_ You stress too much.

If you’ve been reading so far, this isn’t a surprise. Stress increases cortisol, disrupts your sleep and will make it MUCH harder to achieve your health goals – like to burn fat.

8_ (bonus!) You don’t sleep well.

Again, you’ve already read about this above so it shouldn’t be a surprise that sleep is one of the most important things you can prioritize to improve your health and burn more fat.

When you sleep well, you release growth hormone, repair your body, build muscle and burn fat.

What about YOU?

What are your health and fitness mistakes?

What are you going to do in 2019 to make your health – and your life – better?

Leave a comment below and let me know!