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Weight Loss 101, Part 5:

Common Pitfalls

Welcome to part 5 of this series. By now, if you’ve been following along, you should know how to calculate your TDEE, set your calorie targets, understand macros, find a sustainable diet and routine, and have some tips under your belt for staying consistent to bring it all together.

Honestly, you should now have all the tools you need to lose or gain weight effectively. Congrats!

However, even with the best plans, no matter how much you prepare, when embarking on anything new, it’s common to run into pitfalls and mistakes that can derail your progress if you're not careful.

Let me be clear: I can share every pitfall I’ve run into that you should be wary of, but at the end of the day, it’s normal to encounter them. You will have setbacks. When it happens, recognize it, take a deep breath, and keep chugging along. Again, it’s normal! Being aware of these will allow you to course correct before going too far off track.

#1) BLTs

No, I’m not talking about sandwiches. BLT here stands for “Bites, Licks, and Tastes.” I can’t tell you how many times a seemingly innocent bite or taste here and there came back to bite me in the ass (get it 😉) later on. I wasted plenty of weeks not making progress because my diet was being obstructed by small calorie bumps here and there.

Here’s how simple it was for me to mess up:

• I’m eating some cereal in the morning. I’m tracking it, but then I notice there’s a little left in the box, so I decide, “Eh, why not just throw it in?” That’s 50 calories.

• I’m making a morning coffee and decide, “Eh, what would a little cream and sugar do?” Another 100 calories.

• I go to work and pass by the jar of candy. “What’s a couple of small pieces of candy?” I think to myself. So I grab a couple. That’s 50-100 calories.

• Someone at work decided to bake cookies for everyone. I can just try a couple since they put in all this hard work, right? Another 100 calories.

• My friend offers me a bite of their dessert at a restaurant. Just a couple of bites, right? That’s another 100 calories easily.

• I’m making dinner at home and decide to taste test as I go. A small slice of cheese from my sandwich. A couple of extra bites of rice as I taste and adjust seasoning. Maybe a quick bite of a leftover sandwich I had. 50 calories each.

Often, we think we’re hitting our calorie targets, but a seemingly innocent day can rack up an extra 500+ calories, and suddenly your 500-calorie deficit is gone. All these little bites, licks, and tastes add up quickly without you realizing it. Be mindful of everything you consume, no matter how small. Tracking these "small" extras can make a big difference in achieving your goals.

#2) Being Too Stubborn To Adjust

Let me give you a real example of a very common mistake I made often. I calculated my TDEE, found my calorie target, set my diet, established a routine, etc. All great, right? So now I think to myself:

“Everything is set! Time to lose the weight!”

And yes, I start losing weight! Things are going well. Here’s the issue: Let’s say some time goes by, and suddenly, I am no longer making any progress…

“But… I did everything correctly, right? Maybe I just need to keep doing the same exact thing for a little while longer?”

“A few more weeks have gone by... why is nothing changing?!?”

You need to be willing to adjust and adapt. Your body is an adaptive machine—as you lose weight, your calorie needs will change. What worked for a 200lb you will not work for a 180lb you. Failing to adjust calorie targets as you lose weight is a surefire way to hit a plateau.

Be willing and open to adjusting your diet, routine, schedule, and anything else as needed to ensure you continue making progress. Never take anything as final word and expect to periodically self-audit and adjust as you get leaner, stronger, or whatever your goal may be. The adjustments are part of the process.

#3) All-Or-Nothing Mentality

When you think in absolutes of perfection or failure, one slip-up can easily derail you completely. A bad meal becomes a bad day, which becomes a bad week, and suddenly you're off the rails.

Stop it. You need to ditch this all-or-nothing way of thinking.

Let me tell you from experience:

• There will be bad days.

• There will be good days.

• There will be good meals.

• There will be bad meals.

• There will be good workouts.

• There will be bad workouts.

It’s normal! Honestly, I don’t even see these events as problems anymore. Where it does become a problem is when you let these temporary setbacks become permanent ones. Get right back on track at your very next meal or workout. Don’t let these one-offs take more mental space and affect you more than they should.

#4) Being Impatient

This goes hand-in-hand with #3. It seems obvious, but when you’re actually going through it, you’ll realize how unnatural it feels to be patient during the process. You’re excited and looking forward to making changes. You really want to reach your goal as soon as possible. I get it.

But remember: achieving your goal, whatever it may be, in a healthy, sustainable way takes time.

Potentially a lot of time.

While you want to see results to stay motivated, expecting dramatic changes week after week is a recipe for burning out and giving up.

Trust the process, make small adjustments as needed, and be patient.

You’re not doing this for a short-term goal or event.

Consistent effort over many months is what leads to lasting transformations.

There’s no legitimate shortcut.

#5) Overestimating Calories Burned From Exercise

I remember the first time I started noticing the calories I was burning on a treadmill or when I would wear a fitness tracker during workouts. I was shocked to see hundreds of calories burned after my workouts. There was one time during a CrossFit class when the tracker read 980 calories after the 45-minute workout.

So what did I do?

Well, of course, I decided to reward myself with extra food since I had such a “hard workout.”

What I noticed was, the more I did this, the slower my progress was.

Overestimating calorie burn from exercise is a major issue that can easily derail your journey. Similar to TDEE calculators, fitness trackers and exercise machines are only estimates and should not be taken to heart. If anything, they are often notorious for inflating the number of calories burned during a workout.

For example, a 30-minute run on the treadmill may show you burned 400 calories. But it's important to understand that calorie burn during exercise is highly variable and depends on many factors like your weight, intensity, duration, and efficiency of movement. You have no idea if that 400 is anywhere near accurate. Calculators and trackers use generalized equations that don't account for individual differences. Additionally, many people fall into the trap of "rewarding" themselves with extra food after a tough workout, like I did, which completely negates the calorie deficit you created. The mentality of "I earned this" can lead to overeating.

To avoid this:

• Don't blindly trust the calorie burn numbers on machines and trackers.

• Focus on the effort and consistency of your workouts, not the calories burned.

• Don't eat back exercise calories unless you've accounted for them in your daily target.

Ultimately, weight loss or gain is primarily driven by your overall calorie balance, not the calories burned during exercise alone. Overestimating exercise calories is a common mistake that can undermine your hard work in the gym. Stay vigilant and keep the focus on your total daily calorie intake, not the number on your watch.

Thank you for joining me on today's newsletter.

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