You learn from your mistakes and so did I. I’m not saying that I don’t make mistakes anymore but since fitness is a journey to me I always study and try to learn more about it every day. A lot of people will tell you different things but you should try to find your own way and position in your journey of becoming a healthier version of yourself. Here are 4 mistakes I made when I started to work out and I hope you can prevent-

Undereating:

My biggest mistake was undereating. Food is your friend not your enemy. Your body produces more cortisol when you are undereating and this stress hormone causes the body to hold on to every morsel of fuel. The best place to store them is in your stomach. The less you eat, the more your body thinks it’s starving. Eating less food than your body needs leads to malnutrition. You are not getting enough protein, fat, carbs or vitamins which causes your body to use up muscle tissues. You will lose muscle instead of fat with this strategy. At the beginning I ate less than 1300kcal per day and was also working out. Being hungry and cranky during the day and not losing weight was a great setback for me especially because I just started to workout. Now I am eating 2300 calories when I’m bulking and 1800 when I am cutting and yes, I can still lose fat or maintain my weight although It may seem like a lot of food.

Too much cardio although you want to build muscle:

A lot of people are still saying that you need to do cardio for at least 1h every day when you want to lose fat and become lean. But too much cardio can be counterproductive. Performing too much cardio will put your body in a catabolic state and burn your muscles. The best way is to find a good balance between lifting and doing HIIT or cardio. When you want to get lean you can integrate 3-4 days of HIIT/cardio into your workout but also keep in mind that you need a great diet to either lose fat or build muscle.

Abs are made in the kitchen:

I always thought that I only needed to workout hard enough and do a lot of core exercises to get defined abs or a six-pack but I was wrong. The foods you eat and the diet you follow will be the deciding factor when it comes to a flat, defined stomach. It’s said that 70-80% is diet and only 20-30% fitness. Genetics will determine the shape and insertions of your ab muscles, your muscularity will determine the size of your muscles and your bodyfat percentage will let your abs be seen more clearly or not.

Different body types and shapes:

When you look at all those famous fitness models it is sometimes hard not to compare yourself with them but we all have different body types which largely dependent upon genetics and shapes and its okay to look different. Learn about your body and seek your motivation within yourself and change what you can change. It is possible to slightly change your body shape by toning, gaining or losing weight. Your body shape is determined by the balance of your body together with your features. For your overall look you need to consider your body fat, BMI, muscle tone etc. T.H.