*Disclaimer: results may vary.

January is one of my favorite months of the year because the gyms are overflowing with new clients ready to take on their health and fitness goals. The crowding that bothers lots of gym rats actually excites me because I am all about people living healthier, more active lives. However, without fail, these gym newbies are typically following some common fitness and nutrition strategies that unfortunately don’t work long term. And what I really hate is that it’s not their fault. The health and weight loss industry is full of myths, neatly marketed and highly touted by the experts in the field. However, year after year, we see the same cycle in so many—yo-yo-ing.

While I won’t walk over to a perfect stranger in the gym to tell them what they are doing is wrong, I do want my followers to be aware of the fact that they might be engaging in things that could sabotage their long-term goals. So, here are the top three fitness and nutrition strategies that are making you fat.

1. Hours of Cardio

You can’t simply do hours of cardio and expect to continue to see weight loss results that last. While you will see some initial weight loss, you will be losing some very important calorie-burning muscle with that weight—slowing down your metabolism in the long run.  However, I see countless women hitting the ellipticals, the bikes, or the treadmill for hours on end. Here’s the deal—cardio is important. However, long form cardio will not help you reach your overall goals of fat burning. Instead, you should engage in either low impact cardio like walking or HIIT training which will help you build muscle while doing cardio. Typically, I do about 5 minutes of cardio before my strength training workouts on a regular day, and HIIT training on low carb days. This maximizes the fat burning effect of cardio, giving me all of the heart-health benefits with none of the metabolic side effects.
 

2. Maintaining the Wrong Food Log

Whether you are following a low carb, low cal, gluten free, or diet food nutrition plan, you are likely falling into some cleverly-wrapped marketing trap. If you want to lose weight and stay lean, you have to start with a whole-food based diet, and track your macronutrient intake. Ensuring that your body is getting the right percentages of each macronutrient will help you increase your metabolism, keep you full, and improve your energy levels. Shakes, wraps, diet pills, protein bars, 100 Calorie packs, and Diet Coke are NOT the answer. Stick with whole foods and pay attention to your macros, and you will start to see some real results.

3. Eating All Day

Eating all day is making you fat, because you never allow your body to be in a fasted state or enter into digestive rest. This is why my clients engage in intermittent fasting. It allows the body the necessary time it needs to restore itself, improves the immune system, increases metabolic rate, and helps your body build calorie-burning muscle. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to intermittent fasting, I have my clients use the 16/8 protocol which has them fasting for 16 hours each day and eating for 8. For more info on this, grab my free comprehensive guide to intermittent fasting.

There is a reason the diet industry continues to make billions each year—most of the common strategies out there simply don’t work long term. They get clients quick results that can often destroy their metabolism and mess with their hormones so they yo-yo back to where they started.

If you truly want to see results, join the FASTer Way to Fat Loss! This is a proven program that has shown more than 100,000 clients how to get real results that last.

The fact is, you can do what you have always done and get the results you’ve always gotten—or, you could join the tens of thousands of clients who have found a lifestyle that works, and that they love. But don’t worry, if yo'u don’t sign up, you’ll be making room for someone else to change their health and start living their dreams!