Weight loss can be a difficult process. Most people start out with a strong commitment to succeed only to give up after a week or two. Problem is, you can be doing things that you are unaware of that can preventing your from losing weight. Some of these things include:

Overestimating Calories Burned

If you are using a calorie expenditure table to determine the number of calories burned when exercising, you are more than likely overestimating calories burned.

This is because most calorie tables overestimate calories burned by an average of twenty percent.

A heart monitor is the most precise way to get the number of calories burned during a workout.

Leaving Out Exercises That Build & Strengthen Muscles

When developing an exercise plan for weight loss be sure to include both cardio and strength training. Strength training builds muscle and muscle speeds up your metabolism and burns more fat, thus promoting weight loss.

If you have hit a plateau in your weight loss try alternating strength training and aerobic workouts to help you get through it.

Regular Alcohol Consumption

Drinking alcohol will cause your body to burn less fat, because it will begin working to process and eliminate the alcohol first.

Drinking alcohol also increases your likelihood of snacking, thus adding on additional calories.

A drink a two every now and again is fine but drinking regularly can be detrimental to your waist line.

Cutting Back On Meals

While skipping meals sounds like a great way to drop unwanted pounds, it can actually have the opposite effect.

If you deprive your body of the food it needs, it will begin to store food instead of burning it off.

When you go without eating your hunger intensifies, which can cause you to overeat at your next meal

It is much better to eat six small meals daily. Doing this will keep your hunger satisfied and prevent snacking. The key to making this work is not exceeding your total daily calorie count for all meals combined.

Unrealistic expectations

So many people have unrealistic expectations of weight loss. A lot of times people tend to overestimate what is possible and set monthly weight loss goals that are unachievable for the average person.

Healthy weight loss does not happen in an instant. It is a process that requires time effort & commitment. Set your weight loss goal at one to two pounds weekly. This is the range that experts consider healthy.

Those who lose weight at this rate, tend to be more successful at keeping it off longer.

Although these five weight loss secrets may seem simple, they can have a major impact on your weight loss success.