Fitness coach reveals 6 eye-opening things you don’t have to do to lose weight: ‘If you just do cardio…’

A fitness coach revealed 6 things that one should avoid doing during weight loss, including skipping meals, avoiding carbs, and more.

Losing weight requires utmost discipline. However, your weight loss journey shouldn't force you to take extreme measures like skipping meals, comparing your progress with others, not resting, and more. Riva Siggins, a fitness coach who shares workout and fitness tips on social media, believes the same. She took to her Instagram account to share things that one shouldn't do to lose weight.

From neglecting carbs to training every day with no rest, Riva shared six things to avoid during weight loss in a post titled '6 things you DON’T have to do to lose weight'. “Stop doing these 6 things⬇️ Even when I was deep into prep, which is the most extreme form of a fat loss phase I’ve ever done, I still didn’t do any of these things,” she wrote in the caption.

Skipping Meals

Per Riva, skipping meals will only increase hunger and make it harder to stick to a deficit. She suggested “prioritising 3-4 nutrient-dense, macro-balanced meals a day for stable energy levels across the day”. To make that happen, she revealed that she adds a scoop of cereal protein to her oats in the morning to start the day with a high-protein meal.

Labelling foods as good or bad

Riva explained, “All foods serve a purpose. You want the large proportion of your daily calories to come from high-quality foods where you get more nutritional benefits and volume, e.g. complex carbs, lean protein and healthy fats.” However, she pointed out that this doesn't mean that you can’t have processed foods and sweets in moderation. “You’re not a bad person for eating a chocolate bar, and if you fit these foods into your deficit calories, you’ll still drop weight,” she added.

Just doing cardio

Per Riva, resistance training is as important as doing cardio. “To drop body fat, you need to be in a deficit, but you want to try and retain as much muscle as possible. If you just do cardio, you’ll lose a lot of muscle, and it’s not necessary. I always recommend proper resistance training and then having a weekly step and cardio goal to help increase daily output,” she explained.

Copying other influencers

We are all different and have unique bodies. Therefore, the calories you should be eating and the goals you want to achieve will depend on your individual factors, like height, weight, age, gender, and activity level. Not on how an influencer is losing weight.

Training everyday

Rest and recovery are just as important as sticking to your calories and training. “If you’re overtraining you risk injury, burnout and will feel constantly fatigued,” Riva wrote.

Neglecting carbs

Per the fitness coach, carbs do not make you gain weight. Eating in a surplus does. She suggested in the post that carbs should actually take up the biggest proportion of your daily calories even when the goal is fat loss as they are our bodies' preferred energy source.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.