5 Workout Mistakes That Prevent Weight Loss

You'll never guess which habits make it harder to drop pounds.

If you're trying to lose weight, burning calories through exercise is key. But if you're not burning enough, then you won't see the scale budge. If this sounds familiar, keep reading to learn what you might be doing wrong when it comes to burning calories.

You Skip Breakfast Before Morning Workouts

Many women work out on an empty stomach to save calories or to prevent digestive upset. But as it happens, it's one of the worst things you can do. That's because eating first thing in the morning not only boosts your metabolism, but it also gives you energy to get through your solid calorie-burning workout. Without the proper fuel, you could end up with a headache or a dizzy spell. You're also less likely to push yourself as hard and more likely to throw in the towel before your workout is complete.

Since devouring an enormous plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, and hash browns is also a bad idea, fuel your workout with something small that contains easily digestible carbs and protein, like these pre-workout snacks.

You Sip Post-Workout Smoothies

You just finished a kick-butt workout and burned more than 400 calories, and now you're ready to refuel with a post-workout snack. But even healthy snacks (like this chocolate-banana-cashew smoothie) can be high in calories. To prevent taking in more calories than you just burned, go for one of these 10 low-calorie post-workout snacks.

You Head Straight to the Weight Room

Muscle tissue burns more calories than body fat, so it’s extremely important to build muscle with strength training if you want to lose weight. That said, cardio helps burn calories to decrease your overall body fat and reveal the toned muscles underneath. Keep up with the strength-training sessions, but be sure to incorporate heart-pounding cardio into your routine, as well.