4 Weight Loss Mistakes I Will Never Make Again That "Kept Me Fat"

Are you struggling to lose weight, even though you think you are doing everything right? Juliana Crispo is a mom of 2 kids 3 and under, a Lifetime Natural Pro Bikini Champion in 2 Federations, and a former successful Silicon Valley-based tech executive and entrepreneur. For much of her life, she struggled with yo-yo dieting and weight loss before finally figuring it all out. In one viral video, she shares a few "weight loss mistakes that kept me from losing the weight," she says. "Whether you have five or a hundred pounds to lose, stick around at the very end because you're gonna wanna make sure you're not making any of the mistakes I made that could be keeping you from getting the body and lifestyle you've always wanted."

Mistake 1: Thinking You Can Hate Yourself Into a Body You Love

She starts off by pointing out that "you cannot hate yourself into a body you love. Weight loss does not equal happiness," she says in her video. And, she has learned that the hard way as a "former yo-yo dieter" and "somebody that has always struggled with getting lean and staying lean because I just love food so damn much."

Mistake 2: Not Figuring Out How to Meal Prep for Herself Personally

Her next mistake was "not figuring out how to make meal prep work for me and my personality," she says in her video. "We all know that meal prepping is essential to weight loss because restaurants tend to put a lot of additional calories in their food to keep you coming back because calories just taste so good."

Don't Overcomplicate Meal Prep

She points out in the video that most people overcomplicate meal prep and end up getting exasperated and quitting. She would end up getting "really bored of whatever it is that I meal prepped and I'd find myself going back to my old ways" or  she would "just forgo meal prepping altogether because it was just too overwhelmed and intimidated by the process to begin with."

She Preps with Just Two Containers

Instead of "trying to lean into a meal prep process" that involved lots of Tupperware containers with several compartments, "clearly not designed for someone like me, I found a version that works for me, and it involves prepping just two Tupperware containers, maybe just one sometimes. And this has been the extent of my meal prep process for years," she says.

The First is Filled with Protein

"In the first container is typically a source of protein that's ready to eat immediately when I'm hungry and I just wanna reach for the Oreos or the peanut butter. This could be boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chicken thighs, lentils," she says in her video. She will make "a large batch of protein two to three times per week and "add tons of spices to make things taste good and be interesting."

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Why Protein Is Key for Meal Prep

She explains that prepping protein is so important because it "is usually the hardest to meal prep. It's pretty easy to grab some carbs or fats really quickly, but protein usually takes a little bit more time to actually cook," she says. And "including some protein in your meals helps you stay fuller longer, and when you're full, you're less likely to snack on random stuff that's not gonna do much for your fitness goals." Protein is also great for the thermic effect, which means your body will burn more calories when you eat it.

She Fills the Second Container with Veggies

The second container will be filled with a "large portion of spiced-up vegetables," she says in her video. "Even if you are emotionally allergic to vegetables, there is always a way to make them taste good for low calories." She notes that they are important because "they're super low in calories., so you can eat a ton of them, they're super high in fiber, so it makes you feel full and like you're gonna poop so well."

Mistake 3: Not Understanding How Harmful Yo-Yo Dieting Is

Her next mistake? "I did not understand how harmful yo-yo dieting is," she says in her video. "No one thinks they're gonna be that guy or gal that gains back all the weight," she points out. "I would always hear yo-yo dieting is bad for you. It hurts your body." But she wouldn't listen because she was desperate to lose weight fast. "But here's a fact: Yo-yo dieting is a surefire way to make you fatter." This is because you lose water, weight, and muscle tone on these types of diets, which negatively impacts your metabolism. And, you end up developing "a horrible relationship with food that might traumatize you for the rest of your life," she says. She also points to research finding that even with twins, the one who diets more ends up "the fatter twin."

Mistake 4: Not Implementing Diet Breaks

The next mistake? "Not implementing diet breaks when I needed them," she says. "A diet break is kind of like it sounds: you're not gaining weight, but you're not losing weight either. You're just maintaining at your new weight by eating at your new maintenance calories," she says in her video. "I work that in a little bit every day for as long as I need to mentally prepare myself to go back into the diet, finish the diet, do what I need to do. Don't be freaked out by a little bit of water weight in the first three days. If the scale keeps climbing, you might be eating above your maintenance calories," she says.

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With the Extra Calories, She Can Exercise Harder

"With this newfound energy I'm getting from this little bit of additional calories and a little bit more food freedom, I'll be able to go a little bit harder with my workouts, maybe focus on building a little bit more muscle while losing fat in the process," she says in her video. "A great way to build muscle and lose fat is just to eat your maintenance calories and lift heavy weights." And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.