Now that the weather is FINALLY warming up - at least a little - and the sun is peaking through the gray, you’re probably thinking about toning up for the summer months. Generally speaking you probably know what you should be doing - eating fewer calories, eating healthier and exercising more.

However, do you know what NOT to do? There are things that we think might be helping us but can actually be jeopardizing our weight-loss and shaping-up efforts.

Six things not to do when getting in shape:

#1:: Don’t Do Lots of Cardio

It is a popular misconception that in order to lose weight and get into shape, you should do as much cardio-based exercise as possible. While cardio is important, a cardio-only fitness routine isn’t going to be as effective. Too much cardio can contribute to a loss of muscle tone in the body. To burn fat quickly, the best sort of exercises are HIIT and sprinting. Steady cardio is good and is beneficial for the heart and for fitness, but for weight loss purposes, it is not your best option.

It’s all about balance. For instance, I try to workout at Orange Theory 3 to 4 days a week, which gives me an intense HIIT workout and lots of burned calories. I then balance that out on the other days with a long steady run or a spin class to have a little cardio and to give my muscles time to repair from the HIIT work. If you do do a lot of cardio, balance that out with some weight training to make sure that you are not losing muscle tone.

#2:: Don’t Starve Yourself

Losing weight and getting into shape is not about starving yourself. In fact, doing that will more than likely lead to your body gaining more weight in the future, as your metabolism will be all out of sync. Your meals should always be nutritious and filling, and you should try to avoid overeating - listen to the signals your body is giving you and stop when you are full. Calorie counters and apps such as My Fitness Pal can help you to work out how many calories you need to consume each day in relation to your age, height, sex, lifestyle and exercise routine.

While many diets are nothing but a fad, there are some that do work, if followed carefully. The keto diet, for example, is a low carb, high-fat diet that many people find works for them, although it can be difficult in the early days. If you do follow a diet like this, some say supplementing with Beta Hydroxybutyrate can really amplify your results. I haven’t tried this yet, but have been looking into starting the keto diet.

#3:: Don’t Choose Low Fat Or Diet Foods

The very name of them suggests that they will help us lose weight, but actually, they may have the opposite effect. Quite often, diet or low-fat options have more sugar in them than their higher fat counterparts, which will leave you feeling hungry and more likely to reach for an unhealthy snack. Take a look at the labels on these products. You’ll often see a lot of words you can’t pronounce or things that are high in sugar. UGH. You are better off consuming clean, unprocessed foods instead. Your body and your skin will thank you.

#4:: Don’t Avoid Cheat Meals

You CAN have cheat meals when you’re trying to get in shape. In fact, you SHOULD have them. Why? Well, a cheat meal will help to spike your metabolism after a week of eating really well. Giving it a bit of a shock like this will stop it from slowing down because it knows it still needs to work hard. It also encourages you to keep going. Banning yourself from certain foods will make you crave them. Have one or two cheat meals per week where you have a large number of carbs or something else you would not usually eat.

Just be aware - a cheat meal doesn’t mean a cheat weekend. Or eating five times the number of calories you usually consume each day. Choose wisely. Eat something that would be considered a cheat meal but don’t go crazy. For instance, maybe you have that delicious deep dish pizza but you drink water instead of beer with it.

#5:: Don’t Try to Rush It

I like to call this the McDonalds mentality. You want to roll up, make a decision, and see the results seconds later. Remember, weight loss is not a race, it’s a journey. It will take time to get to the point where you want to be, and you will need to be consistent. Enjoy the process of it and set yourself new challenges and goals. Making it a lifestyle choice will change your attitude and mindset towards food an exercise, and keep you making the best choices in the future. I know, the journey can seem long and progress is also difficult to see.

#6:: Don’t Give Up

When it comes to losing weight, being consistent and not giving up are the two most important things. You may well have the occasional slip-up or set back, but try not to let that get you down and stop you from trying again. Think of it purely as a bump in the journey to healthy living, and one that once you are over it, you can get back on track and carry on.

I recommend taking your measurements at the start of each month AND taking pictures for you to compare. Often we don’t think there has been any change but when you have the photo evidence and the numbers to compare, you’ll see that change is occurring. I don’t recommend tracking progress by the scale. Often when you are cutting fat and building muscle that number on the scale won’t be indicative of your progress. I always tell people the first year I trained for a marathon, I lost only 5 pounds but I dropped three sizes.