Getting in shape is never easy. However, it doesn’t have to be a life altering endeavor either. And if you avoid some common errors many women make, you will be far better off.

You see, steering clear of these errors will keep you from enduring unnecessary setbacks.

So without further ado, here are some things women need to avoid when losing weight:

1. Extreme caloric restriction: Extreme caloric restriction can be beneficial if not done for too long. You need to pair your restriction with periods of caloric surplus. This is the only way to prevent your body from crashing. And once this happens you will not be able to lose fat.

2. Using food as an emotional band aid: Negative emotions hurt and one way to appease the pain is with food. You see, food affects the brain in many ways just like drugs. So make sure you have alternate activities that you can do instead of eating.

3. Weighing yourself every day: I’ve seen it time and again, a client of mine will weigh herself every single day and suffer from the resulting emotional roller coaster ride. Your body weight changes from day to day for a wide variety of reasons. Check your weight only once every couple of weeks.

4. Avoiding comfort foods: Comfort foods are not bad for you, abusing them is. In reality, having comfort foods every once in a while can help you lose more weight because of increases in your metabolism. So make sure you don’t take a black and white approach here.

5. Not taking NEPA seriously: NEPA simply stands for non exercise physical activity, and is probably one of the most overlooked ways of losing fat. You see, NEPA allows you to lose a very high percentage of fat while minimizing muscle tissue loss.

Fat loss does not have to be a life changing event for you. Nor does it have to feel like pushing a boulder up a hill. So take action here today, not tomorrow!

Author Katherine Crawford M.S., a Harvard exercise expert and recent arm fat casualty, teaches women how to reduce arm fat very quickly. Unearth how to get sexy arms by visiting her website about the best arm fat exercises for women now!