5 ways you're sabotaging your fitness goals

Mistake 1: Not doing the math

What do healthy finances and a healthy lifestyle have in common? If you want to avoid trouble, you have to live within your means. Imagine trying to save money and pay down debt when you have no idea what your income is or how much you're spending. Tracking spending habits and setting up a budget seem like logical first steps, but they're often something we fail to do when it comes to diet and exercise.

If you want to lose weight, you have to regularly burn more than you eat. The problem is that most people don't have an accurate idea of how many calories they are consuming versus how much they are expending. A good place to start is to figure out what your daily calorie intake needs are based on your weight, gender and age, and then subtract 200. Think of it as your "calorie allowance" and adjust your meal plans accordingly.

How can you get a better idea of how much you're consuming? Paying attention to nutrition labels is just the first step -- portion size is often the culprit. Diet experts like Judith S. Beck recommend measuring your food so you can get an accurate idea of what a serving looks like. That means getting out the measuring cups and buying a set of digital scales and using them, for every meal. (At least for a little while -- soon you'll be able to "eyeball" portion sizes). Learn what a serving of meat or bread looks like, and how much butter or salad dressing you should be using. The amounts may surprise you.

On the fitness side, it's also important to understand how many calories a workout actually burns. Forget the numbers on the digital display -- experts warn they're often not accurate. Online tools and charts like the Mayo Clinic's Calorie Counter can help you "ball park" how much your daily activities really add up to.