When it comes to fitness and picking the right plan, it’s more about what works for you. It’s a lot easier to accomplish your goals if you avoid all of the garbage information that will lead you farther from your goals.

Sticking to your routine and keeping fit can feel like an overwhelming checklist of foods to eat, exercises to perform, and habits to follow. And, that’s before you have to deal with flip-flopping opinions that tell you to do something one day and avoid it the next.

But, there’s a much shorter checklist that might be more helpful and cause a lot fewer headaches. Instead of worrying about what you need to add to your life, it might be easier to think about addition by subtraction.

Below are some of the things to not do as you start your fitness journey.

Don’t eat while working or watching TV.

Distracted eating or having a meal (or snacks) while watching TV or working is a sure-fire way to ensure that you don’t pay as much attention or remember what you ate. And that means you’ll be eating more during your meal or eat more later. The less you are distracted, the less you eat.

Avoid workouts that require time you don’t have.

If you’re going to be healthy, you need to make time for exercise. However, prioritizing movement does not mean you need to spend hours lifting weights or on the treadmill or bike. When you select plans, a primary consideration needs to be the total number of hours required and the amount of time you can realistically commit.

Don’t get it twisted: you might need to adjust your schedule to create time to prioritize your health. But, however much time you create should be something you can realistically accomplish.

If you pick a plan that demands too much of your schedule, you’re more likely to fall off the plan and become sedentary. That’s the opposite of what you want.

Do not buy over-the-counter fat burners.

Simply put: fat burners might have a tiny boost on your exercise and diet plan, but it’s not likely anything you’ll notice. And, for the amount of money you pay, you might as well just drink coffee or black tea.

Better yet, stop depending on over-the-counter weight loss supplements altogether. They are fool’s gold.

Take your off days.

Your body needs rest. Your muscles need to recover. Your mind enjoys breaks. If you want better results, more effective workouts, and a body that won’t break down, then make sure — at a minimum — you have 1-2 off days per week.

Do not downplay sleep.

Getting enough sleep plays an important role for general health, muscle gain, fat loss, controlling hunger, mental clarity and focus, and general feelings of well-being.

Sleep deprivation has also been linked to hypertension, obesity, and type-2 diabetes, impaired immune functioning, cardiovascular disease and arrhythmias, mood disorders, neurodegeneration and dementia, and even loneliness.

Get some rest and aim for anywhere from 7.5 to 9 hours per night.

Ignore “Magic Bullet” Diets.

Fat makes you fat. Carbs make you fat. Gluten makes you fat. Dairy makes you fat. Eating at night makes you fat. Eating breakfast makes you fat. Lectins make you fat. An acidic diet makes you fat. Your blood type makes you fat.

None of the above is true. But, you’ve probably heard that each is the “real” problem you need to avoid. The lists go on-and-one.

No single dietary food or ingredient is the cause of weight gain. If a diet suggests removing or adding one food will change everything, it’s usually a bad sign. When in doubt, focus on habits and behaviors over absolute restrictions.

Do not stress about exercise equipment.

Your muscles need resistance. Your heart needs to beat faster. Whether the resistance comes from bodyweight, bands, machines, or dumbbells shouldn’t be a primary concern. Whether your heart elevates from a walk, run, bike, swim, or something else also shouldn’t make you worry.

Move and sweat. That’s it. When your workout stops delivering results, you can make adjustments to increase the difficulty or work with a coach to help you achieve all your goals. But, equipment is still overrated and very little is needed to see a lot of positive change and transformation.

Stop Doing Cleanses.

They don’t work. The detoxes are not worth the time or money. Any progress you make will be lost once you start eating like a normal human. If you want to add a greens juice to your life, go for it. Replacing food with liquid for a short period of time is manipulation at the highest degree.

Don’t Blindly Blame Hormones. Or Toxins. Or Inflammation.

These are all scapegoats. Any “expert” who claims this is the issue without having your bloodwork is full of shit.

Hormones are designed to fluctuate. A temporary spike in insulin is not a bad thing. Seriously. Drinking whey protein (very healthy, by the way), will cause your insulin to temporarily skyrocket…and then return to normal.

Toxins are all around us. And some inflammation is good and designed to improve recovery and health.

Creating black and white thinking is the Achilles heel of the wellness industry. Focus on habits. If something seems off, see a doctor, get tested, and then determine if you truly have an issue that needs to be fixed.

Don’t train through pain.

“No pain, no gain” is terrible advice. More pain will result in less gain because you won’t be able to exercise or move the way you want. There’s a big difference between strain and pain, soreness and injury.

Push your body, but don’t break it. And, if you get injured, don’t force the issue — address it. There are plenty of ways to train around an injury, while also making sure you fix the cause of the problem.

Healthy behaviours are designed to make you feel better, not worse. Remember that whenever something feels wrong.