September 2013

Just the word “Diet” makes us groan inside because there are so many challenges and unknowns that come along with eating right, choosing the right foods, not breaking your own rules and keeping up with a regular exercise routine while also balancing your meals; Yikes! Almost makes you want to say “to heck with it” right? Well before you throw in the towel; here are 10 Diet Mistakes that are often made that can stand between your weight loss. These can serve as a guide to help you avoid the pitfalls and reach your goals. Keep these mistakes in mind and remember to avoid them. It’ll make your life a whole lot easier if you do.

10 Diet Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

1) Follow a sustainable diet!

Sustainable does not mean losing weight fast and while the speedy option might be the diet you want to go for, those “crash diets” are not only bad for you, they’re impossible to stay on. Those diet plans might help you lose some weight quickly but once you’ve lost the weight you’ll more than likely turn to your old habits and gain back even more weight. Changing your lifestyle and choices will create a sustainable diet that will help you form habits you can stick with for the rest of your life.

2) Skipping breakfast

The statement “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” is based on fact. Breakfast will help keep your body going throughout the day, providing energy that will keep you at the top of your game. If you want to prevent looking for poor choices later due to hunger pains, be sure to include a protein in the morning.

3) Forgetting about your snacks

Often people forget about the snacks they have had during the day then say things like “I don’t know why I don’t lose weight; I eat like a bird”. More than likely the “bird” choked down a candy bar mid-day followed by a carb loaded muffin in the afternoon. If this sounds like you try keeping a food journal and write down everything that enters your mouth until you see a pattern emerge.

4) Going overboard with low-fat foods

It’s easy to feel safe eating low-fat foods but when you double the intake of food that has half the calories you’re still eating just as much. Keep serving size in mind with all snacks and meals so that you don’t end up going over and don’t forget to check for sugar content; low fat and fat free foods are notorious for overdoing the sugar to make them taste better.

5) Drinks can hurt too

Sipping on alcoholic drinks, sugary coffees and sodas can end up costing you hundreds of calories a day. They are often full of sodium and sugar which can lead to feeling bloated and worn out, and with another pound or two packed on at the end of the day.

6) Avoiding water

When you avoid water you end gaining more weight. Water is essential to the way your overall body functions and without having a good amount of it in your system your metabolism will lag and you’ll feel more fatigued. Drink at least eight glasses a day to feel your best. Most people mistake hunger with thirst. It is recommended you drink half your body weight in ounces. So if you weigh 160lbs you need to be drinking at least 80 ounces of water a day.  If you want to add some pizazz to your water add some lemon or cucumber slices for a super refreshing twist.

7) Avoiding dairy products

Many people find that dairy products are bad for you when you are on a diet. Ditching them completely isn’t a good idea however and dairy provides much needed calcium and will boost your metabolism as well. If you are lactose intolerant you may want to avoid all dairy and supplement your calcium through vegetable like broccoli or taking isotonic capable supplements.

8) Drive through meals

Drive through meals may be inexpensive quick fixes but they are extremely unhealthy. Forget the french fries, fried chicken, burgers and buns. Avoid them at all costs and if you have to go to a fast food eatery just make sure to choose the healthiest possible options like a salad.

9) Avoid Scale Jumping

Constantly weighing in and expecting to see significant results are a great way to drive you crazy. Avoid this madness and stop torturing yourself waiting for results. Instead just look at yourself and think about how much better you feel and how great you look once you fit into something besides stretchy pants. Pay attention to the feeling of being bloated dissipating, your clothes fitting looser and watch the inches disappear.

10) Unrealistic expectations

It can be easy to expect to reach your goal in a month but this isn’t going to happen. You didn’t gain it all in one month. It took years as you progressively gained 5-10lbs. So realistically give yourself some time. Make sure that you set realistic goals in order to stay positive. A great way to do this is to set frequent short-term goals and then turn them into reality. Real change takes a while but you’ll start to feel better almost immediately if you stick with a healthy diet plan.