If you are struggling to lose weight even though you are eating as healthy as you can, following all the most recent diet advice, cutting calories and depriving yourself of all indulgences, you might be falling victim to some of the most common diet mistakes out there. Losing weight is a gradual process that can be sabotaged by simple mistakes that you don't even realize that you're making. Skip these dieting mistakes and avoid these pitfalls to help make losing weight sustainable and healthy:
1. Don't buy "Fat-Free" or "Reduced Sugar" foods
Many companies are trying to market their foods as healthy by removing fats and sugars from them. Unfortunately, in order for these foods to be edible, fats and sugars have to be replaced by highly processed alternatives that make the food less healthy than it would have been without the modifications. Aim to buy fresh, whole foods instead of highly processed ones.
2. Eating too little
Many people take dieting to the extreme and cut calories beyond what is sustainable. It is generally accepted that going into more than a 500 calorie per day deficit is detrimental to weight loss goals because your metabolism will slow down, reducing the number of calories you burn while sedentary. By cutting too many calories for too long, you run the risk of shutting your metabolism down and will start using your muscle for fuel instead of fat. Tip: Use a protein powder as a healthy snack alternative.
3. Trying all the latest fad diets
Most diets fade in and out of popularity quickly because they are unsustainable. While many of these diets work for a short period of time, no one can drink only juice indefinitely or eat cabbage for three meals a day for a lifetime. When you return to normal eating after a fad diet, your body will compensate and often put on more weight than you originally lost. A good rule of thumb to follow is that if you can't see sticking to the diet for the rest of your life, it's not the right diet for you. Diets should be about creating healthy eating habits, not unsustainable ones.
4. Cheating too often
Everyone needs to cheat a little bit on a diet to make it sustainable, but turning a cheat meal into an entire weekend of eating badly will cause a large amount of harm and can reverse an entire week's worth of dieting. Most diets advocate taking one to two cheat meals per week so that you don't feel deprived of foods you love, but sticking to the allotted amount of cheating is crucial.
5. Ignoring your body
Bodies are amazingly intuitive and possess the ability to tell if they are hungry or not. Too often, people eat out of habit instead of listening to their bodies. Try only eating when your body tells you to and stop eating the moment you become satiated instead of trying to finish an entire meal.
Skip these dieting mistakes, a diet should be a sustainable endeavour that leads to long-term weight loss and control. By avoiding common mistakes, you can create the body you want without starving yourself or depriving yourself of your favourite meals and treats.
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