Avoid These Top Weight Loss Mistakes

With a New Year and new resolutions, many individuals strive to lose those extra pounds. Here are some of the most common weight loss mistakes you could be tempted to make throughout your journey.

The Most Common Weight Loss Mistakes

• Crash Dieting. Common sense would tell you that you gained weight because you have been taking in more calories than what your body needs.  In addition, common sense would dictate that if you eat as few of calories as possible, then you are more likely to lose weight fast. That said, you should avoid this technique at all costs.  Crash dieting is very harmful to your health and your body compensates by conserving energy in other areas of your body.  In addition, when you starve yourself, your body will lower its “energy burning” process so you are likely to not lose any weight at all because your body thinks it is in starvation mode and will store fat in response.
• Skip Breakfast. Before work, it’s likely you are in a hurry and rather than eating a quality meal, you skip it every day and drink coffee to replace your breakfast.  This is harmful to your health because it affects your blood sugar levels, which can cause you to quickly become starving.  When your blood sugar drops in this way, you are likely to overeat when you finally have a meal.
• Nibble on Food. Let’s say you track all your meals in a day using a phone application  and it totals 1,500 daily calories.  Great! You met your goal and you are very satiated.  But one common mistake people tend to forget are the small “nibbles” of food.  One piece of candy here or bread there will really add up in a hurry, so be mindful of the nibbles and add these to your journal when you eat them.
• Expect Weight Loss Through High Stress Situations. Some individuals will state that they are not hungry when they’re stressed out.  While this might be true, there is a physiological process happening even though you might not be consuming any food.  The stress hormones released by your body encourages fat storage to occur when you normally would be using it as energy.  Leading a high-stress lifestyle can wreak havoc in this sense and can really cause you to back pedal in your program.  Finding a way to de-stress as much as possible is crucial in your weight loss endeavor; take the time out of your day to relax, regroup, and succeed.
• Skip Food Groups. Skipping any kind of food group is something that is likely to get you into trouble sometime in your program, so it is wise to just exude moderation when you can.  Many people usually skip on the grains group when they want to lose weight, but the reality is, you will eat them again sometime in your life, which means you will gain that weight back.  It is always best to portion as best you can and have the best self-control as possible.
• Veggies are Unnecessary Sugars. Vegetables primarily consist of fructose, but don’t let this prevent you from eating them.  Vegetables are loaded with vitamins, minerals, and more importantly, are low in calories.  Eat your veggies before any of your other foods on your plate (your mind will perceive them as tasting much better) and then move to the carbs and protein.  Lastly, make sure to have at least one good serving with every meal.

References

[1] http://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/diet-mistakes-6-reasons-youre-not-losing-weight