MOST COMMON MISTAKES WHEN TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT
These are the most common mistakes people make when losing weight. How many of them have you done?
- Being on a diet
It has been proven that dieting works only short term. Our body cannot sustain itself on a long-term diet and we end up weighting more than at the beginning. The only way out of this vicious circle is to adopt a new lifestyle. The effort to lose weight begins in the head, continues with the will to persevere, until the new way of life becomes your “habit “.
2. Starving and fasting
Starving and fasting do not solve the problem with being overweight. Starving and fasting do more harm than good and you might end up with serious health problems.
- Little sleep
Enough sleep and rest are as important for weight loss as diet and exercise. Insulin – a hormone needed to turn sugar, starch and other foods into energy – performs poorly when the body is not well-rested. Inside the cells, glucose is stored and later used for energy – if not, it turns into fat. The old saying that getting more sleep may aid weight loss has been true all along!
- Eating too fast
Not chewing every single bite carefully, eating too greedily – these are arch enemies of your digestion. Your body is slow in realizing it is already full – that is why eating fast is so dangerous! Overeating, constant feeling of hunger and bad metabolism are just few examples of how eating too fast damages your health.
- Too much exercise
Exercising is important for burning calories and losing weight. If you overdo it and exercise too much, your body will be exhausted, your physical condition will deteriorate and your metabolism will slow down.
- Lack of movement
The opposite mistake is the complete absence of any physical exercise, not only that aimed at weight loss.
- Drinking little water
Drinking enough water may help you lose weight. This is the first and the easiest step toward permanent weight loss – drink enough water!
- Alcohol consumption
The second most common mistake is that we find it hard to give up alcohol altogether. We have already discussed the negative impact of alcohol on our health at the beginning.
- Obsession with weight
Weighting – the fastest way to find out if we have lost weight or gained weight. Beware! It can be very deceptive. The weight won’t say anything about how much fat you have burned. It only tells you whether you gained or lost weight. You do not know anything about the amount of mass gained or fat burned.
If your weight does not go down as fast as you would like even though you are giving it your best, replace your weight with a meter and regularly measure the circumference of your waist, hips and thighs. It is also good to take pictures in the same poses every 10 days – you will see the results faster and you will also keep track of your progress.
Muscle tissue is way much denser than fat tissue, which means it takes up less space at the same weight.
10. Lack of fiber
Fiber as well as protein help you lose kilograms by reducing appetite and satiating the stomach for a long time (and much more).
A great source of fiber are low carbohydrate vegetables such as: broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, asparagus, peppers, green beans, tomatoes, savoy king, brussels sprouts, cabbage, celery, radish, lettuce, cucumbers and others.
11. Advertisements
Do you choose foods based on their packaging? Make sure to check out ingredients! Product labels should not be overlooked as they list the ingredients and their amount in the product. Do not get fooled by slogans on the front, such as “healthy, natural, low-fat”! These slogans are not a guarantee of anything. You may be surprised at how much food advertised as healthy is junk in reality. Package sells, unfortunately.
12. Fear of fat
Question for you: Do you prefer low-fat foods?
FAT is essential for health and weight loss! And no, low-fat yogurt will not solve your weight loss problem. Nevertheless, the market for low-fat foods is thriving and so is the lack of information available to consumers.
Fat in low-fat products is just replaced by sugars. Don’t be fooled.
13. Eating in front of TV
One of the most common bad habits. You should pay attention to food while eating, seriously. Science has proven that we consume more when we are in front of TV. The brain is too busy coordinating several activities at once and thus sends the signal that the belly is already full too late.
14. Eating up leftovers
Eating up leftovers after children is often dangerous as it seems there is not a lot of food but actually, it’s the opposite! It’s a simple equation – the more you eat the more fat your body stores.
- Irregular eating habits
You know it too, well, don’t you? You don’t have time to eat well during the day and you would eat anything you spot in the fridge in the evening. A BIG MISTAKE! For our metabolism to function properly, regular meal timings is a key.
- Overlooked calories
It’s great that you decided to have a salad for dinner, but two large tablespoons of mayonnaise will ruin your effort. The same goes for cola you drank in your car on the way from work. You don’t have to be a “counting calories freak”. However, you must bear in mind that everything but water contains calories. Sometimes you don’t even notice these calories, but your body does – and that is the problem.
The same is true when it comes to “tasting” when cooking – by doing so, you might end up eating the whole portion.
