If you’ve been trying to lose weight, you’ve probably started to eat less, exercise more, choose “diet” foods, avoid fat, or eat breakfast. Maybe you’ve done all this (time and time again) and you’re still not happy with what you see in the mirror. Or you’ve had short-term results, but the weight keeps coming back and you feel stuck.
To be able to lose the weight for good, it’s important to understand that “diet” advice as well as lifestyle habits can really hinder your success, sometimes on a very subtle level.
Here are 5 common mistakes that can easily undermine your best weight loss efforts.
Eating processed or artificial foods instead of whole foods
It is very common to go on a diet and still eat lots of processed foods. You’ve probably heard many times that losing weight is about eating less. But if what you eat less of are still the same processed foods, you’ll have a hard time losing the weight.
Artificial Sweeteners
It has been recently suggested by research that artificial sweeteners modify the microbiome in our gut. And even though these sweeteners contain zero calorie, these changes in the gut are responsible for both high blood sugar and weight gain.
Restricting and depriving yourself of food all day long
It can be very easy to fall into the food restriction trap, with a cycle of eating less, skipping meals, over-restrictive dieting, then self-punishment in the form of binge eating at night upon realizing this unrealistic diet cannot be sustained for very long.
Some research shows that deprivation causes craving and overeating, particularly if you have been restricting yourself.
Your cravings don’t mean you are doomed to be addicted to processed foods or sugar for the rest of your life; they are simply a good reminder that you can’t enjoy life while experiencing permanent feelings of deprivation.
Eat 5-6 Small Meals a day.
While traditional wisdom tells us to eat 3 meals a day and nothing more, studies are showing that eating 5-6 small meals a day can help keep you with that “full” feeling.
Eat every three hours. An ideal day of eating should include breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack and dinner. Eat slowly. Eating five to six small meals each day helps you avoid overeating at meal times. Your stomach is the size of your fist. Maintain a balanced diet. Limit desserts each week.
You can also read my post on losing weight by eating more.
Not keeping an eye on calorie intake or watching portions
Eating whole foods is good for your health and it will also help you lose weight, as we’ve
seen above, but overeating healthy foods may also prevent you from dropping extra pounds. I have seen this very often with people I know or clients who switch to a healthier diet.
Even though it’s not about counting calories in an obsessive way, it’s essential to actually keep an eye on your portions to make sure that you are fueling your body with what it needs.
Learn more about portion control and how it can be for you at: What is 21 Day Fix?
Not getting enough sleep
Researchers found that sleep deprivation could hinder fat loss and lead people to feel hungrier because of higher levels of the hormone ghrelin. This means that you will manage to lose more weight when you get enough sleep because you’ll feel less hungry and you’ll eat less.
Studies have also shown that being sleep deprived can lead to overeating and cravings for junk food. Getting the recommended amount of sleep of seven to nine hours can therefore help lower cravings for calorie-dense foods, which in turn can help you lose weight without struggling so much.
Wines of the World 