You may think you are doing all the right things but it’s possible that the diet you are following is actually preventing you from reaching your goal weight and getting the body you want. Read on for the 5 most common diet mistakes that prevent people from losing weight.
1: You Don’t Get Enough Sleep.
Did you know that getting plenty of sleep (7-8 hours) is one of the biggest secrets to losing weight and keeping it off?
The body is most metabolically active during sleep, so the longer we sleep, the more we rev up our fat-burning engines. Lack of sleep also plays havoc with two key metabolic hormones, leptin and
ghrelin, which control hunger and satiety. Deprive yourself of sleep, and ghrelin levels increase while leptin levels decrease. The result: more craving, less feeling full. Even worse, when you’re tired you crave “energy” foods, which usually means chips, sweets, baked goods, or soda.
2: Eating a Low Fat High Carbs Diet.
When fat is removed from a food item such as yogurt, something has to be put back in its place or else no one would eat the product.
What takes the place of fat in low-fat foods to provide the flavor and that special texture? The most likely culprits are high-fructose corn syrup, salt and artificial sweeteners – three things your body definitely does not need. Read the ingredients on a low-fat tub of strawberry yogurt, and you will see that this “health” food is loaded with sugar and artificial ingredients (for truly healthy yogurt, buy the low fat plain variety and sweeten it yourself with fresh or frozen fruits, nuts, stevia or honey).
Did You Know that
Low fat foods trick you into overeating? As low-fat and nonfat foods are often less satisfying than their full-fat cousins, you don’t get quite the enjoyment from each mouthful. So you take another one, and another – and wind up flooding your body with carbohydrates and calories and throwing your blood sugar out of whack.
You need to cut calories to lose weight, but it’s important not to overdo it. Going too low delivers a double whammy to your metabolism. When you eat less than you need for basic biological function (about 1,200 calories for most women), your body throws the brakes on your metabolism. It also begins to break down calorie-burning muscle tissue for energy. Eat just enough so you’re not hungry-a healthy snack midmorning and midafternoon between three meals (about 430 calories each) will keep your metabolism humming.By eating a meal every 3 to 4 hours, you’ll stay satisfied and keep from overeating later in the day.
4: You Crash Diet
I am learning from a lot of my patients that they used different tricks like starving themselves, extreme workouts, pills and many more, to lose weight fast. Unfortunately, these tricks can’t work long term.
To lose weight and keep is off, make food choices depending on what’s healthy rather than focusing on the foods you shouldn’t eat. For example, you should minimize any foods you’re addicted to, like cookies and bread, and foods that make you binge, such as ice cream and potato chips. Use
diet plan and workout regimen you can stick to for a lifetime.
5:You Don’t Drink Enough Water.
Water is essential for burning calories, so next time you feel hungry, take a big, long drink of water and you may not need to eat. Because the hormones in our intestines that tell us we’re hungry are very similar to the hormones that signal us we’re thirsty, we’re are not very good at distinguishing hunger from thirst, which is why we typically reach for food when we should be drinking. And when we’re not well hydrated, our metabolism slows down. Drink water before every meal and snack and a few more in between.
Here is a helpful trick:
Drink from larger bottles, so instead of consuming eight glasses, you’re sipping just three and a half bottles. Easy!
Great article!
Thank you Joe!