Seven Deadly Diet Sins
Do you find it tough to stick to a diet? Are you struggling to stay on your regimen, but aren’t losing weight? You might be making one or more of the most common dieting mistakes. Knowing what to watch out for will help you stick to your diet and actually lose some weight!
Thinking about food. Stop thinking about how you are depriving yourself, dreaming of a Big Mac, and distract yourself. Instead of staying in the house moping or staring into the fridge at the forbidden food that your husband will be eating later on, get out and get active. Take a hike, hit the beach, enjoy life! Staying busy is the best way to forget that you are on a diet.
Eating too fast. Just because you are on a diet doesn’t mean you have to scarf your food down. In fact, you will feel fuller if you slow down and enjoy each bite. Chew your food 10 times to slow yourself down. It can take up to 20 minutes for your stomach to send the full signal to your brain, so by eating slowly, you will stop feeling hungry before you finish your meal, as opposed to finishing and still being hungry.
Not eating breakfast. Studies show that those who avoid breakfast actually consume more calories throughout the day. That first meal of the day is important to get your metabolism running, too. By starving yourself for too long, you are telling your body to go into starvation mode, where it will begin to stockpile fat!
Forgetting the liquids. Don’t just calorie count when it comes to solid food. Everything you drink, except water, is going to have some calories in it. Alcohol and sodas are the worst offenders. A bottle of your favourite beer will add about 160 calories to your daily intake, so a night on the town can really add up! Even wine isn’t safe at around 130 calories for 5 oz. glass.
Overestimating portion size. You might have a general idea of how big a 2 oz chunk of chicken is, but it’s a good idea to get a small kitchen scale and start actually weighing your food or measure it with your measuring cups. Why? Because chances are you are really overestimating how much you can eat while losing weight.
Adding dressings and condiments. A sprinkling of dried parsley won’t hurt your diet, but a tablespoon or two of Ranch dressing on your salad might. Most of us don’t actually measure when we spread mayonnaise on bread or pour dressing onto our salad. We figure we know how much is going on. By measuring, you’ll know exactly how many calories you are adding to your meal.
Spacing out. Have you ever been watching TV and eating popcorn or cookies and suddenly you realize that you’ve eaten an entire bag and didn’t even notice? This actually has a name, eating amnesia. It is also called mindless eating and it is one of the worst enemies of the diet. To avoid this common problem, don’t eat anywhere except seated at the table, where you are focused on the act of eating.