5 Common Diet Mistakes
1. I Don’t Like To Weigh Myself
People who are successful at losing weight and keeping it off weigh themselves regularly. If you don’t like to weigh yourself daily, then weigh yourself once a week (in the morning before you eat or drink anything).
Weighing yourself allows you to keep track of your progress while you are losing weight, and it lets you know if you are starting to gain weight after you have lost it. It’s much easier to lose 3 pounds than 10 pounds.
2. I Want To Lose Weight, So I Eat One Meal A Day (When I Get Home)
If you have done this and you are not losing weight, then you see that it does not work. Why? Because you end up getting too hungry, which leads to making the wrong choices when you finally do eat, and you end up eating too much. Some people feel better if they eat small meals every 3 hours (adding up to 1,200 calories for women, or 1,600 calories for men); other people prefer to eat a meal or snack every 4 or 5 hours. The bottom line is not to go too long without eating so that you do not allow yourself to get too hungry.
3. I Am Eating Healthier Than Ever, But I Am Not Losing Weight
Making healthier choices is a good thing: instead of eating chips for a snack, you are now eating nuts; you have cut down on red meat, and eat more chicken and fish; instead of using butter, you are using olive oil for cooking; instead of eating a small blueberry muffin, you are eating a small bran muffin; instead of eating white bread, you have switched to whole wheat bread; you are eating brown rice instead of white.
All of those are healthier choices, but you still need to decrease the calorie intake in order to lose weight. So, even though you have substituted healthy nuts for chips, remember that a handful of nuts is about 200 calories; it’s easy to eat more than that, and the calories add up fast. If you ate only 12 almonds for a snack, that would add up to about 85 calories; this would be both healthy AND low in calories.
4. I Make Healthy Choices When I Eat In Restaurants, But I Am Not Losing Weight, Why?
Eating in restaurants a few times a week makes it hard to lose or maintain your weight. The portions are usually big, so even if it’s healthy, it might be high in calories. You may think that a turkey burger is a healthy choice (sometimes it is), but some restaurants cook it in too much fat, slather it with mayo, and top it with cheese, so it ends up being an 800 calorie not-so-healthy choice after all.
You are better off eating at home, and taking your lunch to work when you are trying to lose weight. It gives you more control over the calories, carbs, and fat. If you do go out, check out the menu on the restaurant’s website (if possible) to see what they have that is on the “lighter” side. Also remember that you can always eat a small portion, and take the rest home (no matter what you order). Ask for a box when your server brings the food, and put at least half of your meal in it to take home. (see the Nutrition page for more tips on restaurant dining).
5. Don’t Forget That Drinks Have Calories
Many people I have seen drink more calories than they realize. If you have a coffee drink (cappuccino, flavored lattes or teas) or smoothie during the day as a pick-me-up or a snack, don’t forget to count those calories. Some of those drinks have hundreds of calories (90 to 500 calories for the coffee drinks, and 200 to 800 for the smoothie drinks!). Your body is keeping track of those calories too!
You don’t have to give up your coffee while you are losing weight. Just order your drink with low-fat or non-fat milk, and sugar-free syrup; a few flavors come in sugar-free (such as vanilla and hazelnut) which have zero calories and zero carbs.
You can also get “light” smoothies (250 calories or less), but the carbs are usually pretty high.
You can make a smoothie at home with fewer calories AND fewer carbs.