Learning how to live in moderation is probably the best way to find a healthy balance with your weight. But when you’re trying to lose weight, what appears like a healthy choice may not be in the end. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, avoid these diet mistakes.
- Balance exercise and diet. You don’t need to spend everyday in the gym to reach your health goals. Try for 3-4 days a week with one hour. And then be sure to watch what you’re eating, and more importantly, how your food makes you feel.
- You’re tired or cranky. If you’re an emotional eater, skimping on sleep is perhaps the worst thing you can do. Research shows it will slow your metabolism and actually make you eat more.
- Keep it real. Fat-free dressing is not the key to making you slim. Its better to go with a healthy full-fat version, containing heart-healthy olive oil than to go with one loaded with sugar. Same thing applies to cheese. Choose a small amount of a regular cheese instead of a larger amount of the rubbery, fat-free variety. You’ll feel full longer and eat less in the long run.
- You’re not eating. Perhaps the number one diet disaster is dieting itself. To keep your metabolism revved, you need to eat every three to four hours. Skipping meals causes your body to think that you’re starving, and making you eat more the next time you sit down. So snack!
- You eat out too much. Even if you manage to find a restaurant that counts everything they put into your meal, you’re still more likely to overeat when you eat out. Learning how to prepare meals at home- even simple ones- will help you more on your weight-loss path. But when you do eat out, like we all do, cut your meal in half and toss into a doggie bag before you begin eating.!
