Doing everything right but still not getting anywhere near your ideal weight? You may unknowingly be making these common mistakes that could be blocking your path to happiness.
- Not balancing calories. Losing weight essentially means you have to burn more calories than you consume, but maintaining balance over a time period is the key. Having too many calories makes you put on weight but having too few will leave you hungry all the time, and slow down your metabolism.
2. Going for ‘Low-Fat’ foods. Many ‘low-fat’ or ‘diet’ processed foods are actually loaded with sugar to improve their taste like fruit-flavored yogurt for example. Instead of satisfying your hunger, they increase it so you’re more likely to abandon your diet and surrender to binge-eating.
3. Not getting enough protein. Research has shown that protein helps weight loss in many ways — boosting your metabolism, protecting muscle mass, and reducing appetite. If you’re on a diet at least 30% of your daily calories should be coming from protein-rich sources.
4. Not keeping track. If you’re serious about losing weight you need to log your intake and the amount of time you spend exercising every day, because what you think you do may be quite different from what you actually do. Keeping track lets you know exactly where to cut down and whether you’re getting enough protein and fibre. It’s the smart way of dealing with a weight problem.
5. Having unrealistic expectations. Losing weight cannot, and should not, be a speedy process because your body needs to adjust to the shifts in your diet and exercise routine. That’s why crash diets often end in failure. Modest goals give you a much better chance of succeeding in shedding the extra pounds.