Top Diet Mistakes That Are Ruining Your Weight Loss And How To Avoid Them

Ruining your weight loss results is actually easier than you think. A few small mistakes and it can cost you dearly.

But you can easily avoid these small mistakes and increase your results almost instantly.

The first mistake that I see and hear about all the time is skipping breakfast. People think that they are saving themselves from eating a few hundred calories in the morning by not eating breakfast but what we don’t understand or forget is that study after study shows that people who skip breakfast end up eating more total calories throughout the day than those who eat a good breakfast.

When we skip breakfast there are a number of biochemical reactions taking place to make sure you get the calories your body knows it needs. Our hunger hormone ghrelin is not turned off when we skip breakfast, leading to morning snacking on high calories items that you typically would have said “no” to because your willpower would have been much stronger and our body wouldn’t be begging you for any food. The last thing about skipping breakfast is that many studies have shown is that when you choose to eat a healthy breakfast you are more likely to continue choosing healthy food options throughout the day.

The next big mistake I want to talk about it losing track of your snacks. Its every easy to just take a bite here and there or to eat a few bites of something you made for your kids. Well when we do this mindless eating we are not really getting satisfied from the food and in turn we forget that we ate it and don’t count those calories. Mindless eating can account for hundreds of additional, unplanned calories per day. So avoid this common pitfall by writing down everything that you eat. From the 6 almonds you ate, to the carrots off your kid’s plates, to the cupcake. There are a number of free apps that are also great at helping you track our snacking.

The next mistake is not snacking at all, and letting yourself get too hungry throughout the day. Healthy snacking helps keep our ghrelin (our hunger hormone) in check so that we don’t binge eat at the next meal, it keeps our metabolism revved up throughout the day, and it keeps us from getting those terrible afternoon hunger attacks were you could/would eat the next thing that shows up, (e.g the office birthday cake). By not letting yourself get too hungry you will have more willpower to say “no thanks” to the afternoon coffee shop run. Our body’s need fuel every 3-4 hours to keep it running, so make sure that its running on good fuel and burning fat, and not those sugary unhealthy snacks.

The next mistake is loading up on “low fat/low carb” items. While these items may be low in their named offender, it does not mean they are low in calories. In fact most of these food items are higher in total calories because of the sugar that has to be added to keep the food from tasting like cardboard when remove the fats and/or carbs. Also, we tend to think of these foods as “healthier” foods because of the “Halo Effect”, so we allow ourselves to eat more than we normally would have because its’ so much “healthier”.

Our next mistake is drinking our calories. This mistake has a one-two knockout punch for two reasons. First, a single fruity alcoholic or hard to pronounce coffee drink can contain up to 500 CALORIES! That’s more calories than what most people eat for breakfast. And the second thing is that when we drink calories is does not curb hunger or provide any satisfaction. So we ingest all those calories but then still have to eat a normal meal to deal with our hunger and to feel satisfied. OK, one last item to mention on this topic is that even our juices and diet drinks might have fewer calories listed, but the sugar content is so high that your blood sugar spikes, you start storing fat because of the insulin released to help with the high blood sugar, and then you always have the crash that follows an hour later. Drink water and eat your calories instead.

The next mistake is not drinking enough water. When we don’t drink enough water we very quickly can become dehydrated, and when we are dehydrated our metabolism slows to a snails pace and so does our weight loss. Our bodies are 60% water. Every cell in our body needs water to carry out their processes. This includes our kidneys and livers to make sure they remove all the toxins and waste. Also if we don’t have enough water in our systems our body will not be able to absorb the vitamins and minerals from the foods we eat, because the water helps break everything down. So try to drink 8-10 glasses a day, which is about 2 liters. This will keep all our systems happy and running efficiently.

The next mistake is not weighing yourself on a regular basis. When we don’t weigh ourselves we have no way of knowing if what we are doing is working or not. If we don’t know, then we can’t make any changes, even small ones to really optimize our time and efforts. It can help us even when we are just maintaining because if we see a small gain one day, then we can make smarter choices about the foods we will eat that day to help our number come back to were it belongs. Keep track to know how far you’ve come and how to reach your final goal.

The next mistake goes hand in hand with the one above, and that’s setting unrealistic goals. We can’t expect to lose 20 lbs. the first week we start. You shouldn’t set a goal to go to the gym everyday when you haven’t even been going once a week. When we are setting goals for ourselves, we need to be setting two different kinds of goals. Long term and short term. It’s important to look at both because they work together. When you meet a short term goal you are more motivated to keep working towards that longer term goal. Set a few short term goals that are only a few days out. For example, “I will go to the gym 4 times in the next two weeks.” Or, “I will not eat a treat/dessert until the weekend.” Remember, small changes lead to big changes.

I have heard this next mistake while at the gym working out and used to do it myself, “Because I’m working out right now I’m going to get myself some ice cream as a reward.” So the mistake is not eating right post-workout. When we workout we shouldn’t be thinking of all the food we can eat because we are burning so many calories. People greatly over estimate just how many calories they actually burned during one gym session. Don’t reward yourself with food that will prevent you from reaching your goal. Instead remind yourself why you are working out in the first place. To lose weight, to be more healthy, or build stronger muscles. You will never reach those goals when you reward yourself with destructive food.

This next mistake is a big problem for us Americans. Eating way too much salt. The average American consumes more than double the recommended daily amount. All this extra salt leads to major water retention and bloating, a slower metabolism which leads to weight gain, and more hunger and thirst than normal. To avoid this mistake try your foods before you put any additional seasonings on. Look for items that say reduced salt. Over time the less salt you force yourself to use the more your foods will naturally taste flavorful. You will be able to taste and enjoy the smallest amount of salt.

The next mistake goes along with one of the other mistakes, not tracking ALL your food. It can be really hard to remember what you eat the day before when you get on the scale in the morning and you show a gain. But if you have everything written down then you know exactly what caused the gain and how to correct it for the future. Studies have shown that people who track what they eat through the day tend to eat fewer calories than those who don’t. They believe this is because when we write it down we have to be accountable for it. We can’t just forget about it and pretend like it never happened. It keeps us honest with ourselves.

The last mistake is not getting enough sleep. As American’s we are the most sleep-deprived country in the world. We are always running here and there and working long hours to be successful, but this can wreak havoc on our systems. Studies are showing that just a few night of sleep deprivation can lead to almost immediate weight gain. Sleep is necessary for our bodies to regenerate. It’s the time when our systems allow for cellular building to make themselves strong and more efficient. Try to get 7-8 hrs. a night.

I know that trying to change all of these things at once could be a bit over whelming. So instead set a smaller goal of changing a few things and then once you have mastered those, add in a few more. Before you know it you will be avoiding all these common mistake and be well on your way to your new happier and healthier life.