Experts weigh in on the most common dieting mistakes
10/26/2015 / By Michael Bundrant
It’s no secret that losing weight comes with a whole slew of challenges.
Overcoming the challenges is difficult enough. However the mistakes that we don’t know that we’re making may be the most detrimental to our progress. A recent article published by U.S. Health News gathered the most common mistakes that people make when trying to lose weight, as told by fitness and health professionals.
Jaime Mass, a Florida-registered dietitian, believes that we commonly ignore our bodies when it is trying to tell us something important. “Your body is always telling you something to help you live in balance. When we ignore our bodies, we set ourselves up for disaster. Focus on listening to your body and nourishing it well.”
When you are eating a meal, listen to your body and try to honor your body when it tells you, “Please stop eating, I am full now.” It seems that common weight loss regimens call for us to ignore these signals. Why would we eat something when we just ate our healthy lunch an hour ago? There’s no way we could be hungry. The same goes for when we are full. Many who struggle with overeating completely ignore the feeling of being full, and continue to eat.
Another common mistake that people make when trying to lose weight is making a whole bunch of changes to your lifestyle, all at once.
Certified strength and conditioning specialist Holly Perkins, author of Lift to Get Lean says, “The human body does not like drastic and rapid change. While our brains and lives are modern, the human body is actually quite archaic and resists change, as any drop in calories or increase in exercise ‘seems’ like a threat to preservation. Your body likes slow and gradual, consistent changes. While it might feel like it takes longer, small progressive baby steps are way more effective in the long run. Small changes are also so much easier to tolerate and don’t create the fallout that often comes with extreme weight-loss measures. My tip: Make one substantial exercise or dietary change each week. If you keep adding up new actions, you’ll keep seeing changes in your body.”
Something that many make the mistake of doing is food deprivation. There will be days that you are one hundred percent dedicated to your workout and diet routine, never even thinking of eating food that goes against your diet. But, then there are days that all you can think about is that In-N-Out Double-Double burger. If you’re always fighting, and depriving yourself of small amounts of foods that you love, eventually you’re going to splurge.
New York based registered dietitian Keri Gans, author of The Small Change Diet, says, “One small square of chocolate or one small cookie can go a long way in the scheme of things. Pizza lover? Don’t swear off it, but rather try and have one slice with a salad every other week. Want french fries? Have them with your burger but lose the bun, or with your omelet instead of toast.”
Source:
Tagged Under:
