You're doing everything right -- or you think you are -- and the scale won't budge. Frustration can derail a diet as efficiently as a box of Twinkies. Dieters work hard to lose weight, but sometimes they can sabotage their efforts through misconceptions and self-delusions. Believing the diet they chose simply didn't work, they'll abandon it and try another, but make the same old mistakes.
Insufficient Exercise
Exercise increases metabolism and helps burn fat. There's no way around that. Exercise might not be your thing, but dieting without incorporating exercise into your lifestyle means that the pounds will come off more slowly or maybe not at all. You don't necessarily have to enroll at a gym, but engage in some physical activity every day.
Starvation Tactics
When it comes to skipping meals, your body is smarter than you are. It knows it needs calories to function. When you restrict them too severely, it reacts by lowering your metabolism and burning calories more slowly so that it can be sure it has enough. It will also start sending you signals that you're starving, that you need to eat right away and that you need to eat a lot. As a result, you might gorge on whatever is handy -- and there goes one productive day of your diet. Skipping breakfast is especially counterproductive. It's far better to allow yourself some fruit or cheese to kick-start your day. Eat smaller meals more frequently to maintain control over your own metabolism.
The Wrong Liquids
Many dieters forget that, other than water, everything they drink adds to their daily caloric intake as well. Liquid calories do count. Ample water will help your body burn fat, but many other beverages will just pack on pounds. Sports drinks are especially high in calories, and unless you commit yourself to an hour or more of hard exercise per session, you really don't need them. Water works just as well to keep you hydrated, and it's calorie-free. Alcoholic beverages are also high in calories -- the empty kind. You can diet your heart out, but if you then indulge in a cocktail, you haven't accomplished much of anything. On social occasions, stick to a single glass of wine or a light beer. Avoid the margaritas.
The Right Foods
It might seem like a no-brainer that successful dieting requires consuming fewer calories than your energy level requires, but package labeling can trick you into believing you're doing that when you're actually not. Just because something is billed as low-fat doesn't mean it's also low in calories. Then there's the psychological aspect to supposed "diet" foods. If you believe you're not harming your diet by eating them, you're inclined to eat more. For optimal results, stick to foods you prepare yourself: lean fish and poultry, and vegetables.
Member Comments