It can be frustrating when the scale refuses to budge even though you feel you have made every effort to improve your eating habits. Weight loss happens when you eat fewer calories than you burn. If the scale is not moving, you are failing to create this deficit. Unknowingly, you are making strategic mistakes that prevent you from reaching your goal weight. Examine your habits to find out why your diet plan is not working for you.
Too Little Activity
The National Weight Control Registry is a research group of more than 5,000 people who have successfully lost and maintained an average weight loss of 66 pounds. Only 10 percent of the participants managed to lose weight with diet alone. If you are not exercising, or at least making an effort to amp up your daily activity, you are making it nearly impossible to lose weight. Exercise helps you burn additional calories so you can create a larger calorie deficit without starving yourself.
Small Indulgences
While an occasional indulgence makes your diet more interesting, frequent indulgences can add up. If you had just one cookie at lunch, a sample of pizza at the warehouse store and the crusts of your kid's grilled cheese at dinner, you consumed an extra 300 to 500 calories. One pound is equal to 3,500 calories; if you eliminate these little calories, you could lose 1 lb. per week without missing a meal. Keeping a food diary can help make you aware of how these indulgences can add up.
Portion Sizes
You may be choosing healthy foods, but too much of them will prevent you from losing weight. Invest in a kitchen scale to weigh proteins and starches. Measure grains and oils to be sure you are staying within your calorie budget. For weight loss, stick to just 3 to 4 oz. of fish, meat or poultry at meals and 1/2 cup of grains or starchy vegetables. A tsp. or two of oils or nut butter at meals adds healthy fats without overwhelming your calorie intake. When hunger strikes, reach for low-calorie fruits and vegetables. Overtime, you can learn to eyeball proper serving sizes, and eat without having to vigilantly weigh and measure everything.
Liquid Calories
Liquid calories consumed over the course of the day can add hundreds of calories that prevent weight loss. Just 8 oz. of juice at breakfast, a latte mid-day and a cocktail at dinner can add up to over 500 calories daily. If you consume soda, non-dairy creamer or sports drinks, your liquid calorie toll may be even higher. Try sipping just water or unsweetened tea and coffee with skim milk to stay hydrated, but save calories.
Skipping Meals
If you try to save calories by skipping meals, you may be undermining your weight loss. Meal skipping can lead to extreme hunger, which makes you more vulnerable to poor decisions at later sittings. Skipping meals also squelches your metabolic fire, so your body burns calories less efficiently. You may be more likely to hold onto fat because your body is unsure of when it will again be provided with fuel. Try distributing your daily calories for weight loss out over the course of the day -- eating approximately the same number at each of three meals. Have a small snack when you will go longer than four hours without eating to prevent extreme hunger and to keep your metabolism revved.
Dining Out
If you eat out often, it can be hard to control your calorie intake. Restaurant meals contain 60 percent more calories than home-cooked meals, due to more fattening ingredients and larger serving sizes. Prepare more meals at home to control what goes into your foods and your portion sizes.
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