10 Mistakes Most People Make Trying To Lose Weight

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When it comes to dropping weight, it seems like a no brainer, right? Calories in, calories out. But if that were true, why is it so hard for so many people to lose weight?

If only the body worked the way we wanted it to! Some people seem to have an easier time losing weight than others, even if they are on the same diet and exercise plan. And everyone knows that person who eats anything they want, all day long, and they never put on a pound.

Well, although science may not have all the answers as to why your husband can cut back on a beer and drop 10 pounds in two weeks and you eat carrots all day and lose ½ a pound in the same time frame, there are plenty of things they do know about the science of losing weight.

Keep reading and find out the top 10 mistakes most people make when trying to lose weight and see if any of them sound familiar to you.

1. Going All Out on Protein

Although protein is vital to our bodies, too much protein is stored as fat. In fact, if you are eating those high protein bars or drinking high protein shakes, chances are they contain way too much sugar and fat, a bad combination! Women need only about 46 grams of fat each day and men not much more than that.

2. Avoiding Fat, Even Healthy Fat

While it is true that some types of fat make you fat (French fries, cookies), your body needs fat in order to work properly. Healthy, natural fats are incredibly satisfying. They stay in your stomach much longer, which will make you feel full for a longer period of time and plant based fats, such as nuts and avocados, stimulate the production of appetite suppressing hormones. Studies show that plant fats can also increase your metabolism and are a great source of antioxidants. Try adding a bit of fat to each meal. Add half an avocado to your salad or omelet; put a handful of nuts into your morning oatmeal, and use olive oil/balsamic vinegar for salad dressings. Find out benefits of using avocados.

3. Emotional Eating

This is eating that you might not even be aware of. Many of us reach for food due to anxiety, anger, boredom, or happiness. Many people are brought up with food as a reward or as a consolation prize when you lost a big game or after a trip to the dentist. We go on dinner dates, bring food to funerals, birthday cakes, and holiday meals are all ways that food is socially acceptable, even if you aren’t hungry.

We wouldn’t want to suggest not having a celebratory dinner after something really successful happens in your life, those things are important, but if you could find non-food alternatives to even half of your life situations, you could probably lose weight without dieting at all. Instead of having the girls over for dinner or brunch, why not go for a walk in the park? Instead of a date that involves dinner and a movie, how about a day at the lake or the beach?

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4. Only Having Fruit Juice for Breakfast

Drinking only a big glass of fruit juice for breakfast is a big mistake. Fruit juice will raise your blood sugar dramatically, so your body will produce more insulin. Within an hour you will find that you are starving and you will eat more than you planned to later on. The ticket here is a bit of protein and fiber. Try oatmeal with some nuts or an egg on whole grain toast.

5. Excessive Alcohol

Everyone likes a nice after dinner drink, or a little Saturday night party time, but drinking tends to have a snowball effect. You have one drink, which loosens you up a bit and you think, one more little drink won’t hurt, and before you know it, not only have you had 3 or 4 drinks, but now you are hungry to boot. Alcohol, especially if you are drinking mixed cocktails, can contain hundreds of empty calories. When people stop drinking, they often find that the weight just falls off. Don’t believe it? Give it a try for just two weeks, or even 30 days and see if you don’t become a believer.

6. Living on “Diet” Food

When we say “diet” food, we aren’t talking fruits and veggies. We mean those prepackaged processed foods such as diet frozen pizzas or diet (no fat!) cookies. They don’t taste all that great and many people find that they aren’t really satisfying. Tell the truth, after eating one of those diet dinners, didn’t you feel like you hadn’t eaten anything at all about 30 minutes later? You will probably end up in the kitchen in front of your open refrigerator, nibbling on something, anything, so you will feel satisfied and in the process, consume a lot more calories than you intended. Eat fresh, whole foods, and cook from scratch. You won’t even feel like you are dieting when you are eating wholesome, home cooked meals!

7. Overeating

Too much of anything is not good for you, even if it’s healthy. For example, if you’ve decided to ditch your morning donut for oatmeal, that’s a great switch! However, if your morning bowl of oatmeal would fit in a gallon size container, that’s not such a good thing. No matter how healthy the food might be, you still need to practice portion control.

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8. Skipping Meals

This is an all-time dieter’s favorite that never, ever works. Going without eating tells your body that there is a sudden lack of food, so it goes into survival mode. Your body doesn’t know that there is food on every corner; it only knows you aren’t getting any, so it shuts down your metabolism as a matter of self-preservation. Second, chances are really good that when you do eat again, you are going to eat too much to compensate. Never let more than 4 or 5 hours go by without eating at least a little something. Keeping a baggie of nuts or a hard-boiled egg in your purse or pocket can be a lifesaver when you are hungry. Find out snack habits for healthy weight loss.

9. Focusing Too Much on Calories

Although calories are important, they aren’t everything. Studies show that when women paid strict attention to their calorie intake, they became overly stressed. Being stressed can make your body produce a hormone called cortisol, which makes your body store fat and makes you hungrier. Calories are important, no doubt, but don’t go so crazy that you bring a scale with you to be sure you are eating 300 calories and not 310.

10. Overestimating Your Weight Loss

It’s so exciting, when you first start a diet plan, and you see those pounds fall away like crazy. You start adding it up in your head, don’t you? “OK, if I keep losing 5 pounds a week then by summer I can fit into my old bikini!” Well, the first couple of weeks are a lot of water and carb loss, not necessarily fat. Be prepared for your weight loss to drop dramatically and plateau for a while before dropping by small bits. This is normal, even if it is depressing. Don’t’ focus so much on the scale! Think about how much healthier your body is now that you are eating right. The weight will come off in time.

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One Comment

Lara

Mar 13, 2015 at 12:40 pm

Hi Im Lara I was over weight and tried so many things. Different things work for different people and I was lucky enough to find one that worked for me. I lost 18 pounds in one month without much exercise and it’s been a life changer. I’m a little embarrased to post my before and after photos here but if anyone actually cares to hear what I’ve been doing then I’d be happy to help in any way. Just shoot me an email at [email protected] and I’ll show you my before and after photos, and tell you about how things are going for me with the stuff I’ve tried. I wish someone would have helped me out when I was struggling to find a solution so if I can help you then it would make my day