If you're a veteran of the weight-loss game, you've tried a good number of diet plans by now. If none of these plans have worked, it's probably because you've committed one or more of the "diet sins" described below. If you avoid these mistakes, there's a great chance you'll lose weight — and keep it off — at last.
Diet Sin #1: Thinking your food choices are healthy. It's easy to believe your food choices are healthier than they are. For example, you might think that a can of vegetable soup is as nutritious as a plateful of vegetables — without considering how few vegetables are actually inside the soup. Or you might substitute fruit juices for whole fruits, when in fact most fruit juices are full of sugar and don't give you near the same level of nutrients. Solution: Whenever possible, eat fresh, unprocessed foods. Don't assume a product is healthy, even if it's in the health-food section of the supermarket. Read all labels carefully.
Diet Sin #2: Eating all your carbohydrates in the final meal of the day. Your body requires carbohydrates, so you should keep them in your diet. Complex carbohydrates can even encourage weight loss by making you feel full longer. But if you include too many carbohydrates in your final meal of the day, you will slow your weight loss. Solution: Eat most of your carbs in the morning. During this part of the day, a greater portion of your carb intake is stored as muscle glycogen rather than as body fat.
Diet Sin #3: Eating extreme amounts of protein. You should indeed eat more protein while dieting, but don't take this to extremes. The extra protein is likely to be stored as fat. Solution: As a rule of thumb, eat no more than one and one-half grams of protein per pound of body weight per day when dieting.
Diet Sin #4: Overestimating how much food your body needs. Many people believe they can eat larger portions if they eat food that meets the guidelines of their diet. This will only slow weight loss, or eliminate it entirely. Solution: Remain conscious of portion sizes. Weigh and measure standard portions, so you'll know what these amounts look like. Never use restaurant portions as your guide, as restaurants tend to super-size everything.
Diet Sin #5: Not eating enough or often enough. While overeating and undereating may seem contradictory, they are related. If you don't eat at regular intervals throughout the day, you risk disrupting your blood sugar and insulin levels, which can promote fat storage and lower your metabolism — both of which lead to weight gain. Solution: Eat something every four hours, and never let yourself "starve" from one meal to the next.
Diet Sin #6: Skipping breakfast. Many people think they must stop eating to lose weight. Accordingly, they often skip breakfast — and by 11 a.m. they're so hungry they gorge themselves. Solution: Understand that your body can't run on empty. Eating a healthy breakfast is vital.
Diet Sin #7: Eating late at night. It's unwise to go to bed on a full stomach. Moving around helps digest food and burns calories. Solution: Have your final meal at least three hours before you retire, as you need at least this amount of time to digest properly.
Diet Sin #8: Taking too many dietary supplements. A vitamin pill is meant to complement your diet, not act as a stand-in for foods you don't eat. What's more, taking too many vitamins can end up sabotaging your health. Solution: Take no more than one all-purpose multivitamin daily. Don't supplement your diet with individual nutrients without the guidance of a doctor, nutritionist, or other health expert.
Diet Sin #9: Excluding exercise while dieting. Most people believe dieting is all about food. In fact, it's about how your body uses food. Without adequate exercise, you can't maintain a high enough metabolic rate to burn your food efficiently. Solution: Make exercise a regular part of your life. Try to fit it in every single day, no matter how briefly.
Diet Sin #10: Loading up on calories after a workout. Working out increases appetite. As a result, people often overestimate what they've burned in order to justify a splurge. Certainly, you may have to increase your caloric intake to fuel your workout. But for most workouts, this will amount to only a modest amount per day. Solution: If you are exercising to lose weight, remember that weight is only lost when you burn more calories than you take in.
Finally, keep this in mind: People often get discouraged when they slip up while dieting — a feeling that can prompt them to drop the diet altogether. It's important to remember that a mistake isn't the end of your weight-loss effort — it's just part of the process. The important thing is to learn from your diet mistakes and make the adjustments you need to succeed.
