You diet. You exercise. So why aren’t you getting results? Weight loss often seems like a confusing and unattainable goal that ends up taking second place to “more important” things. Unfortunately, we are barraged with endless myths and incorrect outlooks on how to properly lose weight in a way that is physically and emotionally healthy and sustainable. Start developing a new outlook on making weight management an achievable joy by avoiding these common mistakes:
1. Consuming Too Many Processed Foods
There are three major problems with processed foods: what is added, what is removed, and what is left. Additives enable food to sit on a supermarket shelf for several months without going bad. Fiber, vitamins, and minerals are removed or lost during the refining process. What’s left? Not much. Eating close to natural is the best way to ensure that your body is as healthy as possible.
2. Relying Only on Exercise
Exercise is a key component to healthy living and weight maintenance, but exercise alone won’t get the job done. Even if you are working out, you can’t just eat and drink whatever you want. If you take in more calories than you burn, you will still gain weight – no matter how much you work out. Think of weight loss as a triangle: One side represents exercise, one side represents food, and the other side represents self (or inner spirit). They all have to be balanced to sustain a healthy weight.
3. Going on a Diet
Going on any diet that involves a manner of eating that you can’t adhere to for the rest of your life is a waste of time. Most popular diets will make you lose weight if you stick with them. Whether you choose low carbs, no fats, high protein – whatever it is – if you follow the program, you will lose weight. The problem is if you go on a diet, eventually you are going to go off the diet. Your old habits will slowly return, and you gain the weight back. Total lifestyle change, not dieting sprees, will garner lasting results. Try taking a ridiculously low cost do-it-yourself approach to evaluating your eating habits and planning healthy meals. Check out our online nutrition program.
4. Drinking Your Calories
Liquids don’t stay long in our stomachs because they are easily digested. As a result, they don’t contribute to our feelings of fullness like solid foods. With large beverage cups, it is easy to get 200-300 calories in at a time, and caloric beverages have become a silent pitfall with Americans actually drinking 20% of their calories. Watch out for sugary and fattening drinks like sodas, specialty coffee drinks, and even juice.
5. Depending on Willpower
With the typical diet, we are required to repeatedly avoid foods that we love and show incredible self-restraint around other people who aren’t dieting. How many people truly have that type of unrelenting willpower, especially when life presents so many other challenges? Minimize your reliance on willpower by ditching the diet mentality and committing to smaller but meaningful permanent lifestyle changes.
