Many people embark on a weight loss plan only to find that it does not work as expected and end up disappointed that they could not achieve their goals. So what could have gone wrong? Healthcare experts say that this happens because we unwittingly commit some small blunders. Here are some of the common fat-loss slip-ups that you need to avoid:
- Having a light breakfast: If you think that starving or eating less at breakfast and lunch is good strategy for losing weight, you couldn’t be further from the truth. Having a good breakfast is necessary as it gives you energy that you can burn off during the day. If you reduce calorie intake by skimping on breakfast and lunch, you would most likely end up having a heavy dinner and late night snacks to compensate.
- Lack of a proper eating schedule: The right way is to plan your schedule and evenly space your meals and snacks about 3-4 hours apart. This means setting the time you are going to have each meal as well as knowing what you are going to eat. With a proper schedule, you can track your calorie intake. This information will help you stick to your diet.
- Eating when you are actually not hungry: Prevent yourself from eating unless you are hungry. Try to avoid eating at the counter, sink or in the car. Set a place to eat as doing so will help you to monitor what you eat. One of the most common mistakes you can make is to club eating with sedentary activities like watching TV. You unknowingly pile up a lot of calories this way.
- Not eating enough protein: Protein increases satiety at meals, making you feel less hungry and you may end up eating less throughout the day. So make sure that your diet plan includes protein-rich food.
- Heavy food restriction: If you place too many restrictions on what and how much you eat, your food intake, it could lead to uncontrollable binging episodes. This can really upset your weight loss plan.
- You’re not taking steps to manage stress: When the body is stressed, cortisol levels reach an abnormally elevated level and make the body store fat. Even excessive training can also lead to stress, which in turn, increases body fat storage. Excessive stress can keep you from achieving your fat-loss goals even if you diet and exercise right.
If you are on a diet, make sure you are not committing any of these blunders. In case you are, make the necessary changes. Tracking the progress of your weight loss journey will keep you motivated to go forward.
