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1. Eliminating Fat
The whole “fat myth” is the biggest diet mistake people make! You NEED healthy sources of fat for essential body functions, sustained energy, and to slow digestion. It also reduces belly fat and lubricates your joints.
America obesity levels have nearly doubled in the last 40 years – yet food manufacturers have introduced more low fat/fat free foods than ever before. The problem is that most of these foods are full of sugar and trans-fats which are harmful to your health.
Including healthy fats in your diet, however, will actually help you lose belly fat, so don’t avoid them!
2. Reducing Calories Too Much
Dramatically reducing calories will cause you to lose a lot of weight, but mostly body muscle, which will slow your metabolism. This is known as YO- YO dieting.
When you resume your normal diet – WHAM! You get fat since your metabolism is slower. Small reductions in calories or changes in food are best.
3. Eating Too Much Healthy Food
Eating too much of anything will eventually make you fat. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re eating healthy when all you eat is fruit. I know a lot of overweight vegetarians. Eating healthy food in excess is not OK. At the end of the day, a calorie is a calorie, and you still need to eat slightly less than your body needs to burn fat.
4. Consuming Alcohol
Many people don’t realize that alcohol is a major contributor to weight gain and think of booze as “free” calories. I’ve seen this especially with red wine, but some of the hard liquors and cocktails are even more calorie dense.
Alcohol becomes your body’s choice of fuel when you drink. Be sure to limit your intake, avoid drinks with added juice, and include the calories in any alcohol you consume as part of your daily calorie count.
5. Eliminating Carbohydrates
Carbohydrate-free diets are popular because of the immediate and dramatic weight loss that occurs. If you are trying this diet, don’t panic if you feel like crap at first, your body is going through a withdrawal period.
If you are concerned, increase your intake of green veggies which contain quality carbohydrates needed for brain function and energy. Healthy, complex, and fibrous carbohydrates are needed as part of any successful diet regimen.
6. Eating Infrequently
In order to turn your body into a fat-burning machine, you need to eat the right foods frequently throughout the day. Five or six smaller meals are needed to keep the metabolism running strong and keep your energy levels consistent.
Three meals just isn’t enough. Try grazing instead of gorging.
7. Portion Sizes – The tradition of dinner being the largest, and most caloric, meal of the day is the kiss of death for almost everyone.
Your food intake should be scheduled around your activity levels across the day – planned around when your body needs the most fuel. So breakfast should be the largest meal of the day and dinner the smallest.
Why eat a huge meal and then go sit on the couch?!
8. Skipping Breakfast – This is a big one! Breakfast is the meal where you “fill up the tank” for the long journey ahead. It breaks your fast after sleeping 7 or 8 hours.
It gets our metabolic machinery running and sets the body’s course for the rest of the day. Without it, your body is literally running on fumes and not your peak metabolic burn.
Be sure to include quality carbohydrates(vegetables), healthy fat, and protein in modest amounts to get the day started right.
9. Too Much… Too Soon
A major reason most people fail on their diets is when they become so excited about starting, they give up all of their favorite foods and completely change the household diet based on some guru’s advice.
This will backfire as you need to slowly acclimate yourself into a new eating lifestyle. Otherwise, the outlook of a completely new diet strategy will be overwhelming and you will inevitably give up.
Start making more informed choices about each meal every day, one week at a time. After a month, you will have changed your diet drastically without the shock of a complete 360.
10. Skipping Exercise
With only 15% of Americans on a regular exercise program, but over 75% of people admitting to being on a diet, there is clearly a disconnect between diet and exercise.
The two work hand in hand. Trying to lose and maintain weight without including exercise in your program is a huge mistake – and sets you up for failure.
You may not like to exercise, but if you want to lose weight and keep it off, you simply have no choice.
But what do you think?
Have you made any of these mistakes?
Any that I may have missed?
I’d love to hear your stories…so start spilling!
Dr. Fitness "Max" 904.236.5858 (text or call)