Weight loss has become an American obsession. Spawning a multi-million dollar industry. This has also created many myths about the best way to lose unwanted fat. Here are a few guidelines to help you steer clear of these bad habits that may be not only slowing but down right preventing you from reaching your weight loss goals.
Starvation is one of the worst tools you could employee to help you lose weight and yet it is top on the list of common mistakes made. A common misconception is that lowering the daily calorie intake by shrinking your breakfast and lunch will help to speed the weight loss process. However, this just usually leads to the late night binge. It can also cause the body to be fooled into storing everything (in fat cells) because it can't be sure when the next nutritional intake will come. I found that it worked better for me to spread out my food intake throughout the day making my dinner the lightest meal of the day. Make sure that you also calculate in any snacks you may eat. I also tried not to eat minimum 4 hours before bed time but 5-6 were better.
Next on the list may not even be something that you would consider in your battle against cellulite. Where do you eat your meals? Like most Americans I ate in my car, quickly at the counter in my kitchen or in front of my television (or today it would be the computer). This type of erratic behavior tends to make it much more difficult to keep very good track of exactly how much your food intake really is. Not being attentive to your eating can lead to 100-200 extra calories that you consume that will definitely not aid you in your journey. I tried to focus more on what I was eating and designated a place where I took all my meals when at home. This helped me to prevent myself from eating for any other reason other than hunger. So put that book down and be aware of your eating as you eat.
We all know that protein is an essential part of our diets but did you know that slightly increasing your protein can help you lose weight? You see our bodies use energy to do everything even digest our food. As it turns out protein uses more energy in the digestion process than other food groups and this helps to reduce the total net calories that you actually retain. So basically eating less carbohydrates and fatty foods and more protein will cause your body to actually take in fewer calories.
Join the revolution to change how society associates the term "high-fat foods" with things like fast foods, ice cream, chips or chocolate. Rather, change your perception and view "fatty foods" as a necessary and pleasant evil needed in your diet but not the old "fatty foods". Replace these terrible choices with smart choices like avocados, nuts, olive oil or fatty fishes. These "good fatty foods" are needed in your diet to maintain healthy hair, skin and normal body functioning. Good fats will also help one to feel full longer thus reducing hunger and the need to eat. Less calories means more weight loss.
Fifth on my observations of mistakes seems to be that most people forget to factor in beverage calories. In today's age that could be a fatal error to your weight loss program. Beverages can add up. Many of the dressed-up coffee drinks and smoothies can total upwards of 400 calories per beverage. Food journaling can help with this problem and any weight loss plan in general.
In the game of diets and weight loss those who keep a set eating schedule have a higher ratio of winning the game and achieving their weight loss goals. I planned out my meals and then made sure that I stuck to the plan. This sure made journaling easy (LOL). I was able to stick to my schedule and keep records of the calories contained in each food. Dieting became an easy game that I couldn't lose at. I simply had to maintain my schedule and not let my caloric intake fall too low or risk lowering my metabolism (which I think is counter productive).
I guess the last problem that I have observed is again another association problem. Many Americans have the unhealthy connection of food to their favorite activities. Why has this become a problem? Well, mostly because America's past-times have become too sedentary. I don't think that it could ever be a good idea to pair eating with physical lethargy. We have to stop eating in front of the television, while reading a book or surfing the net. Food shouldn't be a hobby or even associated with one. The designated eating area will help to eliminate this.
I learned the hard way by falling into all the traps. So make sure that you don't end up like me, wasting time fighting yourself. I also want to remind you that exercise is also a vital part of any successful weight loss program but I will get into that more another time.......
