Despite many people's best efforts at dieting, frustrated dieters find themselves unable to lose weight.
This happens for many reasons, but some of the top reasons are explained below.
Mistake #1- Eating too fast It takes the brain twenty minutes from the start of eating to begin registering a feeling of fullness.
People who eat fast end up consuming more food in the twenty minutes than people who eat slower.
As a result, they take in more calories to feel full, or may overeat past the point of fullness before the brain sends the proper signals to stop.
Slowing down your eating allows you to enjoy the flavor while cutting calorie intake.
Mistake #2 Adding on calories While having a salad for lunch instead of a value meal at your favorite greasy burger joint may seem like a sensible decision, adding on a little extra dressing, bacon, or grilled chicken can sabotage your best efforts.
For example, one extra tablespoon of your favorite ranch dressing to your salad could add over 100 calories to your meal.
Most salad dressing serving sizes are only 2 tablespoons, so it may not even seem like your going overboard when you add your normal amount.
Chicken skin is also a very common mistake.
Eating chicken with the skin on can triple the amount of calories! Mistake #3 Liquid calories Having an extra glass of wine before bed, or drinking an extra cup of coffee with creamer before you start your day can add unaccounted for calories that will quickly add up.
Get in the habit of drinking water, and think carefully before you grab a glass of juice or have a smoothie.
While these things may seem healthy, they are still packed full of calories that can thwart your dieting efforts.
Mistake #4 Assuming healthy food is low fat Many people have the misconception that healthy foods are automatically low fat and low calorie.
This is not always true.
When you are shopping and see organic snacks, check the label before you throw them in the cart.
While buying organic is an excellent choice, organic foods generally have the same calorie content as their non-organic counterparts.
Nuts, olive oil and avocados, for example, are high fat foods.
A single tablespoon of olive oil contains 100 calories, and many recipes call for at least this much olive oil.
Mistake #5 Skipping Meals It would be easy to see why someone dieting may be tempted to skip breakfast or lunch as a quick way to cut calories.
While the immediate lack of calories may make you feel like you've gotten away with a break, the long term affects it has on your day can be worse than what the meal itself would have cost you in calories.
When we don't eat regularly, the body's blood sugar drops.
This increases cravings for sweets and other unhealthy choices.
Even if you can avoid the sweets, you are still likely to eat more than your fill at your next meal, and dump calories in your diet that cannot be burned efficiently.
This happens for many reasons, but some of the top reasons are explained below.
Mistake #1- Eating too fast It takes the brain twenty minutes from the start of eating to begin registering a feeling of fullness.
People who eat fast end up consuming more food in the twenty minutes than people who eat slower.
As a result, they take in more calories to feel full, or may overeat past the point of fullness before the brain sends the proper signals to stop.
Slowing down your eating allows you to enjoy the flavor while cutting calorie intake.
Mistake #2 Adding on calories While having a salad for lunch instead of a value meal at your favorite greasy burger joint may seem like a sensible decision, adding on a little extra dressing, bacon, or grilled chicken can sabotage your best efforts.
For example, one extra tablespoon of your favorite ranch dressing to your salad could add over 100 calories to your meal.
Most salad dressing serving sizes are only 2 tablespoons, so it may not even seem like your going overboard when you add your normal amount.
Chicken skin is also a very common mistake.
Eating chicken with the skin on can triple the amount of calories! Mistake #3 Liquid calories Having an extra glass of wine before bed, or drinking an extra cup of coffee with creamer before you start your day can add unaccounted for calories that will quickly add up.
Get in the habit of drinking water, and think carefully before you grab a glass of juice or have a smoothie.
While these things may seem healthy, they are still packed full of calories that can thwart your dieting efforts.
Mistake #4 Assuming healthy food is low fat Many people have the misconception that healthy foods are automatically low fat and low calorie.
This is not always true.
When you are shopping and see organic snacks, check the label before you throw them in the cart.
While buying organic is an excellent choice, organic foods generally have the same calorie content as their non-organic counterparts.
Nuts, olive oil and avocados, for example, are high fat foods.
A single tablespoon of olive oil contains 100 calories, and many recipes call for at least this much olive oil.
Mistake #5 Skipping Meals It would be easy to see why someone dieting may be tempted to skip breakfast or lunch as a quick way to cut calories.
While the immediate lack of calories may make you feel like you've gotten away with a break, the long term affects it has on your day can be worse than what the meal itself would have cost you in calories.
When we don't eat regularly, the body's blood sugar drops.
This increases cravings for sweets and other unhealthy choices.
Even if you can avoid the sweets, you are still likely to eat more than your fill at your next meal, and dump calories in your diet that cannot be burned efficiently.
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