Have you been trying to lose weight but not seeing the pounds fall off quite as you had hoped? It’s normal—losing weight isn’t easy. There are a hundred temptations to break your diet, and exercise isn’t always easy to integrate into your daily routine. Plus, you may not even be aware of how some of your daily habits are working against you, despite your best efforts. Discover 25 factors that prevent you from reaching your weight loss goals, from drinking water, myths about exercise, rigorous diets, stress, and sleep!
1. Not drinking enough water
Water is your best beauty secret. Not only does it keep you hydrated and is great for your skin, but drinking water regularly helps you lose weight in a number of ways. Drinking water before a meal helps you control your portion size by making you feel full, and eating foods with a high water content cuts hunger faster and contributes to a fast metabolism. And most importantly, water is calorie-free!
2. Working out on an empty stomach
When you exercise too long after eating your latest meal, the calories burned come from muscle and not fat, which is counterproductive. What’s more, if you want to push yourself in your training, it’s important to have the energy you need. There’s a reason why marathon runners eat a giant plate of pasta before a race! If you’re exercising between meals, why not grab an energizing snack?
3. Completely eliminating food groups
Who hasn’t tried one of those fad diets that cuts all the carbs or fat out of your diet? Yet cutting out an entire food group can lead to nutritional deficiencies and create uncontrollable cravings. So instead of completely eliminating a food group, it’s better to learn how to limit your servings and better understand each food group. For example, concentrate on whole grains when you eat pasta or bread; they contain more nutrients than products made from white flour and will keep you feeling full for longer.
4. Not exercising enough
Exercise, though unpopular, is an undeniable part of weight loss. But walking to the station to go to work isn’t enough to make a difference, even though it’s better than nothing. To lose weight through exercise, you have to get at least 30 minutes of cardio on a regular basis. That’s right, you have to sweat the pounds away! There are plenty of possible activities you can do, depending on what you enjoy—jogging, alternately walking and running (highly recommended for weight loss), biking, speed walking, etc.
5. Eating too much health food
Some health foods are not necessarily great for your figure if consumed in large quantities. For example, nuts, avocados, olive oil, and dark chocolate are health foods that are full of essential nutrients, but they also contain high levels of calories and fat. For example, an avocado contains more than 200 calories. These foods should be consumed in moderation. Avoid too much of a good thing!
6. Not weight training
Yup, exercising means doing a complex variety of exercises, not just burning calories on the treadmill. It’s also important to build muscle, which replaces fat. That said, don’t worry too much if at the beginning, the needle on your bathroom scale doesn’t move much —muscle weighs more than fat. Losing fat won’t translate immediately into weight loss. However, your clothes will fit much more comfortably!
7. Not sleeping enough
Taking the time to do a healthy grocery run, preparing fresh, delicious meals throughout the week, and exercising regularly is time-consuming. It’s normal that you may have to give up other activities to make time. And all too often, that means sleep. But getting enough sleep is essential if you want to be in shape to train regularly. Moreover, a lack of sleep increases hormones that stimulate appetite.
8. Not eating enough fruits and vegetables
Fruits and veggies are important foods, especially if you want to lose weight. They let you fill up on important nutrients that keep you feeling healthy and fit. Plus, most are low in calories, so you can eat as many as you want. And they have all the fiber you need for a strong metabolism. It’s easy to integrate them into your routine—just add some fruit to your yogurt at breakfast, or have some veggies on their own as a snack, in a salad, on the side… Basically, there’s no reason not to eat fruits and veggies!
9. Eating standing up
Do you sometimes find yourself eating quickly while standing over the counter to save time? We’ve all done it, but it’s actually the worst position for eating! This bad habit can lead to a lack of awareness about the food you’re eating. In fact, eating quickly while standing gives your metabolism bad directions. It’s better to take the time to eat your meals and snacks sitting down. This will allow you to feel satisfied faster and therefore eat less.
10. Eating overly sweet or fatty condiments
Salads are often recommended when dieting, as they contain few calories and can constitute a full meal with the right ingredients. However, you should pay attention to what you put in them. A salad with a creamy dressing, nuts, and cheese doubles the calories you’re eating. Check the calories in the dressing and ingredients you put in your salads. This will let you better measure out your ingredients and be aware of possible substitutions.
11. Wearing baggy clothes
They say you should dress for the job you want, not the job you have, as this strategy keeps you focused on your goals. It’s the same thing for losing weight. Wearing clothes that are too big make you forget your goals by hiding what you don’t like. Without making yourself look like a sausage squeezed into super-small clothes, it’s better to choose wardrobe items that will encourage you to get rid of the weight you want to lose and keep you focused on your goals.
12. Not controlling serving size
A plate is big, often bigger than what you need in your stomach. How, then, do you know what quantity to eat during your meals? To maintain a balanced diet, it’s important to know how much constitutes a serving of a particular food. For example, a bowl of salad is not the same as a bowl of pasta; the serving sizes aren’t the same. Similarly, you should make sure to use measuring cups and spoons rather than eyeballing when you’re cooking, as your eyeball is rarely accurate.
13. Skipping breakfast
Skipping meals during the day is never recommended, but skipping breakfast is undoubtedly the worst idea when you’re trying to lose weight. Not eating after a night of fasting makes your body think it’s starving, and it in turn works hard to conserve your fats as long as possible—your body goes into survival mode! Studies have shown that people who eat a good breakfast full of protein lose weight more easily. Fruit, yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, and almond butter are your best friends in the morning!
14. Eating in front of the TV
It’s now well known that spending hours in front of the TV brings a whole host of negative effects for the mind as well as the body. Eating in front of the TV means eating without being aware of what you’re eating or how hungry you are. That’s why it’s important to eat when you won’t be distracted, and to eat your meals at the table! Along the same lines, make sure to pick a healthy snack for movie nights—fruit, nuts, popcorn without butter, etc.
15. Not cutting up your food
Large bites are your worst enemy. They digest poorly and slow down your metabolism. The solution? Cut your food into small bites that are easier to chew. It may seem silly and childish, but it’s a boon for your digestive system, which has its job cut out for it when you eat. Moreover, studies have shown that human beings are more satisfied with small servings. The result is that you’ll feel full with less food.
16. Drinking your calories
Drinking sugary beverages like pop, juice, and alcohol is one of the worst habits when you’re trying to lose weight. They’re high in calories and have no nutritional value. Plus, although they contain a lot of calories, they don’t satisfy your hunger, so you still have to eat a meal, which doubles the calories you ingest. Sugarless pop isn’t any better—studies have shown that people who drink diet beverages have a harder time losing weight, and companies add a bunch of chemical ingredients.
17. Not eating enough
Often, people don’t eat when they’re hungry in order to lose weight. But denying yourself too often will lead to uncontrollable cravings between meals. It’s not a good strategy if you want to lose weight and keep it off in the long term. Plus, this habit is terrible for your metabolism, which needs energy. The secret to weight loss is in the choice of foods you put on your plate and listening to your body instead of your cravings.
18. Being too stressed
Stress is the enemy that eats away at you during the night! But you have to learn how to get a handle on it. Studies have shown that stress is extremely detrimental to weight loss, inspiring the expression “eating your feelings.” It’s important to take some time for yourself and do activities you enjoy. In particular, dancing and shopping are great for burning calories! So stop feeling guilty and thinking that taking time for yourself is a luxury.
19. Eating too much “low-fat” food
“Light” products are ubiquitous on supermarket shelves—yogurt, crackers, and cheese all have low-fat versions. But these products are often deceiving, since companies often compensate by adding more sodium, sugar, or chemical additives. Since they’re less nutritional, you often feel like eating more. Learn how to read and understand the nutritional information on the packaging.
20. Being too strict
To lose weight and keep it off in the long term, your diet can’t be too difficult or impossible to follow. Eating a grapefruit for breakfast, a salad without dressing for lunch, and steamed fish for dinner can get boring pretty quickly. It’s okay to let yourself have a treat every now and again without feeling guilty. If you let yourself have some chips or a piece of cake Friday night, you don’t have to starve yourself Saturday. As long as it’s not every day!
21. Eating poorly after working out
There’s nothing wrong with having a snack after a tough workout. In fact, your body often needs to recover some energy after burning calories. However, your snack shouldn’t exceed 150 calories. Fruit is a great option, since it will give you the energy you need to continue your day. Contrary to popular opinion, a lot of fruit is nourishing enough to get you through to your next meal. A handful of nuts is another good solution.
source : http://www.msn.com/en-in/health/fitness/
