Diet Pitfalls 2
Last week we discussed five diet pitfalls you may be
making. Here are four more diet pitfalls to be aware
of. These are from 9 Things You Should
Never Do When Starting a Diet. If
you are trying to take off a few pounds, be aware of some diet mistakes you
might be making. As I noted last week,
so many people start a diet, then go “off” the diet. Rather the focus should be on changing your
eating habits and your exercise habits. It is a lifestyle change to a healthier
you. Change your habits and you can be a healthier
you.
Diet Tips – Don’t make these mistakes (continued):
Mistake #6 – Don’t
Keep your Diet Goals a Secret
Hiding your “diet” from everyone may actually make it harder
to stick to it. Go out to eat and your
friends will keep asking you to “have another bite” or let’s try a
dessert. Get a “diet buddy” or an “exercise
buddy” to help you stick to your action plan.
When you are tempted to go off your plan, call your “diet buddy”. Have someone there to cheer you on. For many years I walked at lunch with 2 friends. We almost never missed – rain, we
walked. Snow, we walked. It really helped having friends to share the
walk with. So, find a “diet buddy” to
share your successes with and to help you through the tempting times.
Find a walking buddy |
Mistake #7: Exercise Yes, but Change Your Diet too
Exercise is so important in adopting a healthier
lifestyle. But exercise alone won’t take
off all the pounds. And choose the right
exercise. You want to add some strength training
to keep toned and to change that fat into muscle. Muscle burns more calories than fat so building
up some muscle will actually help you burn more calories all day long. Ladies – toning up is important for ladies
too. One doesn’t have to lift barbells
to be toned. Work with a personal
trainer and do some machines for your legs and some for your arms. At a recent family get together, I noticed how
toned my sister-in-law was. She said she
had been working with a personal trainer.
If you don't want to work out individually, join an aerobics class to not only tone but to burn the calories. Or add some walking into your day. At work, take a walk at lunch with friends. Walk around the office – go talk to someone
instead of sending an email. Build more
walking into your day.
Exercise |
Mistake #8: The Scale Isn’t the Only Measure of Your Weight
Loss Success
You may be adding muscle and losing fat, but the scale may
not show it yet. Muscle weighs more than
fat. You also want to focus on health
goals like lowering your blood pressure, getting your cholesterol in normal
limits. Focus on your overall health and
not just the number on the scale. Some
weight loss diets promise quick weight loss.
These quack diets can result in dropping a few pounds at first. But some
of this is water loss. Go off the quack
diet and the water is retained and you are back where you started. Focus on healthy lifestyle changes and your
health will improve, you’ll have more energy and the number on the scale will
also show results.
Mistake #9: Don’t Go ON A DIET
Stop the roller coaster ride of “on the diet” then “off the
diet”. One really shouldn’t go “off” the
diet. Your “diet” should be learning
healthier ways of eating. That is why Weight Watcher’s is such a good plan for
losing weight. They teach you better
eating habits and promote exercise. Once
you learn healthier eating habits, you won’t need to go “off” the diet as it
will be the way you eat everyday and not just on “diet days”.
We looked at 5 diet pitfalls last week. If you missed them, go here to read about them:
Diet
Pitfalls. What diet mistakes are you
making? Take one “mistake” or pitfall
and try to change it for one week. The
following week, work on another diet mistake or pitfall. Soon you will have changed a lot of pitfalls
and have developed healthier habits. If
you would like to read about more “traps” you may be falling into, check out 16
Diet Plan Pitfalls That Can Be Easily Prevented. Even more traps you may be falling into that
sabotage your healthy eating goals.
Last week we discussed diets that give up an entire food
group. So many people have given up
dairy. We need dairy for calcium and
vitamin D, not to mention the high-quality protein dairy provides. If you have given up dairy, time to add some
back to your diet. Bring a yogurt to
lunch every day this week. Good for your
bones, good for your gut and good for your overall health.
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