Every single one of us who sets out to diet intends to lose weight.
We're smart people who make some bad choices along the way, about what we put in our mouths.
We know that dieting will help us bring our eating habits back into control and we're resolved that this time we're going to diet and we're going to do it right! Yet, each time we diet, we make mistakes.
Often, we make the same mistake more than once! Here are a few of the most common dieting mistakes and how to avoid making them.
Mistake #1 - Telling Everyone Everyone will tell you that the only way to successfully change your habits is to tell everyone about it.
The problem with that is that when you tell people you're on a diet, everyone has an opinion on how to lose weight the "best" way.
And everyone will tell you that opinion.
And then they will check up on you to see if you're doing it their way.
And your diet will no longer be yours.
It will belong to everyone.
You'll be frustrated.
You'll be annoyed.
And you'll eat things you shouldn't.
Quick Fix: Don't Tell Anyone Nobody needs to know you're on a diet.
Unless you're on a radical diet that prohibits you from eating foods commonly found on a table or in a restaurant (and that really shouldn't be the case), you should be able to moderate the food you put in your own mouth without hearing about it from other people.
If anyone asks, why you want the dressing on the side of your salad, say you're just being more careful.
Nobody needs to know your plans and nobody needs to know your ups and downs.
Mistake #2 - Diet With The Zeal of a Zealot We've all had moments where we have resolved to do better with our eating habits, but sometimes, we have those moments where we say, "This is ABSOLUTELY it.
No more.
" And we clean out the cabinets and the fridge before our resolve wears away.
We throw out everything that could possible tempt us to stray from the monk-like regimen we've created in our mind that will make us thin and gorgeous in just two short weeks.
We will eat NOTHING that is not good for us.
NOTHING at all.
Quick Fix: Get Real Nobody can live like that, except possibly the monks, but they've been doing it for a long time.
You cannot expect to realistically change your eating habits overnight and you cannot expect that you can go from an indulgent lifestyle to one where you don't allow yourself ANY slack.
That is just a setup for failure.
Build treats into your diet.
Allow yourself a piece of dark chocolate or a chocolate covered strawberry every now and then.
You are not perfect.
Don't expect to eat like you are.
Mistake #3 - Overlooking the Liquids Dieters often overlook the obvious - for obvious reasons.
If you start your morning with a glass of juice and a latte, you're packing in the calories, before you've even eaten anything! Add a protein shake after your workout, and you've probably sucked up more than half of your allotted calories for the day.
Quick Fix: Just drink water If you have a hankering for some flavor, drink herbal tea.
Eat your protein and your fruit instead of drinking them.
They'll feel like real calories that way and you'll get all the added benefits of the fiber and nutrients they'll add to your daily diet.