Are you guilty of making these dieting mistakes?

• Many people struggle to lose weight. Often, no matter what you do, the pounds just don’t seem to budge. Either that, or you’ve lost a significant amount already and have hit a wall in your progress. This can be so frustrating, especially when it seems like you’re doing everything right.

• However, there are some dieting mistakes that you may be guilty of making. In this article, we are going to cover some of the biggest dieting mistakes. Are you guilty of any of these? earning about  some of these faux-pas could be all you need to succeed in your weight loss goals.

Here are some things many people do which hinder their dieting progress.

Ignoring drinks

When people think of dieting, they often think of just limiting food intake. However, you don’t realise how many calories can actually come from drinks. Sugary drinks are a huge culprit for failed diets, and people often don’t realise that how calorific many drinks are. Starbucks frappuccinos can contain between 36 and 84 grams of sugar. So, with one drink, you can already exceed your daily recommended limit of sugar (around 30g). Alcohol can contain so many calories, a glass of wine could be up to around 140- so imagine what one night on the town could do to your progress!

Overestimating calories burned during exercise

Yes, exercising does increase the rate of metabolism and burn off fat, but not as much as you would think. Just a quarter of pizza can be around 449 calories, and that would take you about an hour and 23 minutes to burn off at the gym. Often, those trying to diet believe that a few hours in the gym can afford them all of the unhealthy snacks they desire- but this is simply not true. Unfortunately, diet is much more important to weight loss than exercise. This is not to say you shouldn’t exercise. Exercise is a super important way to keep healthy and shed a few pounds. However, it doesn’t burn off as many calories as you may think. Gymequipmentgb.co.uk provide an excellent “55 exercises you should try”, which we have embedded below.

Not reading food labels

There is so much misleading food packaging out there. Yes, that ready meal donned in green packaging with the words ‘healthy’ and ‘fresh’ all over it may seem promising- but take a look at the label. Often, by looking at the label- you can see that the foods promoted as diet-friendly are not quite that. Some ‘healthy’ products may have huge amounts of sodium, saturated fat or sugar. To prevent being misled, make sure you read the labels on whatever you buy, and try and stick to natural foods like fruit and veg. Cooking your own meals with simple ingredients is the best way to go, and makes food intake easier to track.

Skipping meals

Skipping meals is a big no-no for trying to lose weight. Although skipping meals may sound like the perfect way to cut down on calories, it will hinder your progress in the long run. Skipping meals will make you really hungry. Being really hungry, it is much more tempting to throw away your diet and overindulge. When we are hungry, our body craves fatty and often unhealthy foods to satiate our needs. If you’re out and about and feeling starving, it’s likely that that chocolate bar in the shop display will end up in your hands. Don’t skip meals. Instead, eat three balanced, healthy meals a day- and think of some healthy snacks that you can reach for when hunger strikes. This will prevent unhealthy snacking.

Not drinking enough water

Water is an excellent way to aid in weight loss efforts. Drinking plenty of water can help you feel full, making you less likely to look for unhealthy snacks.  Often, when you think you’re hungry, you’re actually just thirsty. It has been shown through scientific studies that drinking between 3 and 4 litres of cold water a day can help increase metabolism. That’s because the body uses some of its energy to heat up cold water for better digestion. Not only that, ample water supply helps remove waste from the body. If waste builds up due to lack of water, you will become bloated and tired. Bloating adds inches to the waistline and feeling tired leads to less active movement. Plus, if you’re low on energy- you are much more likely to reach for processed, unhealthy foods. Water is an essential component in the chemical reaction needed to burn fat, so make sure you’re reaching your daily water intake and always keep a bottle on hand. Check out How to use Green Coffee for weight loss

Eating bland, unappetising foods

Just because you’re dieting doesn’t mean that you cannot eat delicious, interesting foods. Many people punish themselves with the same boring salad every day and this is simply not sustainable. By eating an unappetising diet, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Eating lacklustre diet food can make you feel really down, and eventually, you’ll crack- reaching for the nearest pizza. There are plenty of meals you can make that are so tasty, you won’t even be tempted by unhealthy food. There are so many cool recipes online, and with a bit of research- you can find healthy meals that you’re actually excited to eat This allows you to keep up with your diet for longer; hopefully the rest of your life. Invest in some healthy herbs, and shop for some cheap fruit and veg at the local farmers market. You’ll be surprised at some of the amazing tasting things you can create.

To take away

Dieting is really easy. However, it can seem really hard- and that is often due to these completely fixable dieting mistakes. You can’t rely on exercise alone to shed the pounds. It’s all about a healthy, balanced diet of tasty and interesting foods, plenty of water and reading the labels of processed foods. Hopefully, having outlined some of the biggest dieting mistakes within this article- you’ll be on the way to reaching your goals. Good luck!