ieting is no fun for people who set themselves up to fail, when they start a new diet and then tumble right into one or more of the most common dieting pitfalls. Recognizing these pitfalls and learning how to avoid them can mean the difference between staying on track with your diet or falling back into your old, unhealthy eating patterns. So, avoid the traps below and start your calories loss diet the right way, enjoying a healthy weight loss that will be a welcome part of your lifestyle.
Making extreme changes to your daily menu is a common pitfall, especially on unreliable diets. If you start an eating program where you eat only one type of food and eliminate everything else it will be very challenging to remain committed to this diet. The modifications to your eating plan need to be introduced gradually and in a balanced way. This will mean that your diet will impact on your body in small ways and you will avoid the kinds of cravings that can tempt you to give up on your diet and fall back into unhealthy eating habits.
Setting unrealistic goals is tempting especially as, when you first start dieting, you might lose anywhere from five to ten pounds in the first couple of weeks. When that happens, of course you feel like the diet is great and you want that kind of weight loss to continue but most of the time early weight loss is all water weight. Real weight loss does not happen that fast. Experts say a healthy rate of weight loss is one to two pounds per week. So if you tell yourself that you want to lose ten pounds a week every week you are setting yourself up for disappointment. If you begin to feel disappointed and believe you are failing on your calories loss diet, you are more likely to give up on it and go back to your unhealthy lifestyle.
Eating food to celebrate your success is a very common social behavior and food is often at the center of celebrations both large and small. Drinks and nibbles on Friday night to celebrate a challenging week at the office is an accepted behavior. So if you are serious about your calories loss diet you need to either avoid these eating and drinking occasions or join in and enjoy the healthier food and drink options available. A glass or mineral water has way less calories than a beer! Another kind of celebration at the end of the week can include seeing a movie with friends (without the popcorn). Even something that will last longer like buying a new pair of shoes is a healthier way to celebrate without slowing down your weight loss.
