On paper, it looks like you’re doing everything right; you’ve eliminated cookies, you’re hitting the gym, and you’re eating salads for dinner.
But those numbers on the scale aren’t budging, and your jeans are just as tight as they were last month, so what gives? We tend to think of dieting and weight loss as a zero-sum game; by taking away the “bad” aspects, only the “good” can remain, which ought to have a positive effect on our weight and lives.
It isn’t always this straightforward, and those “good” choices you’re making might really be sabotaging your goals.
1. Your mindset is too narrow and restrictive
The first barrier to overcome is one that can derail weight loss goals before you even begin, and it has to do with perception. If you always approach weight loss as a diet, you may enter with a narrow mindset about what will be eliminated and everything you’re giving up until you lose those last five pounds.
Instead, think of this as a chance to incorporate better choices into your life. Otherwise, you’ll find your crash diet crashing around your ears. If you are altering what you eat so drastically that you are incapable of following it in the long run, then there is little point in sticking to it to begin with, Michael Dansinger, MD, and physician for The Biggest Loser, explained to WebMD.
It is easy to see why, as diets with strict rules, or that cut out entire food groups completely — like fad diets — have a low retention rate. Your best friend may be able to fathom giving up chicken wings and all other meat for the rest of their lives, but that doesn’t mean you can.
On the flip side, you might be able to forgo potato chips, but your vegetarian friend enjoys them with lunch almost every day. What is important is to find the balance that works for you; where one person sees an impossibility, another sees great potential.
Instead, Keri Gans, MS, RD recommends small changes over a period of time. ”Try to gradually incorporate new habits over time,” Gans said on WebMD. “Before you know it, you will be eating more healthfully and losing weight.”
2. You’re overdosing on fruit
Too much of a good thing is not a good thing. Just like you don’t want to go overboard on the chocolate chip cookies, you don’t want to have too much fruit in your diet. Fruits certainly have many health benefits, and are important sources of vitamins and nutrients. However, they can also have a lot of sugar, and in the end are still a source of calories in your diet.
“While fruits are nutritious, too much of even a healthy food can lead to weight gain,” Loyola University Health System registered dietitian Brooke Schantz said in a press release. “The key is to remember to control the portion sizes of the foods you consume.” Calories count, even when they come from a healthy, fruit-based source.
“I have had many patients tell me that they don’t know why they are not losing weight,” Schantz said to illustrate her point. “Then they report that they eat fruit all day long. They are almost always shocked when I advise them to watch the quantity of food they eat even if it is healthy.”
3. You always eat on someone else’s schedule
By now, you’ve probably had massive amounts of contradictory advice hurled at you about when to eat. You could read in one diet book to eat six times a day, find advice online to never eat past 8 p.m., and then see in a magazine you should always eat breakfast within an hour of waking up.
None of that matters though if you are avoiding food when you’re hungry, or forcing yourself to snack when you have no appetite. Following a schedule for eating that doesn’t adhere to your actual cravings isn’t going to help you lose weight, or adhere to a healthier diet.
“For a healthy weight, it’s important to learn to recognize your internal hunger cues and respond to them; so if you’re hungry, eat — but if you’re not, don’t,” Kerri-Ann Jennings, MS, RD told the Cooking Channel. While that is certainly more vague than eat every 3 hours, in the long run you’ll be able to find the solution that works for you.
4. You let “low-fat” be a synonym for healthy
There certainly are some low-fat food options that are the better choice, but no one can assume that this is always the case. Take peanut butter for example. The low-fat option may be your automatic go to, but as Katherine Brooking, MS, RD told Cooking Light, this practice needs to be re-evaluated. It is important to read the labels of both the low-fat and regular version to determine which is the smartest choice for your health.
“Both regular and reduced fat peanut butter contain about the same amount of calories, but the reduced fat variety has more sugar,” Brooking said.
“Regular peanut butter is a natural source of the “good” monounsaturated fats.” By selecting the low-fat option, you’re increasing your sugar and missing out on “good” fats.
Plus, just like with fruit, it is easy to fall into the trap of over-consumption because it is a “healthy” item. “People tend to give themselves the freedom to overeat ‘healthy’ foods,” Schantz said.
“While the label might say that a food or beverage is low-fat or fat-free, watch the quantity you consume and refrain from eating an excessive amount. Foods that carry these health claims may be high in sugar and calories.”
5. You eat too little
Not eating enough calories has serious health implications. Every person’s daily caloric needs vary based on weight, age, and activity level. Tools online are available for you to calculate how many calories you need, and you can always consult with your physician.
You never want to reduce your caloric intake to a dangerous level, which can cause hair loss, brittle bones, swelling in your joints, anemia, and other health complications.
So you gain a handful of health problems, and as Kristie Leong, MD, told Waldo County General Hospital, you won’t find it beneficial for weight control.tinyurl.com/lbaep83
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