Diet blunders
How we think about food and our bodies are the real problems we need to face to successfully lose weight. Becoming aware of the mistakes we CAN make is the first step on the road to preventing diet blunders.
Use this checklist of diet blunders to assess how your attitude to eating measures up.
X = Blunder
1. Binge eating before going on a diet. X
2. Fasting or cutting calories to lose weight. This sends your body the message that you are starving, and your metabolism will slow down to preserve the fat you are trying to shed! X
3. Expecting to lose more than one to two pounds a week. X
Any more than this is simply the result of lost body fluids and valuable muscle tissue.
4. Skipping meals, especially breakfast. X
Eating regular meals prevents the dangerous �famine-then-feast� syndrome.
5. Skipping smart snacks. "Smart snacking" keeps your metabolism high and your appetite in check.
6. Going for salad but stacking up on cheeses, meats and pasta AND globs of fatty mayonnaise or salad dressings while thinking you are choosing the healthy option. X
7. Having an �on a diet� or �off a diet� / all-or-nothing mentality. X
8. Thinking of any food as �bad� or �forbidden.� X
Food is food - anything in excess is bad for you, anything in moderation is OK.
9. Not exercising at least 30 minutes, three times a week. X
Exercise is crucial for boosting your metabolism to more effectively burn calories.
10. Believing that when you shed the weight, you�ll be a different, better person. X.
11. Relying on diet pills, shakes or other products that promise miraculous weight loss. X
Remember, if it sounds too good to be true... it probably is!
12. Thinking of weight loss as something you HAVE to do, rather than something you WANT to do. X
13. Focusing on foods to avoid, rather than foods to include. X
14. Buying, preparing and eating your meals on the run. X
A hectic lifestyle prevents you from enjoying and feeling satisfied with the many good foods you eat.
15. Not reading and understanding labels. X
Just because it says 95% fat-free doesn�t mean that it is healthy. It COULD mean that it�s 95% sugar!
16. Failing to take charge, putting off till after the weekend/ holiday, after the next � stone goes on�.. X
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