Have you ever wondered why your diet just don't work? You eat less, you stay away from carbs and consume as little sugar as possible, but no weight loss, even a little? Maybe it's because you are following the wrong rules -- rules that get you gaining instead of shedding off some pounds!
Before jumping into another diet bandwagon, try to consider these 18 ways you are dieting wrong and you might just figure out why 'eating less' doesn't take you too far.
1. You vastly underestimate the number of calories you eat
"If you think a food is 300 calories, double it," suggests Amy Rothberg MD, PhD, director of the University of Michigan Weight Management Program. Of course you can't know the calories your food has, right? It is helpful to write down everything you consume-from drinks to food and the number of servings too, and if you don't know how much calories it contains, eyeball and double.
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2. You only count calories.
"The calorie model is a complete delusion," says David Lutwig, MD, PhD, an endocrinologist and professor of nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health as well as author of the book Always Hungry? Why? Let him count the ways: 1. Almost nobody is capable of accurately estimating how many calories their body burns and 2. Almost nobody is capable of accurately estimating how many calories they actually eat.
How to deal with it? Remember that the quality of what you eat is more important than the quality. A filling bowl of whole-grain oatmeal, for instance, will satisfy you more than a sugary 100-calorie cereal bar every time - even if the oatmeal contains a few more calories.
3. You treat fat like it's the Devil.
Though it's true that fats contain more calories than pure carbs and protein, fat is still an important component of your body for it to do its work. Also, experts believe that substituting everything with its low-fat version is the worst way of losing weight and keeping it off.
"When you cut out fat, you have to replace it with something else, so it's not a reduction in calories, it's just replacing calories from fat with calories from carbs and sugar," Dr. Rothberg explains.
It's been years since the juice diet fad, but the facts still remain true: "Juices are so high in sugar and calories that they're almost equal to cola," Dr. Rothberg says. And those "juice cleanses"? "There's really no such thing as a 'cleansing' drink," the expert added. Instead, drink up lots of water for your thirst and load up on fiber for the cleansing part.
17. You cut out carbs.
Because you think that carbs are only present in potatoes, pasta, bread and rice, you think that you can really get away from it. But, like fats, our body needs carbs, whether it makes you fat or not. The only way to make carbs your weight loss friend is considering the kind that you consume. Whole grains remain the best, but make sure that you eat it in its most natural form. "Most whole grains products are still processed," Dr. Lutwig says. When it comes to breakfast, oatmeal is a better choice than whole grain toast or cereal made with whole grains. And quinoa or brown rice beat whole wheat pastas.
18. You worry more about mealtime than bedtime.
Probably the most violated rule of weight loss is sleeping early or getting enough sleep. According to a study, sleep deprivation can sneakily lead you to eat an average of 549 more calories per day!
