10 Weight Loss Mistakes Most Women Make

Think you’ve been doing all that you can to lose weight but are still not seeing any results? In this article, Beauty and Tips takes a look at 10 weight loss mistakes most women make.

Losing weight is hard, but it’s downright demoralising when you think you’re doing everything right but are still not seeing results. What gives? It’s like with anything in life that we try for the first time – you won’t necessarily get it right straight off the bat. There will be mistakes along the way. It’s just part of the process and there is no need to get too frustrated or give up! Although making mistakes can be hard to stomach, the good news is that, just as easy as it is to fall into the trap of making these errors, it’s also really easy to cut them out. Let’s take a look at 10 weight loss mistakes most women make.

You’re Eating Too Much Protein

“How can I be eating too much protein?” you might protest. “I’ve been told by countless blogs and experts to eat more protein if I want to lose weight, as protein builds muscle, repairs cells, gives me energy, gets my metabolism and keeps me feeling full for longer.” All this is true. But there is still such a thing as too much protein. A plate full of scrambled eggs, tofu, quinoa and soya beans? It’s stuffed with protein – and that’s not necessarily good for you. Why? Because your body can’t handle so much. If you give it too much, it will store the leftovers that it can’t use right now as fat. And that’s not cool. Women, on average, should look to consume around 46g of protein per day. Any more and you run the risk of making a rather glaring weight loss mistake.

Copying Your Friend

Hey, whatever is working for your friend and her weight loss goals will surely work for you too, right? Not exactly. This is one of the common weight loss mistakes many people make. While we can follow other peoples’ blueprints for success in certain areas of our lives, diet shouldn’t be one of them. Why not? Because everyone’s body is different. Find a diet that works for you, as opposed to a diet that’s working for someone you know.

Avoiding Fats

There are good and bad fats. And because good fats are a key nutrient that help you to feel full for longer, you shouldn’t spend your new diet marginalising them.

You’re Not Eating Enough Fruit And Veg

“But I eat my five a day!” you cry. Five a day is the bare minimum recommended amount. The problem is that most people aim for just five a day – and then stop. “Well, I got my five a day today, so I’m good. Pass the nachos, please!” Five a day is a good start. But it leaves way too much room for you to fill those corners with other, less healthy foods. If you want to maintain a healthy body weight, you need to up your game where fruit and veg is concerned. Nine per day is a good start, but why stop there? Aim for more and more! At the end of the day, you can’t really have too much fresh fruit and veg. The more you eat of the good stuff, the less you’ll eat of the bad stuff. It’s really easy to work more fruit and veg into your diet, too. Fancy a sandwich? Slip some cucumbers and tomatoes on there? Want scrambled eggs? Be creative and serve it on a bed of lettuce.

You’ve Still Got A Cheat Day

Another one of weight loss mistakes is to keep having regular cheat days. Is it okay to reward yourself every now and then with a treat? It sure is. Is it okay to have an entire cheat day? Unfortunately not. Cheat days are a bad concept, because the idea that we should spend all day hating our new diet while looking forward to cheat day means we’re still anchoring positive feelings to junk food – while anchoring negative feelings to fruit and veg. Kick cheat day to the curb and start changing how you look at good food.

Skipping Meals

Surely skipping a meal is a good thing, no? After all, you’re trying to lose weight, so it makes sense to skip meals. Wrong. The more meals you skip, the hungrier you’ll feel. This will lead to overeating. This is one of the most common weight loss mistakes.

You Eat The Same Food All The Time

You went on a new diet where you eliminated lots of junk and started eating lots of good stuff. At first, the results were excellent. You were actually losing weight! Then, you stopped losing weight, despite sticking to your new diet. What the funk?! Annoyingly, when we eat the same food over and over again, our body gets used to it. It begins to stagnate. You’re eating healthily, but you’re no longer losing weight. What you need to do is vary your caloric intake. Mix things up a bit. Surprise your body now and then with something different.

Counting Calories

Another one of often repeated weight loss mistakes is counting calories. What matters more? Counting nutrients. It’s not always how much you eat that’s important. What’s important is what you eat.

You Don’t Plan Ahead

A massive weight loss blunder you might be making is failing to plan your weekly meals. As the old saying goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. This is definitely true where dieting is concerned. Picture the scene: It’s Wednesday and you’re home late from work. You decide to check the fridge for something healthy to put together but … it’s empty! You forgot to get some groceries in! Exhausted and starving, you call a takeaway and order a juicy, cheese-strewn pizza. Not cool. To make sure you’re never caught short like this, always plan your weekly meals.

You’re Eating “Healthy Food” That’s Actually Bad For You

Check this list:

• Granola
• Energy bars
• Store-bought smoothies
• Store-bought salads
• Vitamin water
• Packaged fruit juices
• Noodles
• Canned soup

Recognise them? Thought they were healthy? Think again. These are just some foods that are secretly unhealthy – there are many more. Find out what they are and then kick them off your weekly shopping list.

Do you want to share other weight loss mistakes?

Stay happy and healthy!

from Beauty And Tips Magazine