In hustle culture, we don’t have time for cooking meals and eating healthy. While completing your work ahead of the given deadline, the only food option that comes to your mind is processed and unhealthy food, including pizza, burger, chips, dips and so on. Neither of which is homemade or unpreserved! An obesity epidemic has resulted as a result of this! After hearing this, we only think of starving ourselves and getting rid of that extra pound on our bodies. But dieting is not the same and works differently for everyone. Here are ten dieting mistakes that you need to avoid!
10 Dieting Mistakes To Avoid
1. Losing Weight & Not Fat
The most common mistake that we all commit is focusing on losing weight. The weight of the human body is influenced by various factors like fluid fluctuations, water retention, food in your system, etc. If you are focusing on weighing scales and losing weight, then be aware — you might be losing muscle weight! And this is even worse. Instead of that, you can take a measuring tape and measure yourself. This will help you track fat loss.
2. Miscalculating Calories
When you continually give your body fewer calories than it needs to sustain calorie expenditure, a calorie deficit occurs. To lose weight, a calorie deficit must exist. This suggests that you need to expend more calories than you consume. However, we often miscalculate the calories needed to consume. Consuming too many calories will prevent weight loss and consuming too few calories will reduce your metabolism.
3. Relying On Crash Diets
The market is filled with innumerable diet options that give you false hopes of losing weight in a specific time. Additionally, you will get a lot of fancy diets too like the keto diet, paleo diet, and so on. These crash diets make you cut off more calories than your metabolism can handle. In fact, they can mess up your entire digestive system! So, if someone tells you that you can lose weight in just one week or 14 days, remember it ain’t gonna happen. Instead of that, you can add unprocessed and home-cooked food items to your diet.
Also Read: Harvard Diet: What It Is & How You Can Create Healthy & Balanced Meals For A Longer Life
4. Not Snacking At All
Let’s face it — snacking is not unhealthy! In fact, having a small amount of snacks at particular intervals of time helps reduce uncontrollable hunger. And though many of us are guilty of indulging in unhealthy snacks, you can switch them with something healthy. Snacking between meals provides energy for several hours. Eating fruit between meals will prevent overeating.
5. Not Drinking Enough Water
Our bodies need water because it helps to control our body temperature. In addition to this, it is responsible for flushing out toxins from the body. And besides hydrating your body, water helps in digestion too. But most importantly, water is way better than the sugary carbonated drinks that we prefer. So, try carrying your own water bottle while taking a stroll in the park. That way you won’t feel the need to buy any other drink!
6. Skipping Meals
One of the worst dieting mistakes is skipping meals, whether it’s breakfast or dinner. Prolonged fasting or skipping meals can harm your body and mind’s functioning. First, your blood sugar level will drop. You will start to feel dizzy and sluggish and may pass out. When you don’t eat, your body enters a fasting state, also known as starvation mode, when your brain signals your body to slow down certain processes in order to conserve energy and burn fewer calories. As a result, the weight loss you were looking for can be delayed, and you’ll probably put on weight once you resume regular eating.
7. Trying To Cut Back Everything You Love
We have our favourite dishes that we love to eat and can’t possibly give up on. And you shouldn’t! When you give up everything, you will crave it more. And may end up consuming it more. So, instead of avoiding it entirely, try limiting it to twice a week or once a week according to your preference.
8. Uncontrolled Eating On Cheat Day
After following your diet for six days in a row, the seventh day calls for a treat. And that’s what we call ‘cheat day’! However, it doesn’t give you a free ticket for scarfing down too much. On cheat days, you can include one or two of your favourite dishes in a moderate amount. This way you will be satisfied without disturbing your diet.
9. Binge Eating
Currently recognised as an official diagnosis, binge eating disorder (BED) is a form of eating and feeding disorder. It affects around 2% of people worldwide and can result in further dietary-related health problems like high cholesterol and diabetes. Even if what you are eating is healthy, anything out of proportion is harmful! So, consuming a moderate amount of food is a must.
10. Trying To Achieve Unrealistic Goals
Having a goal fixed does help you in achieving it. However, it should be realistic and approachable. An unrealistic goal is not only unapproachable but also discouraging. This can make you doubt yourself and lead to giving up on weight loss.
Finally, we are super conscious about our bodies and the body standards set by celebs and socialites make it even more frustrating. Instead of focusing on them, the priority should be on making healthy food choices and exercising. And make sure you lose fat and not weight!
Also Read: What Is Custard Apple? Here Are A Few Benefits & Ways To Include This Tropical Fruit In Your Diet!
Comment below and share dieting mistakes to avoid according to you!
Cover Image Courtesy: Canav