How To Avoid 10 Of The Most Common Diet Traps
Along with a new diet there comes a lot of change in your life. In order to accomplish your weight loss plan and avoid a new failure, you need to avoid these 10 common mindsets and diet traps.
10 Diet Traps And How To Avoid Them
Below you can find 10 of the most common diet traps and errors you might be doing, that are sabotaging your weight loss results.
1. Your Portions Are Too Big
Don’t let those hungry eyes dictate your meal size, just measure and weigh your portions. This is the simplest way to avoid overeating. You can get yourself a kitchen scale and some measuring cups to make sure your portions stay small, because chances are they are bigger than it should be.
2. You’re Not Paying Attention To The Foods You’re Eating
Here’s how much/less you should eat in a day:
- The amount of calories a women should consume in a day is around 2000. A men should get about 500 more calories than a woman per day.
- The amount of fat a women should consume in a day is around 70g (+ 20g saturated fats). A men should get about 95g of fat (+ 30g saturated fats) per day.
- The recommended daily intake of salt for women and for men is 6g.
- The recommended daily intake of sugars for women is 90g and for men is 120g.
3. You Feel Like Giving Up
When you’re in a long weight loss journey it’s really hard to stay motivated. You just need to get back on track and try to avoid losing your hope again. Find a partner and help each other to avoid giving up.
4. You’re Doing Less Exercise
When you’re dieting, one of the biggest diet traps is believing that abs are made in the kitchen. Abs are made paying the same amount of attention to your workout, as you pay to your diet. A healthy weight loss means a healthy diet + daily exercise. So try to do at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day.
5. You Skip Breakfast
If you want to live a healthy lifestyle, you should already know that breakfast is one of the most important meals of your day. Start your morning with a healthy breakfast like a spinach and parmesan omelet or a raspberry-banana smoothie.
6. You’ve Stopped Snacking
Whether you eat 5-6 small meals a day or just 3 meals bigger meals, it is essential for your health to eat when you are hungry. Keep healthy snacks besides you and grab them whenever you’re hungry to keep your blood sugar even.
7. You’re Not Eating Enough
Don’t cut back on calories too much and aim to lose a maximum of 2 pounds (1 kg) a week. Depriving yourself of meals will definitely slow down your metabolism and in the end you’re not gonna reach your weight loss goal.
8. You’re Not Getting Enough Vitamins
Getting the right nutrients and vitamins in your diet can truly make a difference in how you feel. So it’s demanding to consume a wide variety of different types of foods to get all the vitamins and minerals your body needs. Here’s where to start:
- Vitamin B is needed for the release of energy from the food we consume and can be found in green leafy veggies, dairy foods, whole grain cereals and fortified breakfast cereals.
- Vitamin D is needed for the absorption of calcium and phosphorus in the body and it can be found in oily fish, eggs and butter.
- Calcium is vital for the strengthening and growth of bones and can be found in broccoli, nuts, dried fruit and green leafy veggies.
- Iron is important for tiredness, fighting infections and improving mood. It can be found in red meat, dried apricots and dark green leafy veggies.
If you feel your body isn’t getting enough vitamins and minerals, you can think about taking some multivitamin supplements.
9. You Use Food As A Reward
More than 70% of people going on a diet reward themselves with food when they’re happy. If you really want to live a healthy lifestyle, consider rewarding yourself with a spa treatment, a manicure or a long bath, instead of food.
10. You’re Drinking Too Much
Drinking your calories is one of the most common diet traps but also one of the easiest to correct. Here are a few drinks loaded with calories:
- 250 calories in a large latte with milk;
- 90 calories in a glass of red wine;
- about 500 calories in a smoothie;
- 170 calories in a pint of beer.
Correcting this diet error is as simple as drinking a glass of water (which, by the way, has zero calories). Avoid high calories drinks like beer, wine, or fancy coffee and drink more water. Or make it really tasty by adding some fruits into your water with these homemade vitamin water recipes.
These are just a few of the diet traps you might fall into when trying to stick to a diet and achieve a healthier lifestyle. Avoiding these diet traps will help you make progress on your weight loss and dieting goals much faster!