It can be hard to break old habits and this can be a bad thing when it comes to your weight-loss efforts. Nobody is perfect though. According to Dietitian Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, LD of the Weight Loss Clinic, recognizing our bad eating habits will empower us. Then it will be simpler to break them. Below are 3 common eating mistakes that can lead to weight gain.
You Add on Extra Goodies with your Carrot Stick
Sometimes, a carrot is simply a carrot. However, for a great deal of us, it’s a bright orange, crunchy vehicle for dipping into herbed rank, blue cheese or creamy peanut butter. After your 6th or 7th dunk of that yummy dressing, you have just consumed a whole lot of fat, salt and calories. True, peanut butter is great for getting that protein; however, each tablespoon of it is almost 95 calories. Not to mention, two tablespoons of that delicious dressing is packed with almost 150 calories and 15 grams of fat.
You Hoard Calories
Sure, you can achieve weight loss by cutting calories, however if you leave those calories for the day’s end, your hunger hormones will go on overdrive leading you to consume more food. Instead, front-load those calories. When you overeat in the evening before bedtime, you don’t wake up as hungry in the morning. If you create this habit, you can lose interest in breakfast which leaves you starving by dinnertime. You need to instead, balance your day out so you don’t leave yourself wanting to binge at night. Cut your nighttime meal in half so you can get back your appetite in the morning. Make sure you eat a hearty breakfast that consists of around 450 calories which should keep you hunger free until lunchtime.
You Crash Diet
You might think you can slash your calories significantly to fast track your weight loss, however, this is likely to backfire on you. It is recommended by nutrition experts not to go below 1200 calories a day as it can slow down your metabolism temporarily if you crash diet for over 2 weeks. Therefore, as you continue this crash dieting cycle, you actually end up with less weight loss over time. This is because your body conserves energy to stop you from losing the weight too fast. Also, when you cut your calories drastically, you also lose muscle. A better goal would be to target a weight loss goal of around a pound a week. This will ensure you are only losing fat and not muscle.
Also, ditch the kid snacks, since your children’s foods can tempt you. Most are highly processed anyway and your body digests them too quickly which leaves you craving more. Instead, include family-friendly snacks which are not loaded with fat. Foods like berries, grapes, air-popped corn with a little Parmesan cheese are good snacks. If you have cut out your bad eating habits and still can’t seem to lose the weight, you might want to look into services like Clinique Michel Gagner for surgery options. Dr. Michel specializes in bariatric surgery which might be a good option if you are struggling.
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