Losing weight sometimes can be tiring, frustrating and rough. We might be thinking that we are doing all the right things and not getting the desired results. Here are 6 of the mistakes people make while losing weight.
Falling for Short Term Gimmicks
In today’s world, fitness is a multi-million-dollar business. Here, countless fad diets are promoted, and many false promises are sold. Fad diets continue to be incredibly prominent and popular in the area of weight control, regardless of their scientific foundation or lack thereof. However, to lose weight quickly, people often fall for such diets. Research shows that many fad diets are nutritionally imbalanced, with worse diet quality ratings, especially when macronutrient composition is prioritized above micronutrient consumption. Not just that, some fad diets are difficult to maintain owing to boredom, monotony, expense, and unsociable eating patterns, and consumers are blamed if they are unable to adapt to the fad diet’s excessive expectations, resulting in a decrease in self-esteem and body image (1) (2). Furthermore, people, who adhere to such fad diets frequently regain the weight (3). Sometimes they even gain more than they lose (4).
Setting Unrealistic Goals
Unrealistic goals simply mean goals that are difficult to attain or least doable. Moreover, they are mostly ‘will power’ focused. Many of us have done this mistake, right? One fine day, we feel like, “oh I am going to change, I will start doing this and that or not doing this and that”. When we set such goals, and could not fulfil, we will get disappointed. We feel like we cannot do anything, right? In the excitement, we set such goals, however it is crucial to assess your reality, possibilities and focus on taking small but long-lasting steps. Take assistance from health care professionals, they are there to support! Seek peer support! Make your environment as such that it encourages you to choose healthier lifestyle.
Eliminating Entire Food Category
Many popular diets ask us to eliminate some foods or food groups entirely! Unless there is a solid health or other reason to eliminate some foods or food groups, we should be eating every food groups. It’s also equally important that our eating pattern is culturally suitable. You may have heard some people saying, ‘Do not eat rice, it makes you fat.” Or ‘Do not eat peanuts, it has a lot of fat in it’ etc. Some people entirely remove gluten without having a solid reason. Well, there are many examples. While focusing on macronutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, those people often ignore micronutrients. Most of them also do not honor hunger cues. Unlike what we often here in social media, neither carbohydrates nor fats are our enemies. A well balanced and proportionate meal including all macronutrients and micronutrients is absolutely possible and healthy too.
Not Being Consistent
The biggest mistake we make while losing weight is not being consistent. Take an example, if you are a student and you just study first month of your degree, will you get your degree? No, right? Why? Because there is no consistency. To be knowledgeable and get a degree, one should study during the whole year or years with consistency, need to complete assignments and appear to exams.
One reason that we fail to be consistent with your actions is focusing too much on result. Often, we forget to enjoy the process and honor small growth steps. We tell ourselves that we aren’t very close to accomplishing our goals instead of reminding ourselves of the little wins we make each day. Thus, it is better to focus on one thing at a time and taking mini steps towards your goal. Identify the areas that you can do more. Take Professional Help! We can help you, if you would like. Here is the link: https://sataahar.com/services/
Eating ‘Healthy Foods’ in Higher Quantities
Undoubtedly, we should eat more of healthier options rather than nutrient poor foods. However, if we consume more than our needs (even the healthier foods), it is more likely that we still gain you extra kilos. We have seen many people categories foods as ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ and thinking that healthy foods are healthy no matter how much we eat, and unhealthy foods are unhealthy and should not be eaten at all. But that’s not the complete truth. Usually, minimally processed foods are healthier in many ways than processed foods. However, if we go too much with them, it will still affect your weight. This is because, foods rich in essential nutrients can still be calorie dense. For example, you eat white bread every day. Now you realized that ‘oh, I will eat whole wheat bread now on’. If you eat even that whole wheat bread in quantity that your body does not need, it is still going to contribute to your overall calorie. Thus, checking your portion size and being mindful are crucial.
Too Much Stress
Chronic stress is associated with plethora of diseases. It can significantly impact our ability to maintain a healthy weight. High level of stress fluctuates our hormones and alters many bodily processes. Even if you are so much stressed about your weight loss, it affects your appetite, hormones and ultimately may become a barrier in your weight loss journey. Thus, take it easy! Do not stress too much.
Takeaway
Every mistake we have made in the past are the learning experiences we gathered. With those learning experiences, we can definitely move towards progress. Remember, there is no shortcut to health, neither to weight loss. Take professional help if necessary!
