People start off the new year with a bang.  I noticed that at my Pilates class tonight, there were more people than usual.  Everyone always wants to start off with their resolutions and then it tends to taper off due to letting old habits and self sabotage get in the way.

Here are 13 unlucky ways that people sabotage their own diet!

1.  Eating Too Few Calories.  I have seen this with that crazy HCG Diet and Med-fast.  Any time you restrict calories too low, you will most likely binge when you go off of the diet and you learn nothing about maintaining and eating right once the diet is over and you have to have a whole new way of eating or you will put the weight back on.  Trying to maintain a diet that is very low in calories leads to sabotage in the form of binging, ultimately, giving up.  Plus, cutting too many calories stalls your metabolism — possibly for the long-term. “In general, women shouldn’t eat less than 1,200 calories and men less than 1,500 calories a day.

2.  Forbidden Food Are No Good.  Tell yourself you can’t eat a certain food, and you may end up seeing it wherever you look.  I didn’t eat pizza for almost a year and I yearned for it.  I found a recipe for Cauliflower-based pizza and it is DELISH.  So, now I can eat it.  I found a pizza place that makes gluten-free pizza and once in a while I will go there and allow myself no more than 20g of carbs worth of pizza and work it into my 50-100 a day….but I always fill up on salad so I don’t feel hungry.  You can make cookies with low-carb baking materials that are sold in select stores or online.  There are ways around things.  I LOVE frozen yogurt, but I have a Carbolite (low carb version) all of the time as my replacement.  I don’t miss out this way.

3.  No Matter How Busy–NEVER Skip Breakfast.  A healthy breakfast helps you maintain your diet and weight-loss commitments.  Eating a breakfast that contains both protein and carbohydrates helps overweight people lose weight and normal-weight people maintain weight over time.  If I am in a hurry, I always at least pop a hard-boiled egg or two into my bag and eat them in the car.  You should never go without breakfast or you will mess up your metabolism and you want it to run well so you can burn off the fat.

4. Overestimating Portions.  If you’ve lost a few pounds by tightening up on your diet, it can be easy to get a bit lax about portion sizes — and that’s the perfect opportunity for those extra calories to creep back in. Even if you’re eating healthier overall than you were pre-diet, too-large meals can easily push you off-track.  Watch the amount of salad dressings, sides, etc.  I always measured my meat until I knew what 4 ounces looked like and now I can pretty much guess, but I am careful.

5.   Weekend Binging and Partying.  You have to realize that you cannot eat what you want on the weekends.  You have to watch it just like you did during the week.  You also have to watch the alcohol use.  Your body will not burn off fat if it is busy burning off the alcohol and alcohol has carbs.  I didn’t have any drink for months when I was losing, and when I did, it was rare and only one drink–and I made sure it was a skinny drink.  What is more important to you?  Drinking and eating a lot or being thin?  Being thin is such a great feeling, you will be glad you made the sacrifice.

6.  Grazing and Nibbling.  You have to be disciplined.  Stay away from platters, the donut and bagel boxes at work and people’s boxes of candy, popcorn and pretzels.  A bite here and there–all adds up and before you know it, you have gained weight.  You can have 6 proteins a day, two salads, four veggies and two fruits a day.  Make it work for you.  If you are really hungry, then have another protein and it will fill you up.  Try a liquid one.  There are plenty of low carb protein drinks out there or have a piece of cheese or meat.  It works.  Sometimes, I take out a slice of deli meat and wrap it in a slice of cheese and eat it like a sandwich.  It is good and within minutes, the craving is over.  Lindora has protein hot chocolate.  That comes in handy a lot!

7.  Overeating After a Workout.  I saw a picture of Kim Kardashian getting a Jamba Juice after a workout today.  The story was about her being “healthy”.  There is not that much healthy to that drink.  Yes, there are vitamins in it, but it is highly sugary with ice cream or sherbet in it.  There are about 40 plus grams of carbs in the Splenda version of it, but the regular 16 ounces of those drinks are close to 100g of carbs.  They will put weight ON you.  If you want to eat after a workout.  Have a salad with a protein in it, have vegetables and you can have a piece of fruit.  Don’t drink your fruit, you will over do it in calories and carbs.  Also, watch out for sugary/hi-carb sports drinks.  There are low carb versions.  Things that say Zero or Vitarain drinks at Costco (zero carbs).

8.  Too Much or Too Little Sleep.  Studies show that proper sleeping habits are essential for maintaining a healthy weight.  Get around 7 to 9 hours a day.

9.  Eating Late.  Issues can be boredom and raiding the pantry or getting the  munchies while watching your favorite primetime show. The resulting snack can be just as calorie-laden as your dinner was earlier in the night. And these calories count, just like all the others in your diet. Try going to bed before that urge kicks in (and get weight-loss-boosting sleep) or saving calories in your daily budget for a late-night snack that’s high on taste, but low in calories.  You can try measured out low carb ice cream (like Carb Smart), Mini Baby Bells or some form of cheese, or you can try the low-carb hot chocolate that I like to do.  A measured-small portion of nuts or sunflower seeds can work too.  I also will do decaf coffee.

If night eating is a habitual problem for you, try to eat more during the day, so that you don’t find yourself starving at night. If you feel like you can’t control your night-eating, it may be time to seek professional help.

10.  Caring Less About Weight Loss.  Some people start to care less about their weight plan and lose focus.  Remember how hopeful and energetic you were those first days and weeks, with your charts, nutrition books, food logs, and athletic gear? Over time, that enthusiasm can turn to apathy and undermine your diet. Find your way back to weight-loss success by redefining your motivations and goals for how you look, feel and your health.  If you need an extra kick to get you going, set up nonfood rewards for yourself every time you reach a small milestone, such as a manicure if you make all of your scheduled workouts for two weeks running.  Sign up for a 5K and try to train for it.  Find a workout buddy or weekend walkers to walk with.

11.  Not Committing to Exercise.  I find that if I have a set time to be somewhere for exercise, I am more likely to do it.  So, I have Pilates and Yoga classes that I signed up for and I also have a monthly membership and if I pay and then don’t go, I feel cheated, so it helps to motivate me.  The classes are small and people notice if I don’t go, so it makes me feel more committed to being there.  You can do this with a Spinning, Zumba, etc. Class and you can also do this with boot camps.

12.  Not Finding the Right Diet :  The Yo-Yo Diet and Crash.   Last year you lost the weight, and this year much of it is back. Story of your life, right? Yo-yo and crash diets lead to a rebound of weight gain called “weight cycling.” Successfu long-term weight loss  means you must make a commitment to healthy diet and exercise plan that you can live with, rather than in fad diets or short-term deprivation. Your best bet might be working with a dietitian to figure out which long-term habits will stick with you.  I joined Lindora and they gave me a plan and it has worked ever since.

13.  Careful on What Liquids You Drink.  Drinking too much alcohol or sugary drinks (sweet tea, sodas, and juices).  you can fill up on liquids but still need to eat, so you’ve consumed a lot more calories than you intended.  You should stick with water or water with no carb, no sugar flavoring, unsweetened tea, sugar-free drinks, and no- or low-fat milk (which also adds nutrition to your meals but should be charted in the amount to add up to one of your proteins for the day).

Get past all of these issues and you should do great!