1. Mindless Eating
The larger the plate or bowl you eat from, the more you unknowingly consume.In one recent study. Don’t buy the extra-large popcorn at the theatre for the great price…and don’t use a large bowl or dishes at home.
The Fix: Eat from smaller dishes. Try swapping out your large dinner plate for a salad plate, and never eat straight from a container or package.
2. Nighttime Noshing
It is WHAT you eat and WHEN you eat that counts. Nighttime eating is worse for a diet.
The Fix: After dinner, teach yourself to think of the kitchen as being closed for the night, and brush your teeth — you’ll want to eat less with a newly cleaned mouth. If a craving hits, wait 10 minutes. If you’re still truly hungry, reach for something small like lite string cheese, low-fat Greek yogurt or a piece of fruit.
3. Endless Snacking
Snacking round-the-clock, often on high-calorie foods that are full of empty carbs is bad for a diet. People are snacking more and more often on unhealthy junk food–including salty chips, soda, and candy.
The Fix: Keep only healthy snacks within reach, such as hummus, low-fat cheese, eggs, carrots and cucumber slices, air-popped popcorn, yogurt, and nuts. Don’t stock your desk or pantry with potato chips or cookies you know you can’t resist.
4. Buying Chips Every Time You Eat a Sandwich Out
You know that breakfast I eat at a sandwich/salad shop a lot. I always have a salad with vegetables and a protein in it. But, a lot of people come in for a sandwich or a salad and then order a bag of potato chips too. They could get a side of soup, hummus or guacamole, but I have noticed that many people think that it is almost a requirement to have chips with lunch. Chips are about 30g of carbs per bag, full of genetically modified ingredients and send your blood sugar through the roof. They aren’t necessary and they can sabotage a diet. Get out of the habit.
5. Skipping Breakfast
Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, but with so many other tasks competing for your attention, you may decide you don’t have time to eat. When you skip meals, your metabolism begins to slow, Breakfast gives you that boost of energy you need to take on your day. Without fuel, you’ll just overeat later. A new study of Chinese schoolchildren found that those who skipped breakfast gained significantly more weight over a two-year period than those who ate a morning meal.
The Fix: Have ready healthy breakfast foods you can consume on the run,. If you’re rushed, try easy items such as ready to eat–hard-boiled eggs, whole fruit, yogurt, low-carb protein bars, homemade cereal bars, and smoothies.
6. Emotional Eating
You had a bad day and when you get home, you open the refrigerator and eat —which sabotages a diet. Food in your mouth should not be a coping mechanism.This is a weight-loss stumbling block.
The Fix: Find a new stress-buster, If you’re stressed out at work, when you get home, take a walk (instead of eating), go to the gym, go to dance class, yoga, Pilates, Cardio Barre, Zumba, etc.– or call a friend who will be empathetic–or meet up with one. Choose any activity you like as long as it keeps you out of the kitchen.
7. Eating Too Quickly
Eating rapidly, whether you’re snacking or eating a meal, doesn’t give your brain time to catch up with your stomach. Your brain doesn’t signal that you’re full until about 15 to 20 minutes after you’ve started eating. If you gulp down your meal in 10 minutes or less, you could end up eating way more than you need.
The Fix: To slow down your eating, physically put your fork down between bites, take smaller bites, and be sure to chew each bite thoroughly. Also, drinking water throughout your meal will help you slow down and feel fuller as you go. Burgers are too easy to eat fast, but whatever you are eating, if you force yourself to sit and use a knife and fork, it will give your brain time to tell your stomach that it is full.
8. Not Getting Enough Sleep
Poor sleep ruin your weight-loss efforts. In a study, men and women who slept five hours or less a night were more likely to gain weight than those who slept seven hours or more.
The Fix: Establish a routine for yourself, and try to go to bed and wake up at about the same times every day, even on weekends. Keep the bedroom dark and comfortable, and avoid TV or computers for at least an hour before bed. If you need extra motivation to shut off the lights early, take meds, do whatever it takes. Remember that the sleep and the scale work together.
9. Vegging Out With Video Games or TV or the Computer
If you’re watching TV, sitting in front of a computer, or playing video games, it’s not only mindless snacking in front of the screen that you have to worry about. Teens who played video games for just one hour ate more the rest of the day, which resulted in weight gain.
The Fix: Take frequent breaks when you’re in front of the computer — get up and walk around the room or office every 15 to 30 minutes. When the workday or your favorite TV show ends, remember to carefully monitor what you consume to you don’t overstuff yourself.
10. Eating Junk Food
Several animal studies have found that rat’s brains find high-fat, high-sugar foods to be addictive — much like cocaine or heroin. Eating comfort food actually triggers feelings of happiness in humans.
The Fix: The solution isn’t to eliminate your favorite indulgences from your diet — that will only make you crave them more. The key to weight-loss success is to identify what you really want, and indulge in your favorite foods in moderation as special treats, not every day or find lower sugar, lower carb substitutes.
Skinny-Rules 