There are many things that can lead to mistakes when dieting.

DIET MISTAKES

1.  No Exercise:  Dieting alone is not enough.  You need to start out slow if you are out of shape.  Take the dog for a walk after dinner.  Start walking with friends.  Start out with 15 minutes of any aerobic activity.  But move your body.  It is not normal to just eat a little bit of food and never move.  This is not how the cavemen would have done it.

2.  Crash Diets:  You have to teach your body to lose and maintain weight on normal food and routines.  When you eat so few calories in a crash diet, you train your metabolism to slow down. Once the diet is over, you have a body that burns calories more slowly — and you usually regain the weight.

3.  Skipping Breakfast: Skipping breakfast seems like a simple way to cut calories, but the result can be insatiable hunger the rest of the day. Then, you are more likely to have unplanned snacking at the office and eating a super-size portion at lunch. Breakfasts that are high in protein and fiber can reduce hunger throughout the day. In fact, studies show people who eat breakfast every morning are more likely to maintain a healthy weight.

4.  Snacking Without the Snacks as Part of Your 6 Meal a Day Plan: Mindless munching on carbs, which are not protein-based, could sabotage an otherwise well-planned diet. If you’re serious about counting calories, you may want to use a diet journal to keep track of every bite of food.

AND NOT HAVING PROTEIN-BASED SNACKS between meals and after dinner is also a big mistake.  Your body needs protein-based foods every 3-4 hours throughout the day in order to lose/maintain weight. Cars need a constant supply of gas to move and so does your body.

5.  Eating Low Fat Food Without Looking at Carb Content:   Low-fat products can play an important role in your diet. Just remember that low-fat isn’t the same as low-calorie and it’s not a license to take second and third helpings. You may end up eating more calories than if you had a smaller slice of regular cake. The best way to know how much fat, sugar, and calories you’re getting is to check the nutritional label.

6.  Drinking Juice:  Juice is full of carbs and sugar and you are better off EATING fruit, not drinking it.  You can blow a diet, just by drinking juice.

7.  Speaking of Drinking:  Not Enough Water and Drinking Alcohol  You need water or no calorie drinks throughout the day to keep your metabolism going.  If you don’t drink enough fluid, you will not lose/maintain weight.  Sometimes, when you are thirsty, you feel hungry and you eat instead of drink.  So, hydrate.  Also, alcohol is not good for a diet because it slows down your metabolism on burning fat so your body can deal with processing the alcohol.  Many drinks are also very high in carbs.  Worse case scenario–a vodka or gin and water drink, if you must, is lowest in calories and carbs.

8.  Too Much Fatty Dairy: Full-fat milk, cheese, and ice cream are bad for diets, but ditching dairy foods may be counterproductive. Some research suggests the body burns more fat when it gets enough calcium and produces more fat when it’s calcium-deprived. Stick to non-fat or low-fat dairy options.  Low-fat Greek Yogurt, Low-Fat Cottage Cheese or Cheese (portion control!) and Breyers Carb Smart Ice Cream.

9.  Fast Food for Snacks:  Many bad options and who isn’t going to want fries as they order?  Only do it in a pinch for their salads or protein-style burgers only.  Try to prepare in advance with your own foods and if you can’t refrigerate, then low-carb protein bars, drinks or measured out nuts.

10.  Unrealistic goals:  You need to know that changing a way of life or eating takes time.  There will be areas where you get stuck and you need to exercise more, or cut back more to get your metabolism going.  Drink more water.  There are plateaus, and if you search on my page for a plateau diet, I have one.  But, you may never be stick thin, but that is unhealthy too.  Try to go for a healthy weight range.