Losing weight isn’t as easy as you think it is. If you don’t understand your body requirements, it won’t be easy for you to lose weight. But as soon as you have an understanding of what works for you, it is very much possible to lose a significant amount of weight by following a proper diet plan. The best way to understand what works is to be persistent with a weight loss plan, no matter what it is. For most folks, eating less and burning more calories is the way to go. Meanwhile, for others eating less than 2000 calories a day, and an hour long walk is enough. This article will talk about all the dieting mistakes we Pakistani people make while trying to alter our diet.
Most people define losing weight in terms of how much workout they do, how many hours they spent at the gym and how many calories per day they eat. But, you have to keep in mind that persistence is the key, otherwise nothing will work for you. It takes you just days to gain weight but it takes you months of time to lose it. There is no sugar coating it, if you really want to slim down, you have to be patient.
Here are the Weight Loss & Dieting Mistakes We Make in Pakistan
Sadly, most of us are in a hurry to lose weight and give up when we don’t see immediate results. This is not something you need to be doing. Apart from not being persistence, there are plenty of common weight loss mistakes we make, which makes it harder for us to lose weight and as a result we just quit after a couple of weeks. Today, we will discuss the top ten biggest weight loss mistakes that are stopping your body from becoming fit and healthy.
10. Skipping Workout
There are millions of people around the world that are trying to lose weight. However, majority of them never succeed because they are lazy and there is no other way to put it. They are just being lazy!
They eat less and keep tab on their calories but still they aren’t losing any weight. Well, diet alone doesn’t work for most, move your body, go to a gym or at least take an hour long walk. You may argue that you are too tired from a hard day’s work and don’t feel like moving. Sadly, that argument is what’s keeping that spare tire around your waist.
Being tired is no excuse to skip any type of exercise. You didn’t think losing weight was that easy, did you? Exercise is something you may not enjoy but without regular exercise, you’re diet plan is pretty much useless, because at some point you will slip up and go back to your eating habits when you don’t see results. Try these easy exercises at home and see if they work.
9. Don’t Skip Breakfast
One of the worst things you can do to your weight loss crusade is skipping breakfast and it is by far the biggest dieting mistake. Let me explain by giving my own example. I use to skip breakfast and have lunch followed by some fruits for dinner. I kept myself as far away from my favorite food, however, after a few days I couldn’t keep myself from overeating during lunch.
The reason behind this was me skipping breakfast, which resulted in really strong craving. The best way to deal with such cravings is having something light for breakfast. Studies have shown that dopamine levels increase after early breakfast which can reduce your cravings for food.
As a result, chances of overeating at lunch are reduced significantly. According researchers, people who skip the most important meal of the day (breakfast) are likely to crave sugary and fatty foods. Folks at Imperial College London scanned the brains of 21 volunteers, while they were looking at images for different foods like chocolate and salads etc.
This process was repeated twice with the same group, once when they had breakfast and once when they skipped it. Skipping breakfast not only caused them to eat 250 more calories, but it changed the way their brain reacted to food. They started to find high-calories and sugary food more tempting than before.
There is one more thing. If you are afraid that you’ll eat breakfast and would still eat the same amount of lunch, then the best thing for you is to start eating things that have fibers in them in your breakfast. I have found that eating cereals like Weetabix fulfills your appetite and helps you overcome the craving for food during lunch time. This way, you only eat minimum amount of food during lunch.
8. Not Getting Enough Sleep and Stress
One of the primary reasons you’re not losing weight is lack of sleep and on top of that, stress is your enemy. Getting enough sleep and managing your stress level creates ideal condition for weight loss. Your body needs to rest and be in an optimal condition for losing weight.
Sleep deprivation also causes you to run on fumes. Going through the day on low-energy levels make you vulnerable to comfort foods like a bag of potato, ice cream, French fries etc. Obviously, this will destroy your waistline and make it harder for you to lose weight and live a healthy life.
Meanwhile, studies have also shown that stress actually causes weight gain, so it is essential that you manage your stress level. Listen to music, take a hot bath and relax. On tip is to leave your troubles outside of your bedroom. Your room is where you relax; all your troubles need to stay outside the door.
If you don’t manage stress, your body will start producing a hormone called cortisol that is linked to weight gain, it boosts your craving for food; and not the good type. You’ll start craving for junk food which results in accumulation of belly fat. Trust me; you don’t need belly fat!
7. Focusing on the Scale
Well, how do you know that you’re not losing weight? You get on a scale to measure it right? Don’t do that. Some people focus too much on the scale and almost on a daily basis measure their weight. Like I mentioned above there is no shortcut to losing weight so don’t torture yourself by seeing the same results on the scale every day.
This will do nothing but lower you morale and motivation. Keep in mind from the get-go that this is a marathon, not a sprint. I, myself, weigh once a month. This is also easier to keep track of. If you start to measure your weight on daily basis, you won’t be much happier by the end of the day. It’s your collective effort and dedication during the entire month that gives you a specific result/difference on scale.
6. Not Taking a Day Off
If you are one of those people who believe in intense workout, it is highly advised that you take a day off to relax your body and mind. Allow your muscles and bones to recover from all the hard work you do in the gym. Majority of you people might be familiar with the term ‘fatigue’. Fatigue happens when you put too much stress on your muscles. It’s not a disease but is a scale to measure how much your body or muscles can bear.
Some people start working out thinking that they need to work seven days a week. But, when they miss a day or two they feel discouraged and often end up quitting. That’s why it is recommended that you take a day off for the sake of your body and your weight loss crusade. Keep balance in everything. You don’t have to go to extreme lengths from day one. Start slowing and take a day off. Then when your body gets used to the exercise pattern, you can take hours off instead of a day off.
5. Don’t OD on Protein
What are you trying to do? Lose weight, right? Then why are you storing extra fat in your body? It is completely OK to add proteins to your diet plan. In fact, it is recommended. However, don’t OD on protein. All the protein that isn’t consumed by the body, is stored as fat. Avoid as much protein as possible when you know that you can’t consume it at the rate you eat it. There are a lot of things that offer high percentage of proteins. Eat them in low proportions to keep a balance.
If you ever have a protein deficiency during your dieting plan, you can always make it up by eating something extra but there’s no need to eat more before this situation arises. How can you expect to lose weight if you keep dumping loads of it in your body? Maintain a balanced diet that includes veggies, protein etc.
4. Eating Excessive Healthy Food
Your eating habits are great and you have a mild workout routine as well. However, you’re still not losing weight? Well, it could be due to you eating too much healthy food. Keep in mind that a calorie is a calorie no matter where it comes from. If you eat too much of healthy food, it will make your body gain weight rather than losing it. Losing weight is no rocket science but you have to pay attention to small details that highly impact the outcome.
3. Carbohydrates
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to include carbs in your diet. They do no good to your body and you won’t be able to lose weight until carbs are a part of your diet so please avoid these kind of dieting mistakes because Pakistani food mostly consists of unhealthy carbs. Eliminating carbs is one of the most popular ways to lose weight due the dramatic effect it has. A great thing that happens to your body after eliminating carbs is the removal of processed food from the body. These foods are not only harmful but contribute to weight gain.
Removing them improves your metabolism, and boosts your body’s ability to burn calories. Moreover, it reduces the amount of calories you eat by killing your appetite, but in a good way. As you know, going on a diet isn’t easy and hunger is the main reason people give up. Try eating these healthy vegetables if you are looking to eat healthy carbs.
Removing carbs from your diet keeps the hunger in control, hence, keeping you on track. As a result, you will naturally lose more weight and fast.
2. Not Drinking Enough Water
Did you know that drinking enough water can actually make you lose weight? Stop worrying about water weight and drink plenty of water daily. Water helps boost your metabolism, it cleanses the body and most of all, it acts as an appetite suppressant.
It also stops water retention which helps you lose weight. It is recommended that you drink plenty of water, and by plenty we don’t mean gallons. For an average person, 8 to 10 glasses of water is more than enough.
Like I mentioned above, water is an appetite suppressant and it works really well. Drink water before you sit down for a meal and you will notice that you’ll eat less than usual. According to a study, drinking water before a meal can reduce up to 75 calories per meal.
On the other hand, you can also replace water with soft drinks that contain mountains of sugar. In order to make drinking water more effective for your body, try drinking ice cold water. The reason behind this is pretty simple, because the water is so cold, your body has to work harder to warm it up which will automatically help you lose weight.
In short, not drinking enough water means you’re making weight loss even harder for yourself.
1. Crazy Cheat Days
At least once a day, you are free to eat whatever you want. It’s called a cheat day, a day when there is no diet plan and no intense workouts. However, the most common mistake is when people go crazy on their cheat day. Eating like a wild animal will get you nowhere.
The best way to handle cheat day is to have one meal of your choice, that’s it. Have a pizza, burger, pasta, ribs, or steak, whatever you want. Just make sure that is all you have before going back to your routine. Don’t go crazy by taking in thousands of calories for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well.
These were the top ten weight loss & dieting mistakes people make and it becomes harder for them to lose weight. If you have any other tips or something to add to the article, feel free to share with us in the comments below.
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