I don't know about you, but I am guilty of all committing all 5 of the following mistakes. I didn't list "Eating Breakfast" because I am tired of seeing that one. Haha. I try to remember to eat breakfast, but not always successful.
1. Not including exercise in your regime
Far too many people simply cut down on their calorie intake when they go on a diet, without adding exercise to their regime, according to medical researchers.But exercise will boost your metabolism meaning your body will burn calories faster.
Also, for each pound of muscle you add to your body you need an extra 75 calories to maintain it, so toning up your muscles will also help you lose weight - and look more honed. Many people think going to aerobics once a week is all the exercise they need, but the best way to keep your metabolism going is by exercising for around 20 to 30 minutes a day. Break your exercise up into smaller chunks of time if you need to.
Tips include getting off your bus or train a stop early on the way to work to walk for 30 minutes, gardening and cycling. Even getting up to change over the TV channel rather than using a remote control will, on average, burn 200 calories a week.
2. Forgetting drinks contain calories too
You may be eating a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner and avoiding snacking throughout the day. But researchers find that many dieters can't lose weight because of the hidden calories in their drinks. If you have a standard cappuccino on the way to work you will be boosting your intake by 120 calories - and 8 grams of fat, she says. If you really want a cappuccino choose a skinny one with cinnamon on the top instead of chocolate. These contain just 60 calories and hardly any fat.
Alcohol and fizzy drinks are other big calorie traps. Alcohol contains as many calories as fat and, according to a study at the Mayo clinic in Minnesota, America, also boosts appetite. In tests subjects who had alcohol with a meal ate 350 calories more than those who did not.
Dieticians say you should try to limit your drinking to one or two nights a week at most and to stick to spirits with low calorie mixers and wine. Other tips include alternating alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic drinks and drinking a small glass of white wine with fizzy water to make a spritzer instead of drinking a large glass of wine.
3. Weighing yourself too often
There's nothing more encouraging than seeing the proof of all your hard work reflected on the scales. But dieticians warn that weighing yourself too often can actually make weight loss more difficult. For most of us our weight fluctuates throughout the month for a variety of reasons. Because of this they may worry that they have put on weight at certain times of the month when they haven't.
Weight loss on a successful diet is usually slow and steady and if you are toning up the scales can be misleading because muscle is heavier than fat. Catherine Collins recommends dieters should weigh themselves once a week at most and at the same time of the day - first thing in the morning. You should also remember how significant each 1lb is that you lose. In fact 1lb in weight is the equivalent to 3,500 calories - meaning you have eaten 500 calories less a day than normal over a week.
4. ‘All or nothing’
This approach is the downfall of many — don’t make the mistake of thinking you should never have a treat. A pizza is okay, there is nothing wrong with having a pizza — just make sure that you don’t follow it with a large helping of chocolate fudge cake and ice cream!
5. Buying foods such as chips and chocolate for the kids
For most of us, these are our "comfort" foods, but having these types of foods in the house can be a temptation; you are more likely to reach for the chocolate if it is to hand, whereas if you had to make the effort to go to the shops — you probably wouldn’t bother!
Let me know what you would add to my list.
