Patrick Henry once said, "I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I have no way of judging the future but by the past." Fortunately for us, there are millions of people who have gone before us attempting to lose fat and/or weight, each with varying degrees of success. We can learn from their collective experiences and gain enlightenment, or insight, into our own weight loss plans.
Over the next several paragraphs we're going to review things that have been reported as "weight loss mistakes". Take some time to read each one and compare/contrast them with your own personal weight loss plan.
Weight loss and fat loss success is the result of making the right adjustments and living with them. Quite possibly some of the adjustments you've made may need to be reconsidered.
Mistake #1: Expecting to lose weight too quickly. We've talked about this in earlier issues. We can spend years messing up relationships and expect them to be healed or repaired after sincerely saying, "I'm sorry." What is it about humans that we think that things should be a certain way just because we want it to be? It takes years to get out of shape and overweight. It will take a long time to lose the weight and get back into shape. Patience is a key to making life-long changes for the better.
Mistake #2: Adopting a plan that is not sustainable over the course of your lifetime. This mistake is two-fold in nature. The first aspect is creating a habit that is unreasonable to continue long term. Some examples would be the tabloid diets you read about in the line at the grocery store. Grapefruit diets, cabbage diets, chicken soup diets. We need variety in our lives. Thinking that we can forego that variety forever is a recipe for failure. The second aspect is thinking that the lifestyle that we are adopting is only short term and that we'll go back to our previous lifestyle when our weight is gone. Our previous lifestyle IS the problem; the new lifestyle is the solution. We need to adopt a lifestyle that will become, literally, a style of life for us.
Mistake #3: Neglecting to be quantity-conscious. This is really a huge issue. At every meal we need to scrutinize the amount of food we serve ourselves and limit ourselves to a single serving. If we put too much food on our plate, chances are we're going to eat it... whether we need it or not. Using smaller plates make it easier to avoid serving up too much food. Don't let someone else serve for you. Make sure you serve yourself so that you can control the quantity.
Mistake #4: Choosing the wrong places to eat out. Eating out is the "mine field" in the battle of the bulge. Every step you take needs to be measured and selected carefully. If you select a fast-food restaurant, make sure they have low calorie options available. A grilled chicken sandwich without mayonnaise, or a salad with a very light dressing and water can be a safe fast-food meal. Treating yourself to the "mega-burger" dripping with sauce and a small diet soda can set you back an entire week or two. Avoid a buffet or smorgasbord. It's human nature to overeat at one of those places. Enough said?
Mistake #5: Avoiding eating breakfast. Your body's metabolism goes to sleep at night when you sleep. While the alarm clock may wake you up, it is breakfast that wakes up your metabolism. It's easy to justify skipping breakfast if you think only about total calories over the course of a day. Unfortunately, what you burn is as important as what you eat, especially when you have excess fat to burn. Keep your furnace burning from morning to night by spreading the day's calories out over the course of the entire day.
Mistake #6: Being unaware of what you are eating. Be familiar with the ingredients and the way your food is prepared. A fried chicken breast, skin on, breaded and fried can yield about eleven grams of fat. The same chicken breast with the skin removed and no breading - but still fried - yields only two and a half grams of fat. The battered breast has about 220 calories, while the non-battered skinless version has less than 100. That's an amazing difference! Over two times the number of calories and four times the amount of fat!
Mistake #7: Making candy and snack foods a part of your hospitality. Bowls of M&M's are my personal weakness. I used to work in an office where my administrative assistant would keep bags of the variegated nuggets of pleasure ready. Every pass by her desk was rewarded with another handful of the miniature waistline destroyers. In retrospect, I can visualize a change taking place in my own physique. Make sure you aren't subverting your own attempts to control what you eat. Even seemingly innocuous snack foods can cause a world of damage. Try to keep fresh fruit available. Apples, bananas, oranges, pears, peaches and others are typically available nearly year around.
Mistake #8: Relying upon "fat free foods". A common mistake is to assume that "fat free" means that the item is good for you, healthy, or low in calories. Fat free simply means that there is no fat. Fat is usually pleasant in taste and adds a nice texture to food. If it has been removed, pause for a second to consider what has been put in its place. Is the fat replacement high in calories? Is it a chemical? Will my body be able to metabolize it?
Mistake #9: Dressing up the "right" foods with the "wrong" things. The classic example is the salad. The seemingly innocent plate of assorted greens couldn't possibly do any damage. Ah, but then we blanket it with mayonnaise or oil-based dressings, cheese, croutons, or bacon bits, and voila... we have created a monster. Salads are not the only well-intentioned meals that can stick around longer than we have planned. Low calorie sandwiches can become high-fat meals with the addition of only a modest amount of mayonnaise. A tablespoon of "light" mayonnaise can have as much as FIVE grams of fat!
Mistake #10: Not eating enough. This mistake is saved for last for a reason. Most of us are not in this category. We are not talking about skipping breakfast here; we are talking about starvation diets. This insidious type of dieting is both dangerous and counterproductive. The person using this method will typically see a quick loss of mostly water weight and get the feeling that they are doing the right thing. Unfortunately, the health risks are very severe. This kind of dieting can bring on cardiac damage, gout, gallstones, anemia and not only that... it actually slows your metabolism. When the starvation dieter finally gives up, the weight typically comes back with a vengeance!
Hopefully we've touched on something that you can identify in your routine that needs to be adjusted or, at the very least, contemplated. Mistakes can be rather helpful, as long as we're not making them ourselves!
Michael Callen is the author of the Weekly Weightloss Tips Newsletter (ccwebgroup.com/tips) and the Chief Technology Officer for http://www.wellnesspartners.com, an online retailer of dozens of health and wellness products such as http://www.wellnesspartners.com, http://www.wellnesspartners.com, and Green Tea Extract.
cheap limo service Lombard .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareThe loss of fat comes from fat cells all over... Read More
Cellulite happens to us for many reasons. Some reasons-- like... Read More
I thought I could avoid this when we moved to... Read More
Telling yourself you have to "struggle with this weight issue... Read More
One-size-fits-all diets don't work....but then you probably know that already.... Read More
Being overweight is no laughing matter. For those who are... Read More
Can You Lose Weight Where You Want?If you have excess... Read More
You could try one of the many sexual enhancement drugs... Read More
So you're overweight, "fat"--to be honest--and you want to start... Read More
Weight Loss Red Flag GuideDespite claims to the contrary, there... Read More
The answer to the title of this article is "none."... Read More
I have had some e-mails come in and everyone is... Read More
What a great world we live in. You want something,... Read More
ObesityToday, 64.5 percent of adult Americans (about 127 million) are... Read More
Do you know what the words really mean on food... Read More
Cellulite is probably one of the most embarrassing of all... Read More
It's a sad comment on human nature that prejudice and... Read More
In this age being ignorant is like committing a crime.... Read More
Have you heard about coconut oil diets yet? People are... Read More
Body Mass Index (BMI)Body Mass Index is an accurate indicator... Read More
To really understand the impact of a protein diet, it's... Read More
Staying Toned After Weight Loss ---------------------------------------- Following significant weight loss,... Read More
Its crowded..really crowded..every other site offers Weight Loss Programs and... Read More
Low self-esteem produces a game of control. It causes a... Read More
Today I stopped by my favorite coffee shop in Berkeley,... Read More
limo O'Hare Glen Ellyn ..Obesity still remains one of the commonest avoidable causes of... Read More
One Reality TV show, The Swan, thrives on makeovers. Often... Read More
Finally - you are alone. No one else is around.... Read More
I learned about gaining weight when I heard the question... Read More
America is a nation of self-disclosers, amiably acceptant of our... Read More
In today's bustling world we are constantly surrounded by media... Read More
Can You Lose Weight Where You Want?If you have excess... Read More
We are inundated by exhortations to lose weight - from... Read More
Why Walking Could Be the Solution to Your Fitness Dilemma.Walk,... Read More
I bet you already know all the health benefits for... Read More
If it seems that you have been eating as usual... Read More
With all the excitement regarding high protein diets, one area... Read More
It's one thing to stick with your diet regimen when... Read More
So you've decided that you're going to do it.You're sick... Read More
Are you ashamed of your weight? Do you have a... Read More
We must all now be familiar with the Atkins Diet.... Read More
Stop Weight From Creeping Up By Staying AwareEveryone has small... Read More
Getting enough of the good fats will help you lose... Read More
Abdominal liposuction refers to liposuction, or lipoplasty, that is performed... Read More
Twenty years of health club consulting, 50,000 hours of paid... Read More
If you were going to travel to the other side... Read More
If you're thinking of going on a diet to lose... Read More
I am so proud of you and your accomplishments. You're... Read More
If you've been pursuing a lighter, healthier version of yourself,... Read More
You may be considering weight loss surgery if you are... Read More
Weight Loss |