With so many diet programs and with so much information being available about weight loss it’s surprising that some of the same mistakes are made time and time again. Of course there will always be the small deviations from your diet plan – perhaps – when you’ve been out with friends for and evening or entertaining at home. Frequently however the mistakes are fundamental and will prevent you from achieving the weight loss you wish to achieve. Understanding the basic errors will help you change your attitude and subsequently lead to weight loss that is permanent.
1. It’s got to be All or Nothing
All or nothing dieters will often pick out a complicated diet that is almost impossible for them to maintain. Before beginning, they will search the kitchen for anything that does not fit the plan and throw it in the garbage. They are planning to be the perfect dieter, and so they will be, for one day, three days, seven days or even a couple of weeks. Then, inevitably, something happens that means they cannot keep to the diet one time. Immediately the whole thing is ruined in their eyes and the diet is over. They go to the store and buy all the things that went into the garbage last week and proceed to gain back all the weight that they lost, as fast as possible.
If any of this sounds familiar then try answer your own questions. Can you maintain a strict diet? Will personal circumstances prevent you from always adhering to your strict discipline? Do you really want to achieve a substantial and or rapid weight loss? Frequently the answer is to make less demanding changes to your diet and achieve a less rapid but non the less sustainable rate of weight loss.
2. Do I have make sacrifices?
Another common mistake is to view your diet as a period of sacrifice. You do not allow yourself the foods that you enjoy most while you are on your way to your target weight. You may have a great diet plan and be very successful in losing weight, but what happens when you reach your goal? You have not learnt to eat ‘bad foods’ in moderation so as soon as you start, you are likely to go out of control. It is better to include a little of everything in your diet and learn to enjoy it in small quantities. Yes, even chocolate!
3. Failing to meet your set goals or objectives.
Any weight loss goals should be realistic and this is an essential part of your weight loss plan. You may have a target weight in mind – but break down into smaller pieces and it suddenly looks more achievable. (an old joke – How do you eat an elephant? Answer – in small pieces!). Most people of over average weight should be able to achieve a weight loss of – say – 2 pounds per week for the first 4 or 5 weeks then – say – 1 pound a week for a further 8-10 weeks – now guess what – you’ve just lost 20 pounds over 15 weeks. Writing down your targets and recording your results, on a graph, will help enormously.
If any of the above sound familiar to you then don’t worry too much – just regard the whole process as part of the learning process. Move on from your mistakes and implement what you have learnt. If you understand the mistakes you have made then you stand a chance of correcting them and make your own weight loss program work for you. I may be making a too general statement here but being determined to be healthier by eating and drinking with more awareness should lead to a healthier life and a more sustainable target weight.