13 Causes of Ineffective Dieting

You’ve been working out, counting calories, and watching the food you eat. You have walked the straight and narrow path to losing weight and yet there seems to be no improvement at all. If you fear that you are not dropping pounds even if you stick to the rules of weight loss, there is definitely a problem. The problem may lie in the little habits that you have, which you think are not connected to shedding fat, but they are actually sabotaging your fitness efforts.

To stop the frustration, here are 13 mistakes to avoid as you move your way down the weighing scale:

1. You keep changing your diet. You’ve heard about this newest diet craze, so you hop on to it. Unfortunately, you just did the same thing a few weeks ago. If you keep changing your diet regime, you are not helping yourself to losing weight. In fact, you are increasing your chances of getting cardiovascular disease. Stick to one diet or better yet, focus on your health, not what the media says.
2. You forget to remove toxins in your body. The world we live in today is full of toxins – from the food you eat to the environmental pollution. These toxins can harm your hormones and lower your body temperature. As a result, your body clings to fat. While it is true that you cannot remove all the toxins you have in your body in just one go, you can eliminate most of them by eating healthy. Eat green leafy vegetables, as well as foods that are high in fiber and protein. Eliminate daily and reduce exposure to the well-known toxins.
3. You skip meals. Skipping meals doesn’t help you lose weight at all as well as eating at a late time. You probably think snacking just a little bit before you go to bed, but not eating dinner will help you lose more weight. The truth is this will not burn your unwanted fat and can even cause you to have strong cravings afterward.
4. You have vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D is essential to the body, particularly to a number of important hormones responsible for bodily functions. If you are deficient in this specific vitamin, you will not have the ability to burn fat. If your doctor tells you it’s time to add vitamin D to your diet, eat foods, such as sardines and salmon. Drink cow’s milk as well to get the vitamin.
5. You don’t consume enough fat. While it is understandable that you avoid fat because you are trying to burn fat, think about this: how can your body burn fat if there’s no fat? You shouldn’t just eat any type of fat though. There are healthy fats that you can get from particular foods, including fish, nuts, seeds, and avocado.
6. You exercise more than you should. While working out should always be a part of your healthy weight loss regime, this does not mean you should train too hard. It is still best to go for interval training where you let your body rest, so it can repair itself. You can also train for a shorter amount of time to lose weight. Cardio can be done two to three times weekly, especially since these workouts are quite demanding both psychologically and physically.
7. You are under stress. Stress is a normal part of our daily lives. But if you are too stressed out, your cortisol levels rise, causing your serotonin to decrease. As a result, you want to eat more sweet foods. Even worse is that cortisol decreases your stomach’s acidity, which causes you to have difficulties in digesting food. This will leave you hungrier, so you eat more.
8. You consume too much sugar. You probably know the foods that contain high amounts of sugar. However, there are more that actually have stealthy sugars, including yogurt, processed foods, and even smoothies that you know are healthy. These foods can easily cause your waistline to expand. Watch out for fructose because this ingredient goes directly to your liver and it produces fat there. Additionally, this increases your sugar cravings, so you want to eat more sweet foods and yet you still end up hungrier than ever.
9. You eat mini meals. You probably heard it is ideal to eat small, frequent meals where you eat every two to three hours is good for you. There have been many claims that say eating in this manner can help you maintain your blood sugar levels and you also stop yourself from overeating. Unfortunately, this method actually increases your insulin, so your body does not use the stored fat and turn it into energy. Instead of eating small meals every few hours, eat lean meats, healthy fats, whole grains, and of course fruits and veggies. These foods can make you feel fuller for an extended period of time, so you don’t eat more.
10. You have a thyroid problem. Your thyroid gland plays an important role in your metabolic process. Sadly, even experts get confused about the standards for thyroid stimulating hormone or TSH. Ideally, you should have your TSH at 0.5 and 1.
11. You eat a lot after working out. You probably have a cheat day or even days as a reward for yourself. This is a common mistake made by many people who want to lose weight. Even if you have burned hundreds of calories for the day, this does not mean you can eat whatever you want. On a related note, you also shouldn’t eat and believe you can burn it off later. This will lead to overworking yourself and even cause weight gain. Instead, have food that will give you energy and consume snacks that help with your muscle recovery.
12. You don’t get enough sleep. If you are among the 40% of the population that sleep for less than seven hours, you are raising your blood sugar, insulin, and cortisol levels. This can cause stress and you eventually feel hungry. When you don’t sleep enough, this can cause you to resist insulin, which can lead to more health problems.
13. You don’t drink enough water. H2O is definitely a huge help if you want to lose weight. It is also considered an appetite suppressant, but still you choose other drinks over it. Always make sure you stay hydrated, so that your kidneys function properly. If you have a kidney problem, your body will automatically turn to liver, which will work harder than it should. As a result, the fats you consume will remain stored and not burned.

One or more of these mistakes could be the cause of your weight loss program’s inefficiency. Avoid making them as much as possible, so you can truly see results in your efforts.