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Many people have tried and failed with dieting at some point in their lives. Diets are hard to stick to, especially when you tackle them with the wrong mindset. Here are 7 common mistakes that may be making your diet less successful. Focusing on Weight Loss Most people go on a diet in order to lose weight. However, the first goal of your diet should be your overall health, not just dropping the pounds. Sound health and wellness depends on eating nutritious foods and incorporating a regular exercise routine, not just cutting out everything with sugar or calories. Keep the focus on what you should be eating, not what you can’t have, and weight loss will automatically follow. Skipping Meals In order to cut calories, many people skip meals as part of their diet. Breakfasts are often the first thing slashed from the meal plan, leaving you with no energy to get through the morning. You’ll also be much more tempted to overindulge at lunchtime if you haven’t eaten anything up until that point. Start the morning off with a nutritious breakfast that will get your body ready for the day ahead. Not Snacking Snacks are another thing commonly skipped while dieting. While it’s a good idea to avoid downing a whole bag of chips while watching a movie, there’s nothing wrong with a little judicious snacking. It helps cut down cravings, keeping you from overeating at your next meal. Stick with healthy snacks like nuts and vegetables, or have a handful of popcorn instead of that chocolate chip cookie. Depriving Your Body It can be tempting to cut as many calories from your meals as possible in order to lose weight fast. However, this is devastating to your body in the long run, and you’ll do far more harm than good. Make sure you are taking in all the calories and proteins your body needs to stay healthy. This is especially important if you’ve increased your exercise routine, since your body will be burning even more calories than normal. Eating Fat-Free Foods Foods that are advertised as “fat-free” or “sugar-free” are especially tempting for dieters. However, you should be wary of these types of foods and always check the ingredient labels to see what’s in them. Most of them will be filled with other chemicals and unhealthy ingredients to make up for the lack of fat and sugar, helping them taste more appealing. A lot of these can be worse for your body than a little bit of sugar. Depriving Your Taste Buds If you want your diet to last, it’s important to plan it realistically. There will be days when you crave sweets or carbs, and it’s all right to treat yourself every once in a while. If you don’t, it’s easy to become hyper-focused on all the foods you can’t have, leading up to an eventual crash where you abandon your diet altogether. Eating a cookie once a week may seem like it’s defeating the purpose of your diet, but it may actually help keep you on track longer. Fad Diets Countless new fad diets sweep the country every year and catch many people up in their hype. And while many of these diets can help you lose weight, they aren’t meant to be maintained over a long period of time. Remember, your diet should be focused on sound health and wellness, not just going down a dress size. Most fad diets work by depriving your body of much-needed nutrients like proteins and calories. Healthier dieting may take longer for you to see results, but it will be better for your body in the long run.
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