Fact: there are lots of diet programs and workout routines out there that promise to get rid of your unwanted pounds with minimal effort. You’ve heard of the Paleo diet, South Beach diet, Cohen diet and all kinds of good-sounding name diets that make you want to try everything. The question now is, do they really work?
Okay, fine. Even the worst diet can make you lose weight, at least initially. In the long run, you will realize that your weight keeps coming back and what you lost for a month is something you can gain in just a few days. The problem with these weight loss tips is that it clouds your mind and makes you think that there is a magic pill that can make your extra pounds disappear.
Well honey, it doesn’t work that way. Here are 10 weight loss tips that are better off tossed in a trash bin.
1. Eat Out Once A Week
You heard of cheat days, right? While cheat days are not entirely bad, eating out to satisfy your cravings won’t do you any good. The problem with restaurant food is that they have more calories compared to homemade meals.
Based on a study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, women who eat out at leastonce a week lose less weight compared to women who prefer home-cooked meals every night.
What You Can Do: Limit your dining to once a month. You don’t know how much calories you are getting every food serving, which makes it more challenging for you to track how much is going on inside your body. If you prefer eating out once a week, then at least ask for healthier modifications on your food, eat in smaller portions or ask for the restaurant’s nutritional. information.
2. Crash Diet
Admit it. You resort to crash diets because you really want to fit in that size six dress by the end of the week. Unfortunately, you are doing more harm than good to your body.
At the same time, grapefruit diets, cabbage soup diets and other diets that focus only on a few food groups won’t make you healthy in the long run.
What You Can Do: Choose your diet program wisely. As much as possible, choose a diet plan that incorporates all food groups in the food pyramid, including healthy fats. Your body needs every food group to function properly.
When you resort to crash diets, you train your metabolism to slow down, since you are only giving it a limited amount of food. Once you start eating normal food again, your body will have difficulty burning calories, thus making you gain weight – and fast.
3. Skip Breakfast
You heard of the saying, “Eat like a king during breakfast, a queen during lunch and like a pauper for dinner.” This is because breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you need to get your morning fix to pump you up for the rest of the day.
If you are skipping breakfast and sticking to a granola bar and coffee on your way to school or work, then you’re not doing yourself a favor. Yes, it cuts calories, but it could only make you hungry for the rest of the day. This could lead to unplanned snacking, bigger portions at lunch and even giving in to sweet temptations.
What You Can Do: Don’t skip breakfast. However, this doesn’t mean you can just eat whatever you want every morning. Protein and fiber-rich breakfasts including whole grains, eggs and fresh fruits can curb hunger throughout the day and fuels you up for what’s about to come. If you want to lose weight, eat your breakfast. Just make sure you are eating the right food, too.
4. Go On A Detox
Detox diets such as Master Cleanse and The Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox are popular these days. This type of diet promises to flush out the toxins in your liver, cleanse your body and keep your colon clean, among others. After all, extreme needs call for extreme measures, right?
Unfortunately, detox, flushes and cleanses are pure nonsense, at least according to experts. There is no scientific basis for this type of diet, since your body has the necessary organs, such as the liver and kidneys to help get rid of the toxins and wastes inside your body.
What You Can Do: Don’t fall for detox diets. Detox diets means drinking juices made of fruits and vegetables and nothing else. Apparently, an effective diet plan does not eliminate any food group and this type of diet is a walking contradiction.
5. Get Rid Of Dairy
Dairy products, particularly the full fat ones, such as milk, cheese and ice cream are notorious and blacklisted by many dieters.
Did you know that your body needs dairy, too? Research suggests that your body burns more fat when there is enough supply of calcium. On the other hand, too little calcium in your body produces more fat, thereby making you gain weight.
What You Can Do: Drink more milk and include dairy in your grocery list. If you are worried about possible weight gain, then stick to non-fat or low-fat dairy for your calcium fix. Taking calcium supplements may not be enough and may not yield the same results, so it is best to choose the natural means.
6. Low Calorie Diets Are The Way To Lose Weight
The most popular diets available are the ones that control how much calories should go inside your body.
While this works and effectively cuts your weight, you only teach your body to consume only up to this amount of calories. In effect, your body activates itself into starvation mode and lowers your metabolism.
The problem now is when you start to eat normally again. Your metabolism does not readjust and it will only burn what it is used to, which is fewer calories. This is known as the yoyo syndrome.
What You Can Do: Stay away from low-calorie diets. Be realistic. Losing pounds the healthy way means you need to choose the right foods, while making sure that your body meets the required calories it needs to function properly.
7. Stay Away From Snacks
Mindless snacking and not keeping track of what you eat in between meals may make you gain weight. However, this does not mean you should skip it.
Believe it or not, eating in small and frequent amounts curbs hunger, controls your portion sizes and allows you to make better nutritional choices.
What You Can Do: Stick to healthy, nutritious snacks as much as you can. Fruits, nuts and yogurts are excellent choices and keep you energy levels in high gear all throughout the day. Distributing your calories for the rest of the day could also help manage your weight. Just make sure you stay away from empty calories and junk foods to keep your weight at bay.
8. Always Count Your Calories
One of the things you always hear about when losing weight is to count your calories. The higher the calories, the more fat that goes inside your body – or is it? Of course not.
Calories are important to understand portion control. However, this does not indicate good nutrition.
The truth is not all calories are the same. The type, timing and quality of calories that go inside your body can alter the calories inside your body. For instance, 50 calories from an apple can cause a different reaction inside your body compared to 50 calories of chocolate brownie ice cream. Quality calories and empty calories are two different things.
With quality foods, the body works to extract the nutrition, but with empty foods, the body works to eliminate toxins, instead. This is why you feel so badly after consuming a meal that is high in processed foods and fats.
What You Can Do: Stop counting calories and just stick to healthy foods. What’s the point of eating only 100 calories of French fries when everything your body digests comes from junk, right? Opt for a baked potato topped with fresh salsa instead.
9. Load Up On Protein
Sorry to burst your bubble caveman diet lovers, but too much protein is not the best way to lose weight the right way.
Your body needs three important nutrients to function well: carbs, protein and fat. Too much protein means you deprive your body of essential nutrients found in other food groups.
What You Can Do: Strike a balance among the different food groups. Too much fat or carbs may not be good for you, as well. As much as possible, give your body all the essential nutrients it needs and don’t just focus on one food group.
10. Go Fat-Free And Sugar Free
Here’s the truth: fat-free and sugar-free are not necessarily healthy. There are lots of food that are low in fat but have high sugar, calories and sodium.
Sugar-free products are also full of artificial sweeteners, which means it could even make you gain more weight. Sugar-free drinks also contain chemicals to enhance its taste since sugar is absent in the process.
What You Can Do: Stop using sugar-free and fat-free as your basis for health and nutrition. Oftentimes, these two concepts are what makes the food and drinks more harmful. The best you can do is to toss these kinds of drinks and stick to natural, organic alternatives.
There is no one size that fits all when it comes to weight loss.The key is finding the right system that best suits your needs and lifestyle. Just make sure to remember these tips to make sure you give only the best to your health and body.