Diet Mistakes Every Newbie Makes

Many people have trouble with their weight loss efforts when they first start out. Diet mistakes are easy to make with all the crash diets that claim losing weight fast is easy, or that viciously cutting calories and eating nothing but one food group will somehow make you skinny overnight. Studies suggest that losing weight in the long run and reducing body fat can be achieved if we avoid these common diet mistake and stick to the basics over the long term. If you want to burn calories, stop asking yourself what's wrong with your diet and read up here on the eating habits you should avoid.

Skipped breakfast is one of the most common diet mistakes that every newbie makes. It seems like the easiest way to burn calories or to get rid of some added calories throughout the day; however, what many people don’t realize is that skipped breakfast can lead to weight gain in the long run. When you skip breakfast, you will end up eating more calories later in the day when your body becomes hungrier. Your calorie counting will go out the window when you become so hungry that you can’t even think. Instead of skipping breakfast, consume a well-balanced breakfast to start your day and your mind on a healthy note.

Crash diets are a terrible diet mistake that many newbies make because so many dieters are impatient with their weight loss efforts. Everyone wants losing weight to be fast and simple, but the reality is that weight loss takes time. Your eating habits need to be consistent long term to see results, and you must change your lifestyle, or else you will see weight gain after your crash diet ends.

One of the most common diet mistakes made is that dieters will make good choices, whether it be healthy eating for a day or having a great workout, and then they will feel that a reward is necessary. A reward system is okay, but when you reward yourself with food each time, it can cancel out all the hard work you just put in. If you aren’t seeing results from your weight loss efforts, it may be because you’re rewarding yourself too much. Try switching up your rewards to include things unrelated to food. Reward yourself with a massage or a new book. Change your eating habits and your reward system to lose weight in the long run.

If you’re not losing weight, one of your diet mistakes may be that you’re not eating enough protein. Studies show that protein keeps you fuller longer and can help build lean muscle. Make sure to eat at least half your body weight in ounces of protein each day to make sure you’re getting as many calories as possible from healthy protein sources. Since this is sounds like a lot of food, you should know how to prepare low-carb, low-calorie, and high-protein recipes for any meal of the day.

Another common diet mistake is that many dieters buy foods at the grocery store that are labeled “low fat” and think that these products are healthy options. While these products are not toxic to your body, they don’t give you a free pass to eat more than the normal amount of the regular fat version. “Low fat” versions of snacks usually have added sugar or carbs to make up for the reduction in fat. Be sure to read the labels on every snack you purchase and stick to calorie counting during your weight loss efforts if you’re serious about burning fat and losing weight.

If you don’t exercise, you are committing one of the biggest diet mistakes there is! Exercise is super important to losing weight because exercising helps create lean muscle, burns calories, and reduces body fat. Even if you’re cutting calories in your diet every day, it is important to add exercise to your routine for a healthy lifestyle. Exercise will help you avoid weight gain in the long run.

Flipping the script on the last tip, if you rely only on exercise, you are also making a huge diet mistake. They say 80% of losing weight is done in the kitchen and the other 20% is done in the gym. People who eat everything in sight and then think they are going to lose weight just by exercising are fooling themselves. You must focus on your eating habits and start cutting calories if you want to lose weight. There is no other way around it.

So many calories are hidden in the drinks we consume every day, and a huge diet mistake is counting calories every day, but forgetting to count the calories in our drinks. Our daily coffee can contain hundreds of calories depending on the cream, sugar, and chocolate we add to it. It’s important to know what we are putting into our bodies. Also, eliminating these added drinkable calories is probably a lot easier than food, so notice what you drink and try to get rid of these calories first to lose some weight.

When it comes to exercise, one big diet mistake that many newbies make is sticking strictly to cardio as opposed to weights. While cardio will burn calories and it is a necessity for weight loss, weights are also necessary for building lean muscle and burning body fat. Lifting weights will burn calories fast and build your muscle. Many don’t realize that by building muscle, your body is simultaneously burning calories and body fat. If you want to lose weight and tone up at the same time, weights are the way to go!

Lastly, one of the most common diet mistakes many newbies make is that they stay focused and work hard all week, and then when the weekend rolls around, they think they get a free pass to cheat for two days straight. What many don’t realize is that two straight days of cheating and not exercising can ruin all the hard work from the week! If you aren’t seeing results from your weight loss efforts, get serious about it, and remember that binge dieting is bad for you!

Assess your goals. Decide what’s important. These are the most common diet mistakes every newbie makes, so now that you know them, you can avoid them!