10 dieting mistakes you didn’t know you’re making

Last Updated on 2016-05-18 , 3:46 pm

Every day, we’re bombarded with all kinds of advertisements that promise quick ways to lose fat by following a certain diet. Truth to be told, most of them follow a specific formula and are pretty useful if we follow them, but because some of us listen to people who still believe in old wives’ tales, we might have made these dieting mistakes!

You have three meals a day
Since we were young, we were told that having three meals a day is healthy. Well, if you’re awake for 16 hours, that means each meal has an interval of more than five hours. That will lead to overeating on the next meal. Slot in a few snacks (low-calorie ones, that is!) so that you’ll always have something in your stomach. In other words, going hungry will backfire!

You eat less
The correct formula is this: consume less calories, burn more calories and you’ll lose more weight. You see, while a small cake looks relatively small compared to a big watermelon, you have to find out the exact calories in order to lose weight. And just for your info, that small pack of tidbits usually pack more calories than a small bowl of rice. Go figure!

You have salad for all your meals
Sounds healthy, isn’t it? Well, think about it: firstly, those sauces packed a lot more calories than you can imagine, and the vegetables do not contain enough carbo to keep you full. On the surface, it looks to be the perfect diet, but if you think through it, it isn’t.

Eat processed fake food like bars or milkshake
They promise that you’ll lose weight, but the fact is that what they do is to keep you full for a while. And a while later, you’ll be hungry again. If you really like to eat something that makes you full longer, go for low GI food like wholemeal bread or brown rice.

You sleep too few hours
If you’re surprised, don’t be. You see, being awake for a longer period of time means you need to consume more food (not because your body needs it, but you mentally crave for it). Also, it slows down your metabolism rate and will develop hormonal changes that make you gain weight. So add this into your diet: sleep.

You eat a lot of “health” food
Like, you know, health nuts and organic food. Despite them being relatively “healthy”, they contain the same amount of calories, if not more. Remember the formula to lose weight? So what if you’ve eaten high-calorie healthy food? You’ll still gain weight nevertheless.

You eat alone
So, you think you can control what you eat as long as you eat alone more often. Bad news—because you’ve got nothing to do, you concentrate on your food, and you eat more. If you eat with a person, you might just suppress your diet after hearing some interesting stories from your friend.

You don’t drink enough water
Have you ever wondered why soup-based food makes you fuller? It’s all about the water. If you drink enough water, it’ll suppress your hungry. And what’s most important? Plain water contains no calorie at all!

You don’t take your breakfast
It’s a mind game here, really. If you have a healthy breakfast, your entire day will be filled with good, healthy meals. If not, you’ll have junk food. Start your day well, and you day will go well.

You avoid fats
It’s all due to the old wives’ tale that consuming fats will develop fats in you. So, is it really true? Here’s the golden answer: NO, IT DOESN’T WORK THAT WAY. It’s all about the calories. So just take fats in moderation!