5 "Fat" Habits Sabotaging Your Weight Loss

5 “Fat” Habits Sabotaging Your Weight Loss

Does it feel like you’re doing everything right to lose weight but you just can’t seem to drop those extra pounds? You kill yourself at the gym and count calories until you’re blue in the face, but nothing seems to work. Well, Julie Upton, MS, RD and Katherine Booking, MS, RD say you may have some habits that are keeping the weight on.

1. Overdoing “Diet” Foods and Beverages: Some studies suggest that diet foods can actually increase your cravings for sugar and other unhealthy foods. Calorie-reduced foods may also result in binging because they leave you feeling unsatisfied. Diet foods don’t help you achieve sustainable weight loss. Booking and Upton suggest the best way to shed the weight and keep it off is by eating good nutritious, whole foods like fruits, veggies, whole grains and lean proteins.
2. Food is Your BFF: If you are turning to food for reasons other than hunger, you are emotionally eating. Whether you are snacking from boredom, stress or sadness, this habit is doing your body no good. Try practicing mindful eating – that means only eating with no distractions. Turn off the TV and focus on your food. This will help you to know when you are full and allow you to have more conscious control over your food choices.
3. Trying to Be a Perfect Eater: You’ve heard it all before – nobody’s perfect. This applies to your weight loss journey as well. Instead of adhering to an impossibly strict diet regimen, contruct a healthy lifestyle that you can live with for the long term. And expect that sometimes you’ll slip up. Don’t give up.  It’s ok, just get right back up on the horse as soon as you can.
4. Not Having a Support System: We like to think that we can handle everything on our own. However, not only is it unnecessarily hard to lose weight alone, but if your family and friends aren’t as health-conscious as you are, these relationships may be working against your goals. So speak up and let your loved ones know how they can help you achieve success. Having a weight loss support system like a gym buddy or accountability partner can make losing weight easier and more fun.
5. Ditching Your Favorite Foods: If you think that the only way to stay slim and trim is to give up chocolate and eat kale all day every day for the rest of your life, you’re wrong. Creating healthy meals that you actually enjoy and allowing room for some of your favorite “cheat” foods in moderation will help you to build a sustainable lifestyle that will keep you healthy for life without feeling deprived.  

Bottom line, wherever you are in your weight loss journey, remember that it is just that – a journey. Weight loss is not about getting to that perfect number on the scale, it’s about creating a long-term healthy lifestyle that you love and can sustain for the rest of your life.

 Always consult your chiropractor or primary care physician for all your health related advice.

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