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Diet Pitfalls

It is a known fact that 1 in 3 Americans are trying to lose weight, but in 3 years most dieters will regain their weight and in another 5 years they will gain some extra pounds also.

According to Harvard University researchers, there are 4 common reasons why people give up their diet. I think if you know them from the beginning you will be able to overcome them and continue with your weight loss plan.

1. Too much or too fast.

“Cause number-one [for failure] is setting too unrealistic of goals, losing too much too fast,” said Barbel Knauper, an associate professor of psychology at McGill University in Montreal. Instead of trying to lose 15 pounds (7 kg) in a month (very unrealistic) most experts suggest a slow, steady loss, about one or two pounds a week.

How to set a realistic goal

First let’s find out what’s the number of calories per pound of body weight needed to maintain your current weight if you are moderately active. There are a lot of methods and sites that help you with that, but the easiest way is to multiply your current weight by 15.

Let’s say you’re a woman of 145 pounds (66 kg) who’s doing at least 30 minutes a day of moderate activity (walking, climbing stairs etc.). You multiply 145 with 15 and you get 2175, which is the number of calories per day that you need in order to maintain your current weight. If you want to lose 1-2 pounds per week, which is a safe rate, you need to reduce your calorie intake with 20-30 %. However, calorie intake should not fall below 1,200 a day for women, or 1,500 a day for men.

2. Another pitfall is a lack of advanced planning before social situations.

“If people were making ‘when, where, how’ plans, they would be more likely to adhere to their goal,” said Barbel Knauper. Let’s say you’re going out tonight with your friends. You might say to yourself, ‘I won’t order a large serving, but a smaller one and for desert I’ll have a fruit. ‘ You’ll have to stick with your choice even if your friends pressure you to eat more.

3. Feelings of deprivation or boredom with the current eating plan.

The healthy foods often seem to be less available, require more preparation or cost more than the unhealthy foods. Nobody said losing weight is cheap. Healthy food costs more than junk food, so you have to make a financial plan before starting a diet. It doesn’t have to be elaborated or exact, you just need to set minimum and a maximum amount of money for your daily diet groceries.

4. People underestimate the number of calories in food.

Many dieters think that cutting fat is going to make them lose weight. Some fat-free foods contain more calories than the regular versions because extra sugar is added to make up for the flavor lost in removing the fat. To avoid this, you should carefully read the label!

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RSS Trackback URL 25. February 2007 (22:55)
Filed under: Tips, Weight loss

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