7 Mistakes Keeping Your Leaner Body Away

Common diet misunderstanding can thwart your good intention efforts to get back into that beloved pair of jeans. If you just can't seem to lose those few pounds, there’s a chance you could be making one of these 7 diet blunders.

1. Relying on a Crash Diet
Bent on losing 10 pounds fast, you turn to a deprivation diet. Perhaps your game plan calls for eating nothing but grapefruit or cabbage soup each day. You decrease your daily calories to less than 1,000 and sure enough, the pounds shrink away. But when you eat so few calories, you guide your metabolism to slow down. Once the diet is over, you have a body that burns calories at a reduced rate and gains weight faster than ever before.

2.  Not Mid-Day Grazing at All
While thoughtless snacking can pad your waistline, thoughtful snacking may do just the opposite. People who plan several small meals and snacks a day are more likely to lose weight by controlling their hunger. Eating 4 to 6 light meals helps keep your metabolism revved up, especially if the snacks are high in protein. Nuts are a good choice, and research suggests people who snack on nuts tend to be slimmer than those who don't.

3. Loading Up on Low-Fat
Low-fat products can play an important role in your diet. Just remember that low-fat doesn't mean low-calorie and it is not a license to over eat. If you stack your plate with low-fat cake, you may end up eating more calories than if you had a smaller slice of regular cake. The best way to know how much fat, sugar, and calories you are eating is to check the nutritional label.

4. Drinking Too Little Water
This is the simplest diet gaffes to correct. Water is essential for burning calories. If you let yourself get dehydrated, your metabolism drags, which slows down weight loss. Studies show adults who drink an ounce of water for every two pounds of weight of water daily use up more calories than those who drink less. So try adding a glass of water to each meal and snack.

5. Ditching Dairy Completely
Milk, cheese, and ice cream are not allowed for some dieters, but removing dairy foods may be harmful to your efforts. Some   suggests the body burns more fat when it gets enough calcium and produces more fat when it’s calcium-deprived. Calcium supplements do not appear to yield the same benefits, because dairy products have other compounds at work as well. Most dietitians recommend sticking to nonfat or low-fat milk and yogurt.

6.  Setting Unachievable Goals
Planning on loosing 20 pounds your first week is   unachievable. If you know you can't do it, you will never start your weight loss plan in the first place. If you do diet and lose 5 pounds in a week, instead of celebrating, you may feel discouraged that you didn’t reach your goal. A realistic goal is vital to successful dieting. If you’re not sure what your goal should be, talk to a dietitian.

7.  Skipping Exercise
When you do not exercise, you place the entire burden of weight loss on your diet. By becoming more active, you can eat more of the things you like and still reduce your weight. It is important to find an exercise you enjoy. If the treadmill seems tedious, try biking or dancing, all   burn more calories than walking. Try several different activities until you find one you can do regularly.