The journey of weight loss is not an easy nor a quick one. It can be very disheartening to see that despite putting in efforts, you’re not losing weight. But what you may not realize is that simple things, such as diet mistakes, could be causing you not to lose weight. Therefore, in this article, we have described thirteen such diet mistakes for not losing weight that you may be making. So, check out our list of common diet mistakes that people make and see if anyone sounds familiar to you.
Spoiler Alert: If you are not a fan of reading then there is a video at the end of this article that covers this topic.
Diet mistakes for not losing weight:
1. You’re consuming excess calories
You might tend to underestimate your daily calorie consumption. You may also feel that you don’t, but studies have shown continuously that people tend to underestimate their calorie intake by a significant amount.
You should actually track your calories, and you can do this by using a calorie calculator or a calorie counting app. You can practice this method for a few weeks to get better estimates of your calorie intake.
2. You’re binge-eating
One of the biggest diet mistakes is binge eating, which is when you eat an excessive amount of food in a short span of time. Binge eating can be done on junk food as well as healthy food such as nuts, dark chocolate, and cheese.
Healthy foods also contain calories and if consumed in excess can cause a hindrance in losing weight. Moreover, a single session of binge eating can ruin the entire dieting.
3. You’re not getting enough sleep
Sleep is not only important for your physical and mental health but also for your weight. According to many studies, poor sleep increases the risk of obesity by 55% in adults and 89% in children.
Losing out on sleep can make you feel hungry more often and also affects the secretion of cortisol, a hormone that regulates appetite. Moreover, sleep deprivation can make you feel more tired and make you skip exercise. So, try to have enough sleep by avoiding this diet mistake while you are trying to lose weight.
4. You may have a medical condition
Many times, despite maintaining a proper diet and exercising regularly, you still not be losing weight. In many such cases, there can possibly be underlying medical conditions, such as thyroid problems, that may be causing this. Moreover, the usage of certain medications can also be a hindrance to weight loss. These include:
- Antipsychotic medications
- Beta-blockers, which are used to treat high pressure
- Medicines containing steroids
- Antidepressants
5. You’re not drinking enough water
Drinking enough water is a requirement for your body and also beneficial for weight loss. Studies have shown that drinking water boosts the number of calories burnt over 90 minutes by 24-30%. Moreover, drinking water before meals is even more beneficial. According to a study performed over 12 weeks, people who drank 17 ounces of water around 30 minutes before a meal lost 44% more weight than those who didn’t.
6. You are not reducing your carbs intake
Intake of a high-calorie diet is another diet mistake that hinders weight loss. Studies have shown that a low card diet can cause 2-3 times more weight loss than a commonly recommended low-fat diet. Moreover, low carb diets can also improve many metabolic markers such as triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and blood sugar.
7. You’re eating too many meals
Another diet mistake is eating too many meals. This is contradictory to what is often recommended for weight loss, that is, we should eat many small meals throughout the day to lose weight. But there are no such studies that have effectively linked meal frequency to weight loss.
One method you can try for weight loss is intermittent fasting in which you don’t eat for around 15-24 hours after which you get a small period to eat.
8. You eat too much of junk food
This is one biggest diet mistakes that hinder weight loss. Junk food contains loads of calories and provides no such nutritional value to the body. Junk food addiction is a widespread problem, and according to one study in 2014, about 19.9% of people in Europe and North America are addicted to junk food.
9. Your protein intake is not enough
Not including enough protein in your diet is another diet mistake that causes you not to lose weight. Protein can be considered as the most essential nutrient for losing weight as it prevents metabolic slowdown, affects hormones such as ghrelin which regulates appetite and even prevents weight regain.
Studies have shown that a protein intake of 25-30% can boost metabolism by 80-100 calories every day and reduce cravings for snacking. Moreover, including protein-rich foods such as eggs in your breakfast makes you feel less hungry throughout the day.
10. You’re not practicing resistance training
When you diet for weight loss, you not only lose body fat but also lose muscle mass. To prevent this, try and do some form of resistance training such as lifting weights. This helps to maintain muscle mass and prevents metabolic slowdown.
11. You don’t do cardiovascular exercise
Aerobic exercise or cardio is a type of exercise that increases your heart rate. It also includes jogging, swimming, and cycling. Cardio is very effective in burning body fat, especially belly fat, and weight loss.
12. You’re drinking too many sugary drinks
Another diet mistake that hinders weight loss is the consumption of drinks with high sugar content. These include alcohol, carbonated soft drinks, and alcohol. Alcohol itself has around 7 calories per gram which are pretty high. These drinks are high in sugar and calories and offer no nutritional value to our bodies.
13. You don’t eat mindfully
Another diet mistake is not eating without paying attention or registering what and how much you’ve eaten. Mindful eating includes eating without any distractions, such as watching TV, chewing slowly and savoring every bite so that your body registers when it is full. Mindful eating is a powerful way for weight loss, and many studies have shown that it can actually cause weight loss and reduce episodes of binge eating.
There are several ways to lose weight. Eat healthily, exercise regularly and find other alternatives to good sweets. But even if you do all this, there are many common diet mistakes that can prevent you from losing weight and reaching your goal. If you are making any of the above diet mistakes, try to stop doing so immediately. This, combined with diet and exercise, will definitely bring about the best weight loss results. Click here to watch the video on YouTube.
