Written by Whether you’re starting a detox, cleanse or short term jump start diet. There are a number of things that you need to toss out. This list is random but I wanted to touch on a few different aspects of what goes on when first starting a weight loss eating program.
Thinking Less Fats = More Weight Loss: I don’t care what your fat free grocery list consists of. Get the idea that eating less fat is better for weight loss OUT OF YOUR HEAD. If you think that, then I can assure you somebody in your lifetime lied to you (I know that’s crushing). Despite the bad rap fats get in our society I am going to swim against the current and teach you a little something. Aside from their energy capabilities fats are responsible for tons of biological events. Things like growth hormones, skin, proteins and vital organs are all affected by the lack of or abundance of fats. Of course if you go to Taco Bell and sit down to a 24 taco challenge you’re not doing much good but trying to take fats out of your diet completely is just as bad. Shoot for the healthy fat sources in moderate amounts (Olive Oils, Flax Seed oil, Avocados etc.)
Staying Up Late: Sleep is the time where your body repairs itself from the abuse you gave it during the day. When you’re trying to eat strict and stick to it, staying up late is not going to help you on this journey. Imagine if you didn’t eat anything for 10 hours straight. I promise you will eventually get hungry at some point. Let’s say you eat dinner at 6:00pm and wake up at 5am for work. You should be sleeping for at least 6.5 hours. Instead what you do is stay up till 2 am watching TV or creeping on someone’s facebook page. You find yourself getting pretty hungry around 11 o’clock at night. Those cravings are not going to be for chicken and brown rice either (insert double stuff Oreo).
Thinking Zero Carbs = Tons of lost weight: Negative. This may work for a little bit but your body will soon go into shock and begin to plateau once it realizes what you’re doing. There has been countless times where clients have come to me talking about their old zero carb diet they followed and how their weight loss had stopped. Things like carb cycling or carb control is very powerful when it comes to HEALTHY weight loss. The problem I run into the most is people get so hooked on the weight loss they start to look at carbs as the enemy. You can still lose weight while eating carbs. Its about choice (fruits, veggies, brown rice, oats) and portion size (1/2 cup-1 cup for BR or Oats-large portions of fruits and veggies).
Not Setting a Deadline: Goals without deadlines often fall short of making past the idea phase. You need to set a deadline. Great, you have New Year’s resolutions. You want to lose a few extra pounds. Odds are if you have not set a day where those lbs need to be gone by your not going to succeed. I have learned this first hand. There are tons of things I want to do that are great ideas but in order to make these ideas effective I need to put them on paper, set a date and push through the pain.
Just Sit Around: So you work from home or may not work at all but you’re looking to start your eating off right this year. Once you start, you’re going to need to find things to keep you busy. Some people are just bored eaters. They feel they need to be eating when they are just sitting around or watching TV. The average American watches WAYYYY to much TV so if you consider yourself an average American then you’re probably supporting my argument. Get off your butt and go pull some weeds or something. Start getting those projects done around the house. You have gotten yourself excited about your new eating habits now focus that inspiration towards your productivity and your diet will be that mush more effective. I promise
This is not rocket science. This is simple stuff that you need to hear over and over and over again in order for it to stick. So make it stick.
Peace out,
William
