5 Reasons Your Diet Isn't Working
Apr
17
2019
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Hi Lisa,I’m super frustrated because I’ve been dieting since January, but the pounds are NOT coming off. What am I doing wrong?
Discouraged Dieter
Hi DD,That IS frustrating! A lot of people have this issue, and it’s often due to sneaky diet saboteurs. Here are five common problems that could be tanking your weight-loss efforts... Knowledge is power!
You're burning calories with exercise... but still consuming more calories than you're burning.
Even if your gym promises that you’ll burn 500 calories with an hour of spinning, everybody is different -- you may only burn 300 calories. And since workouts do fuel the appetite, you might go on to eat an additional 400 calories' worth of food throughout the day. "After all," you think, "I've burned 500!" Bummer: You may have just taken in more calories than you burned, which can actually lead to weight gain. So how do you figure out the number of calories you're truly burning? A good place to start is a BMR (basal metabolic rate) calculator to estimate your general everyday calorie burn. Personal tracking websites like MyFitnessPal are good for tracking your calorie intake as compared to your calorie burn each day -- and for seeing how many calories you realistically burned during that workout. Or if you're ready to take the plunge, try a fitness tracker, like a Fitbit!
You make smart choices at restaurants... but you're dining out too often.
"But HG," you protest, "I only eat at restaurants that provide nutritional information, and I order the light options." That's a very good move… but the cold hard truth is that those numbers are just estimates. What comes out of the kitchen could very well be higher in calories -- it really depends on who's in the kitchen that day and how carefully they're measuring ingredients, if at all. Dining out occasionally is fine, but if you find that the number on the scale won't budge, you might want to cut back... Click here for more dining-out tips.
You've got no-calorie and low-calorie staples.... that are too good to be true.
We're about to drop some truth bombs. According to the FDA, if a product has less than 5 calories per serving (which could be much smaller than the amount you're having), the label can claim it has 0 calories. Factor in multiple servings of multiple products (nonstick spray, sweetener packets, spray butter, etc.), and the stats can really add up. Additionally, the numbers on nutritional panels are allowed to be inaccurate by up to 20 percent. And while supporting small business is great, the stats on products from bigger food brands are often more accurate. If the nutritional stats seem too good to be true, they probably are. Get more on this subject by clicking here and here.
You count the calories in what you're eating... but forget about the ones you drink.
You may stay away from regular soda and crazy blended coffee drinks, but there are other, more subtle sources of sippable calories. A wholesome cup of OJ at breakfast has around 110 calories, and a quarter cup of milk adds 20 - 40 calories to each cup of coffee you drink. Even those "green juices" often have a significant number of calories (and more sugar than you'd think). Instead of juice, stick with whole fruit… It’s more filling. (Plus, chewing's more fun than sipping!) As for coffee, read up here on how to make a low-calorie cup o' joe. Have trouble drinking enough water? Click for tips…
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Chew on this:
Today, April 17th, is National Cheeseball Day. While we’re fans of the classic party appetizer, we’re gonna celebrate with cheese-stuffed pizza balls instead!
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