If you’re serious about losing weight and keeping it off long term, stop messing around with these trendy diet don’ts.
1. Going on a cleanse
The worst diet advice nutritionists have ever heard: Go on a cleanse. These “detox” diets purport to rid your body of harmful toxins and help with weight loss—but they don’t, and they can be harmful, according to the National Institutes of Health.
The weight lost completing a cleanse or detox is not sustained in the long run—temporary solutions equal temporary results. Immediately after finishing a cleanse, people go back to their regular eating habits and inevitably gain their weight back.
Cleanses can lack important nutrients like protein and fiber. Plus, juice cleanses have more sugar than several bowls of sweetened cereal.
Your kidneys and liver naturally detox your body, so cleanses aren’t necessary.
2. Cutting carbs
Yes, you can eat carbs and be healthy. The problem with cutting out carbohydrates for weight loss is that they are necessary to fuel our body’s daily activities. Without them, we feel weak, tired, and cranky, which can lead to feelings of deprivation and trigger excessive eating.
The solution to eating the carbohydrates your body needs without gaining weight is to increase consumption of high-fiber carbohydrates, which slows digestion and prevents blood sugar spikes.
Aim for 35 to 38 grams of fiber per day of healthy carbs including whole grains and fruits.
3. Going gluten-free
Eliminating gluten is one of the biggest myths about weight loss. And for people without a gluten allergy, it can have unexpected results.
Going gluten-free might work for a little while, but your whole GI tract will change as a result. So, if you go back and add gluten into your diet again, you may find you’ve actually developed a gluten sensitivity.
Many gluten-free products are filled with sugar and other unhealthy fillers. Plus, some studies suggest that going gluten-free means you’ll miss out on the cardiovascular health benefits whole grains provide.
4. Cutting out fat
According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, fat is a necessary nutrient for your health—but all fat isn’t created equal. Cutting out unhealthy, saturated fats certainly is a good way to lose weight, but don’t cut out all fat from your diet. Stick to a diet inclusive of healthy fats like nuts, fish, and extra virgin olive oil as appropriate in small amounts.
Healthy fats are a useful part of a weight-loss plan because they give you energy and keep you full. Research from Harvard has shown that low-fat diets aren’t effective; plus, “low fat” products are often full of sugar.
5. Wearing a fitness tracker
Multiple studies have shown that activity trackers don’t help you get fit or lose weight. There’s nothing magical about simply strapping one onto your wrist—you have to set goals and then actually follow them in order for them to be effective, as a recent study showed.
Many activity trackers provide a link between logging what you eat versus how many calories you burn each day. You can even utilize their healthy guide to how many calories you should consume and expend to reach your goal in a reasonable amount of time.
6. Exercising
Although it has many health benefits and helps build muscle, exercise isn’t exactly the key to weight loss. Studies have shown that the more physically active you are doesn’t necessarily equate to more weight lost because of the way your metabolism adjusts, causing you to plateau.
Plus, exercise is only helpful if paired with a healthy diet. “I love the quote, ‘Abs start in the kitchen. Ask yourself: “Are you eating more to compensate for the calorie expenditure during exercise?”
7. Eating the same bland food
Being bored by “healthy” food is a sure-fire way to get off-track. For example, eggs for breakfast every day can be prepared a number of ways—poached, scrambled, hard-boiled—and with different veggies.
Choose different fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins each day to keep from feeling deprived. In addition, spices and herbs can flavor dishes without added calories.
8. Starving yourself
Dieting may actually cause you to gain weight if you’re too hungry. No diet will be effective long-term if it leaves the dieter hungry and unsatisfied.
This will only lead to feelings of deprivation, which in turn may cause emotional eating in addition to physical hunger. And when you finally eat, your body will tell you pig out to overcompensate for being starved.
9. Avoiding treats altogether
Studies suggest that indulging in a small treat while eating an otherwise healthful diet can actually aid weight loss. If all indulgences are off-limits, you’re only going to feel more deprived and crave them more.
It is important not to deprive yourself of ‘treat’ foods because if you do, then you will overeat when you eat them again. Try eating mindfully when you indulge. Sit down and actually chew the food. Enjoy the flavors. But be sure to only treat yourself in moderation.
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