1. Not eating enough during the day
Not eating enough during the day slows down your metabolism two
ways. First, your body thinks it's starving, so it will slow down your
calorie-burning capacity in order to "survive." Second, you are
likely to make up for low caloric intake in the last few hours of the day,
causing your body to hang on to the food through the night in preparation for
another day of "starving." Plain and simple eat early and eat
often it will get your engine revving on high!
2. Not drinking enough fluids
Drinking water is one of the easiest ways to turn up your
fat-burning capacity. I cannot say that drinking water alone will cause weight
loss; however, if you are eating a perfect diet, but are dehydrated, you will
lose less weight. When your body is dehydrated it cannot burn fat. So
please, get 64 ounces per day and as a bonus your hair and skin will
shine!
3. All-or-nothing dieting
One of the biggest problems with "fad" and
"crash" diets is that they usually provide a very low calorie
allowance. Not only will this cause your body to burn fewer calories, but it
will also make you more likely to binge. A slower metabolism combined with an
increased likelihood of binging spells disaster. So play it safe; find
a well-balanced diet that does not overly restrict calories.
4. Eating too much sugar
I often find that my clients are eating the right amount of
calories for weight loss, but are not losing weight. The culprit is
usually sugar. Sugars and refined carbs have the unique ability to stop
weight loss in its tracks. Think of this: Your body is burning fat (from your
hips, maybe?), and all of a sudden it gets an influx of sugar. It will use the
sugar as energy and promptly stop burning the fat. So really, cut the
sugar.
5. Not weight-training
So many of my clients tell me about the hours they spend on the
treadmill thinking that this is the secret ingredient to burning more
calories. Sadly, it just doesn't work out. Sure, you burn more calories by
walking on the treadmill than by lying on the couch; however, without the
proper amount of weight training, you will not increase your metabolism.
Your resting metabolism is directly affected by how much muscle you have
so go on,build more muscle!
6. "Eating back" your exercise
calories
Many people want to know how many calories their exercise session
burned. Usually the reason they want this information is to quantify it in
terms of food. In other words, they justify eating a candy bar since they already
worked off those calories. However, this equation just doesn't work. You'll end
up not losing weight, or you might even gain some weight. So
remember, food and exercise are separate issues.
7. Drinking too much alcohol
There is nothing wrong with a few cocktails per week, but too many
will absolutely reduce your fat-burning capability. Not only does alcohol
provide a hefty dose of calories, but it also stops fat burning in its tracks
(similar to sugar). Add in the side effect of the increased hunger you might
feel while imbibing, and you've set yourself up for weight loss
failure. Enjoy your cocktails... sparingly.
8. Skimping on protein
During the low-fat food craze of the late 1980s, we all became
afraid of protein. It was linked to higher-fat diets, and many trendy diets
limited protein to 2 ounces per meal. This has a disastrous consequence
on weight loss. When you skimp on protein, your body has to burn its own
muscle for fuel, resulting in decreased lean muscle mass. Less muscle means
less calorie-burning action! Additionally, without adequate protein you can't
build more muscle mass (to burn calories). And lastly, diets that are low in
protein cause increased sugar cravings. So eat your protein, often!
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