Looking to meet your 2020 goals? Want to jump start that weight loss? Here are some diet pitfalls I often see and how to avoid them
Diet Pitfall #1: Skipping Meals
Skipping meals only leads to being more hungry later in the day which leads to overeating and loss of control in the evenings. Start your day with breakfast, then try and eat something every 3-5 hours to maintain steady blood sugars. Skipping meals or fasting does NOT equate to long term weight loss.
Diet Pitfall #2: Eating diet, sugar free or fat free foods all day
Real food will fill you up and satisfy you. “Franken-food” will not. (AKA food that has been chemically processed). Eat real, wholesome foods. You will feel better. Look better. Have more energy and less cravings.
Diet Pitfall #3: Not exercising
You can lose weight by diet alone but it is very rare when someone can maintain long term weight loss without some exercise involved. Get moving!!! Thirty minutes a day for long term results. You will have more energy, fit into your clothes better, lose more inches with exercise AND diet vs. diet alone.
Diet Pitfall #4: Not drinking enough water/drinking diet pop or coffee all day.
Water is the BEST way to hydrate yourself. Add a slice of lemon, cucumber or sliced berries to flavor your water naturally. Increasing the water will hydrate you better, give you longer lasting energy levels AND help you burn more calories when you work out.
~Kelly Devine Rickert, Moraine Valley Wellness Coordinator and Registered Dietitian