5 Ways You Sabotage Your Diet
by Briana Michel (Creator of 90 Days to Thrival)
After 13 years of dealing with every diet mishap and blunder my clients could muster, I have compiled a list of the top diet DONT'S and ways to avoid them.
Setting yourself up for diet failure
Switching to “diet” foods and drinks – these are touted as no or low carb processed foods laden with artificial sweetener and or sugar alcohols. This sets your body up for insulin spikes, which signal fat storage even when sugar is not present, and because they are so much sweeter than actual sugar, they set you up for a cycle sugar cravings and inability to feel satisfied by a small amount of sugar. Instead focus on whole foods, a variety of nutrients and of course appropriate portion sizes. When you get good nutrition and not a lot of artificial foods, your weight loss is sped up, your mood is better and the weight loss results looks a whole lot better when done healthy!
Loading up on coffee instead of eating – many people turn to coffee as an appetite suppressant. Why this is not a good idea? – while a small amount of caffeine may boost your metabolism, what you put in your coffee can sabotage your weight loss, adding unnecessary calories, sugar or artificial sweeteners. In addition, caffeine is a diuretic; even slight dehydration can cause your metabolism to slow down. Too much caffeine can lead to irritability and heart palpitations, inability to fall or stay asleep – all of these things can impede your weight loss goals – especially lack of sleep!
Becoming a recluse- while walking into arenas of temptation can be a bad idea when you are trying to lose weight, I often see people become afraid to go out with friends or miss out on events because they fear they will be derailed from their “diet”. When you turn yourself into the lone gal on an island you resent your weight loss plan and may be more likely to turn to food for entertainment and comfort at home or give up all together. It also sets up your belief that you are only on a temporary diet and not a permanent healthy lifestyle change. Instead, find healthy ways to socialize – ask friends to go on a “walk and talk”. I personally use this as my multi- tasking strategy with diet client – burn calories as we jabber our jaws! Instead of lunch dates, meet for unsweet iced or hot tea/ decaf coffee. Plan an even that keeps your hands busy like a pottery painting party or crafting session. If you do have to go to a food centered event, eat before you go, survey what is available ahead of time or look on the menu online, fill up on clean veggies or broth based soup before the main meal, don’t be afraid to make special requests, keep water or club soda on hand at all times.
Trying to outsmart a plan or having “too many cooks in the kitchen” - I don’t mean actual cooks here, I mean when people take advice from multiple sources and try to combine bits of advice, it can backfire big time. You have to find a program you can trust, that is well rounded and practical; then stick to it until you reach your goals. Don’t start one thing then read or hear about something else that makes you jump ship to the newest program. If the plan you are on keeps health and whole foods in mind, really give it your all and tune out the hype of quick fixes and the peanut galleries advice. When you are on a program or with a health coach you trust, don’t try to outsmart their program and under eat or omit categories of food that are healthful. I see this all the time no matter how many warnings I heed, someone always tries to be “smarter” than the plan and not eat fats or go too low carb – and it back fires with constipation, weight gain, mood swings, headaches, low energy etc.
Not eating to fuel a workout or over fueling post-workout, I see this a lot as well. You can’t ask a Ferrari to go from 0-60 in 6.6 seconds by putting sludge in the tank. You can’t get in a high intensity fat burning workout if you don’t have the right fuel for training. The ability to boost fat burning and muscle building comes from how you fuel a workout. Not eating after a workout keeps your body from getting the building blocks it needs to repair and growth. However, some people think because they sweat in the gym they can go pound a high carb high fat meal after their workout, thus defeating the progress made during the workout. 15-20g Protein and 30-40g carbs before a workout and 20-25g protein and vegetables after a workout does a body good!
