7 common diet mistakes limiting your weight loss goals

Are you struggling to successfully lose weight? You might be making one of these seven common mistakes…

Eating too much: I know that sounds too obvious, but its very easy to eat just a little bit more than you think you are. If you’re not tracking things, the odd biscuit here and second portion there adds up quickly. Make sure you’re being really accurate in knowing exactly what you are eating.

‘Treating’/cheating: A lot of people will be really strict on their diet during the week, and then have a treat or a cheat meal at the weekend that turns into a blowout. Having a meal off to eat whatever you would like is healthy, but make sure you’re not overeating too much. You can easily replace all the calories you cut out from the week of dieting in just 1-2 big meals on a cheat day.

Being too short-term thinking: Sometimes the best way to lose weight is slow and steady. We all like to get results as quickly as possible, but if what you’re doing is not sustainable, it sets up struggles in the future and people often end up giving up. Take it steady with a plan you can continue long term and you are more likely to get to your goal in the end.

Letting the scales dictate your mood: Weight fluctuates. Sometimes it will go up, sometimes it will go down, at seemingly random intervals. You might have been doing everything right, and not lose any weight. That can be frustrating, but you must detach yourself from it and focus on continuing to do the right things. If you haven’t lost weight for two weeks in a row, then you should change something, but if its just once, don’t worry and keep doing what you’re doing. Results will come if you follow the plan consistently.

Over-complicating it: Losing weight is very simple. It’s not easy, but it is simple. You just need to expend more calories than you take in. All the different diets out there are different ways of achieving that. Try and avoid falling for the marketing around making it very complex, and look for the simplest and easiest things you can add in to your life to achieve your goals.

Not tracking: If you’re not tracking your weight and keeping a food diary; you don’t know why something is working or not working. The more data you have, the more power you have to make the right choices. If you know what you’ve been doing, you know what to change if it isn’t working.

Forgetting little additions: It’s common to overlook the little additions in your diet that could be adding up into a significant number of calories. The sugar in your coffee, butter in your pan and dressing on your salad could easily add a couple of hundred calories per day to your diet, which you might be overlooking. Ensure you keep tabs on everything you consume.