Dieting might be quite a challenge as it normally involves certain restrictions that in time become excuses and end up being obstacles that stand in your way of achieving the weight you are looking for.
A new lifestyle might be the biggest sacrifice for a person who wants to lose weight, yet it is important to know one’s body, understand that dieting means, first of all, making some important, healthy changes, step-by-step, that in time will be a part of your everyday life. This way, you’ll no longer see dieting as a burden.
We set goals. We make a plan. Start the famous diet. Next, obstacles arise. We feel disoriented and we lose inner strength. Finally, we surrender. One of the main problems when it comes to dieting is that we see it as a sacrifice or a battle with an imaginary enemy that seems impossible to beat. In these circumstances, it’s impossible to win.
A healthy diet doesn’t necessarily mean a ‘prison’ where there are countless restrictions and suppression. We must see dieting as a change brought to our eating habits. We shouldn’t eat less or totally ban some temptations, but we should eat differently and come up with healthy solutions for those diet saboteurs.
One of the most popular mistakes people make when wanting to lose weight is to skip breakfast. Yes, we know that it has been said so many times that it has already became boring and annoying, but indeed breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially when you have a slimming plan. Breakfast is crucial as it helps you lose weight and also maintain and control it. Skipping breakfast encourages overeating and fat storage as your blood sugar level will decrease, so you’ll start craving for sweets and unhealthy, high-calorie snacks. Moreover, you’ll tend to eat more at the next meal. On the contrary, if you start your day with a healthy and nourishing breakfast, you’ll give your body enough fuel until lunchtime. Therefore, go for fresh fruits, high fiber cereals, yoghurt or eggs and you’ll make healthy choices all day long. Don’t see breakfast as an obstacle, but more like a smart investment.
Some people skip breakfast, but they somehow manage to compensate in the evening. Late-night binge eating is one of the main obstacles when you want to lose weight. How to curb these cravings? First of all, make sure you don’t skip those 3 main meals throughout the day and also have 1 or 2 healthy snacks. Cutting calories during the day will only lead to late-night eating. Another way to avoid this type of binges is to drink water or herbal tea. You can sweeten your tea using honey or artificial sugar.
Cravings. Whether they are sugary or salty, cravings might seem rather impossible to deal with as they are usually related to physical and emotional addictions. But, can we handle these innate cravings? You should take it slowly and remove sugary foods from your diet and replace them with other healthier alternatives and substitutes. You can also try eating more fruits. However, as we are just humans, it is probably impossible to say that one can 100% deprive himself from these cravings. Therefore, a small chocolate bar or a tiny portion of cake, once in a while, will definitely not sabotage your lifestyle.
Eating too fast doesn’t just cause indigestion and stomach aches, but it can also be a real diet obstacle. Studies have shown that speed eating increases the risk of obesity. When rushing meals, our body doesn’t have the time to send signals to the brain that we had enough. How to overcome this? First, try to eat at a table and not in front of the TV or computer. Take small bites, taste the food, chew and swallow it before having another bite. Also, keep in mind that by eating slowly your body will get more nutrients and you’ll lose weight too.
Going to parties and eating out are two main obstacles that might ruin your weight loss plan. However, with a few easy tricks you can avoid all the negative results of dining out at restaurants. In this context, it is essential to stay away from fried meals, processed starchy foods and sodas, and pick instead healthier versions. Besides, when going to a party don’t starve, as once you got there you’ll tend to binge. Have something lighter before. If you want to lose weight, choose wisely while partying and try not to have something of everything.
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