Critical Dieting Errors That Cause Fat Gain
This is Part 1 of a two-part series of critical dieting errors. We will be discussing the million-dollar question, “How do I lose body fat?” Does it sound familiar? I’m not going to go into detail statistics and mathematical equations on how to lose body fat. All this is irrelevant unless you set a goal, make a commitment, and follow through with them. I will, however, discuss some of the mistakes made on the fat loss quest.
The Most Critical Dieting Errors I See With Weight Loss Endeavors Are:
1. Jumping from one diet to the next without giving ANY of them a chance to work
2. Cutting calories drastically, far below one’s BMR
3. Eating correctly, but failing to make small adjustments to shock the body
4. Scared to death to eat carbohydrates
The most successful dieters are bodybuilders. They can drop body fat and keep their muscle. How do they do this? Most would like to point the finger at drugs, but I can tell you first hand that what you put into your body accounts for 90% of your physique. You can weight train every day and do cardio for two hours every day, but unless you are eating correctly, you will keep running in circles, hoarding fat, burning muscle, and lowering your BMR.
Dieting Errors – Jumping From One Diet To The Next
A huge diet mistake I see a LOT is program hopping. This is basically being impatient with your current diet. Most people stay on a diet for 4 to 7 days. If they fail to see results in this short time frame, it’s left in the way side, only to adopt the current fad diet for the week.
Obviously, those trying to lose weight want immediately results. You did not gain weight in 4 to 7 days, so thinking it will come off in such a short amount of time is irrational. You cannot solve a weight problem in a week. You can, however, create healthy habits and make noticeable changes in a week, which leads to successful weight loss over time.
If more people took the time and allowed their given program to work, they could make a fair assessment. If you keep jumping from one plan to the next, you will only end up being a professional dieter and never reach your goal. If you eat a balanced diet, exercise and are consistent, you can make worthy changes in roughly 3 weeks.
Dieting Errors – Drastically Cutting Calories
Far too many people seeking weight loss will drastically cut their calories in hopes to shed body fat quickly. Sure, you may lose some weight in the beginning, but in doing so, your BMR is lowered, your body holds on to fat, and you burn muscle. When you lose muscle, your BMR is lowered, making fat loss even more difficult. If this keeps up, the well-known starvation defense is enacted.
The starvation defense kicks in when your body thinks it is being deprived of food. It is your body’s way of conserving energy so it burns fewer calories in order to keep you alive. When the crash diet ends and you begin eating normally again, or worse binge, your body will rebound and you will gain even more weight. Your body will actually absorb more food for the next famine.
Critical Dieting Errors Part 2 contains the other two dieting screw-ups.
How To Manage and Avoid Dieting Errors
If your goal is to lose weight you must supply your body with fuel in order to burn fat. Beginning a diet on 1200 calories or less leaves you no room to lower calories later when you hit a plateau. The best way to lower calories is to set them to your BMR and make small weekly cuts so your body doesn’t react and slip into starvation mode. Eat balanced meals and rather forcing your body to change, allow it to respond.
