“Choosing a fad diet, eating the wrong types of calories, failing to stay hydrated or skipping meals are some ways people can sabotage their weight loss goals, dietitians said.”- Reader’s Digest (6/2018)

Not that I need to add much to this quote…but I just had to include this message because I feel so strongly about each of these points!!

1. Y’all know how I feel about fad diets. Most of them take one element of a comprehensive approach to balanced, healthy eating and emphasize it as if it’s the only element that matters. WRONG! I plan to write a future blog post about the single element of focus for a number of fad diets, so definitely stay tuned for that. 😊

2. The notion of “eating the wrong types of calories” is a very common issue. Not only does caloric breakdown matter in terms of macronutrient distribution (percentages of carbs, protein, and fat consumed), it also matters in terms of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Beyond macro- & micronutrients, the time at which certain types of calories are consumed is also important to consider. This is particularly true in regards to physical activity, but also just with the time of day. Despite the long list of ways to eat the “right” types of calories, there are even more ways to eat the “wrong” ones!

3. Adequate hydration is one of the first things I preach to all my clients. Drinking water has a slew of benefits (I’ve written a blog post on this before- “Part I: Why (SO MUCH) Water?”). It’s not a dietary change that causes you to be hungry (in fact, it helps keep you full), or eat something gross, or anything of that nature. So, why not make this a top priority when cleaning up your diet?

4. I don’t quite understand this one, becomes who really wants to skip a meal? I sure as heck don’t! I am a huge proponent of consuming 5-6 small meals each day for a number of reasons. One such reason is that the longer we go without eating, the hungrier we become, and the less likely we are to make healthful decisions when we do finally get to eat. Skipping meals also leads to consumption of much larger meals later on. This is an issue two-fold because a) it is inherently healthier to consume a majority of your food in the earlier part of the day and b) it forces consumption of larger quantities of each macronutrient in one sitting, to the point where excess fuel is being stored as fat.

By no means am I arguing the fact that adhering to a healthy diet presents its fair share of challenges. I know it is not easy. However, let’s not add to this difficulty ourselves by committing these common diet mistakes. #knowledgeispower

4 Common Diet Mistakes