Page 21 - Florida Sentinel 4-1-22

Health
There are many weight loss mistakes that are often over- looked. The road to losing weight can be a very bumpy and frus- trating one.
As people reach obstacles and hit potholes, they tend to be- come discouraged. For all the dif- ferent people there are in the world, most dieters actually make some of the same mistakes. Recognizing these mistakes early on may prevent you from making them later.
You set unrealistic goals to begin with.
The first mistake dieters make is developing unrealistic weight loss goals.
Slower is better. Studies
show that individuals who rap- idly lose weight are more likely to gain it back.
So if you’ve lost a few pounds this month, excellent! Don’t dis- count that, because you see someone on TV losing 15 pounds in two weeks.
You don’t realize that weight loss is different for everyone.
While some people lose a lot of weight in the first few weeks, others might not lose any weight for a few weeks.
Although this can be frustrat- ing when you’re doing everything right, it’s not a reason to give up.
Sometimes it just takes a lit- tle while longer to see the results
of your hard work reflected on the scale.
You try too hard to be perfect (and kick yourself too hard when you’re not).
You can expect to hit some bumps in the road, no matter how hard you’re trying. Setbacks are normal.
The important thing is not to let those bumps get you totally off track, but to learn from them and move forward.
You don’t eat enough.
A lot of people assume that the less you eat, the faster you will lose.
Eating less isn’t always bet- ter. One of the biggest mistakes dieters make is not eating enough. Your calorie range is based on your current weight, goal weight, how aggressive your goal is (whether you want to lose weight quickly or slowly) and how much exercise you are doing.
You skip meals to make up for eating something you feel guilty about.
Don’t. Skip. Meals. This is
one of the most important rules of dieting – it throws your me- tabolism off, makes you cranky, and actually can just make you eat more later on.
Why does this strategy al- most always backfire? The day after your severe restriction, you’ll be eating everything, in- cluding the paint off the walls.
Drinking your calories is one of the greatest weight loss mistakes.
Why is this a problem?
The body doesn’t register liq- uid calories, so even if you drink 900 of them, you’ll still crave food.
When Pennsylvania State University researchers gave peo- ple a caloric drink (such as fruit juice, sweetened soda, or even milk) with a meal, the partici- pants didn’t consume any less food when they sat down to eat.
You don’t keep track of what you eat.
Writing down every little thing you eat can annoying, bor- ing, and time-consuming. But if you don’t, it’ll cost you those pounds you’re trying so hard to lose. Why? Because most people don’t realize how much mindless eating they do every day, espe- cially when you first start dieting.
FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2022 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 9-B