Are you like so many of my clients and you’re struggling to lose weight and feel like themselves again? Many busy women find themselves putting on weight and not being able to lose it again, not realising that their dietary choices, even foods you might think are “healthy”, can be making things worse. As a nutritionist and master health coach, I see these common dietary mistakes time and again. And today, I want to bring your awareness to them! Let's dive into the 6 dietary mistakes that could be hindering your progress towards that desired weight loss and feeling comfortable and confident in your body again.
The 6 Dietary Blunders for Ideal Weight
1. Ignoring Carbohydrates (Yes, vegetables are carbohydrates!)
Common Mistake: Many people overlook the importance of carbohydrates, as in vegetables, in their diet, which is crucial for proper gut function, brain function, balancing blood sugar and getting plenty of nutrients. Carbs have become the enemy in many circles. But remember that vegetables are carbohydrates too. And these are crucial to a healthy body. I am not talking about adding in lots of pasta and rice to your meals. I am talking about adding in those beautiful fresh vegetables of many varieties.
What it does: Without adequate carbohydrates (veggies), achieving your ideal weight and great health becomes more challenging. Carbohydrates supply the body with glucose, which the body converts to energy, so that it can function and move. The brain especially needs that glucose to work. They bring us fibre to help your bowels move, they bring us vitamins and minerals, all being essential for a healthy body and healthy weight loss.
Quick Fix: To correct this, start incorporating a variety of fresh vegetables, fruit, legumes, and whole grains (if you can tolerate them) and into your daily regimen. These carbs are great for your health and weight loss. Focus on the good, healthy body loving, nutrient dense, carbohydrates and let go of the quick fixes like sugar, white flour, processed junk.
2. Overindulging in Takeaways.
Common Mistake: It's easy to fall into the habit of getting takeaways at lunch time or a few nights a week, especially when you are busy with work, family and life.
What it does: This habit can sabotage your efforts to achieve your ideal weight goal as the takeaways may be full of unwanted ingredients, and not balanced with protein and vegetables. There is no way to tell whether the oils, fats, and ingredients are good quality and healthy. They often come with fillers like rice and pasta, maybe some cream, additives, preservatives etc. We often over eat these too and portion sizes can be huge. This habit does not aid weight loss. To nourish your body, you need to understand what ingredients are in the food. So cooking your own meals, most of the time is crucial.
Quick Fix: Try meal planning and prepping instead, to keep you on track towards your goals. This does not have to be complicated. But if you put some thought into what your week looks like and when the busy days are, you can come up with some quick and easy meals, or pre -prepare some. The quickest easiest part of meal prep is planning and having the fresh ingredients in your fridge. That way you have something to cook. I do coach about this in my program as it is an important factor.
3. Neglecting Meal Timing and/or Skipping Meals.
Common Mistake: Skipping meals or not having regular meal times is often overlooked but plays a significant role in achieving your weight loss goals. In my experience, this aspect is actually very important.
What it does: Neglecting this can lead to an imbalance in blood sugar and hormones, making it harder to to lose weight. When blood sugar and hormones are out of balance it can lead to headaches, sugar cravings, and fatigue. When you skip meals or have random timings, your metabolism slows down, which means, your body holds onto everything and converts it to fat for later use. The body's purpose is to keep you safe and functioning, and when food is in short supply (even though we know it isn’t really), it goes into conservation mode.
Quick Fix: Focus on eating 3 well balanced meals per day, ensuring that your blood sugar and hormones are balanced and your body can function well and therefore release the extra weight. By balanced, I mean that each meal should have protein and vegetables or fruit in it. This gives your body the balance it needs and your energy and vitality will return.
4. Falling Prey to ‘Fat Makes You Fat’ Myth.
Common Mistake: Many busy women believe adding fats and oils into their diets makes them fat. If you eat a low fat diet, this can derail their progress.
What it does: This misconception can prevent you from losing weight and keeping it off because your body needs healthy fats to function properly. Hormones and fat soluble vitamins, like Vitamins A,D, E and K, need fat to move around the body and be absorbed. You may also be left feeling hungry, grumpy and deprived on a fat free/ low fat diet.
Quick Fix: The truth is that fat free or low fat foods are full of sugar, salt and highly processed to make them taste good. When you take out the fat, foods do not taste good, so they need to add the flavour back. So instead choose the good healthy fats like olive oil, ghee, coconut oil, flaxseed oil, avocado oil and macadamia nut oil. Ditch the toxic vegetable and canola oils.
5. Underestimating the Importance of Breakfast
Common Mistake: A frequent oversight is underestimating how crucial eating breakfast is for weight loss and setting up your day for balanced blood sugar and energy.
What it does: Without paying attention to your morning fuel, weight loss remains elusive. This is because food is your fuel. It is literally where you get your energy from, and skipping the first meal of the day sets you up for a lack of fuel/energy for the rest of the day. This will often lead to sugar cravings as your body is signalling that it needs fuel to function.
Quick Fix: Start by eating a healthy breakfast, and you'll notice a significant difference in your energy throughout the day, reduced sugar cravings at the 3pm crazy snacking time and your weight will start to reduce, if you are eating those balanced 3 meals a day.
6. Relying Too Much on Protein Shakes
Common Mistake: It's tempting to rely on protein shakes for convenience, but it's not always the best choice.
What it does: This reliance can be detrimental to sustained and healthy weight loss because most of the powders are full of toxic chemicals and artificial sugars. Relying on these does not allow for great nutrient intake and you do not learn how to nourish your body. Plus all the chemicals need to be detoxed by the liver making it work hard and not allow for proper body function.
Quick Fix: If you like a shake in the morning try a healthy smoothie made with real ingredients, not protein powders, which is much more effective for busy women when it comes to overcoming that busy morning and eating well. Smoothie ingredients, like fruit and vegetables can be prepared the day before, add in nuts and seeds and your chosen liquid in the morning, blend and go. Nourishment - done!
Avoiding these 6 dietary blunders can significantly impact your journey towards your ideal healthy weight and feeling confident in your body again. As a Nutritionist, my goal is to help busy women like you navigate the complexities of nutrition and diet, particularly when it comes to losing weight and feeling amazing in your body again. I use a personal nutrition approach as we are all different and require different nutrition.
If you're ready to make a change and see real results, book a free discovery call and let's talk about your options. www.zestnutrition.org/appointments
Together, we can tailor a dietary plan that aligns with your unique needs and goals, ensuring that you release that uncomfortable tummy weight, and make your ideal weight and confidence in yourself, not just a dream, but a reality.
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