It doesn’t make sense — you are doing all the textbook things they tell you to do to shed pounds and yet those last five pounds just refuse to budge. The truth is, you could actually be making a huge mistake in your healthy regime. Here are five of the most common misconceptions people have about their healthy eating habits.
You’re skimping on the fat
We’re often so focused on losing fat that we ply our body full of fat-free items and miss out on our actual daily recommended intake for optimal health. You should be aiming to get 20-30 percent of your daily calories from fat in order to feel satiated and to prevent you from overeating at other points in the day. No, this doesn’t mean you can go nosh on a burger. Instead, stick to healthy fats like olive oil, avocados, and almonds.
You’re not getting enough sleep
Sure it might seem like a great idea to get up at 6 am everyday to hit the gym but if you don’t go to bed until midnight every night, you could be doing yourself more harm than good. Research shows that we need at least seven hours of sleep to maintain optimal health and any less than that can be directly linked to being overweight.
You live on diet soda
Just because your three-a-day Diet Coke habit seems innocent doesn’t mean it actually is. Research shows that people who drink beverages that are artificially sweetened gain more weight in a ten year period than people who do not drink it, and they consistently have high blood-sugar levels (which might be caused by the fact that the more sweet things you taste, the more you crave).
You’re putting off breakfast
No, we’re not even going to start with those people who don’t eat breakfast at all (you are bad, bad people!) but this is more aimed at those who wait too long after waking to eat. It is best to eat within an hour and a half of waking, otherwise you risk slowing down your metabolic rate which will affect your glucose levels later in the day and keep you feeling more hungry.
You exercise to lose weight
Whoa¦Hold the phone¦What? Yup, you heard us right. Exercising to lose weight is a huge mistake that people are making. Does this mean you shouldn’t exercise? No. This means that if you’re looking to lose weight, you need to cut calories and exercise to maintain the losses you make in the kitchen. Exercising will naturally make you more hungry, so you have to make the proper caloric choices if you want to shed the pounds.
