We get it: With so
much contradictory advice floating around about the best diets for weight loss,
it's no wonder many of us end up confused about what we should eat for optimal
well-being and a healthy weight.
Read on for seven
things you might think are helping you shed pounds, but could
actually be sabotaging your weight loss and hurting your health. If you can
drop these harmful habits, you might just become a healthy eater for life.
7. Skipping breakfast. About 10 percent
of the U.S. population, or 31 million Americans, skip breakfast, according to a 2011 survey. But according
to a recent study from Tel Aviv university, breakfast is indeed the most
important meal of the day -- especially for people who want to lose weight. The
researchers put 93 obese women into two different groups and instructed them to
eat a nutritionally similar diet of 1,400 calories a day. The only difference
was that one group made breakfast their biggest meal (at 700 calories) and the
second group made dinner their biggest meal (700 calories).
After 12 weeks, the
group that had made breakfast their biggest meal lost an average of 18 pounds
and three inches from their waist, while the big dinner group only lost seven
pounds and 1.4 inches from their waists. Additionally, while both groups lost
weight, those in the big dinner group actually had an increase in triglyceride
levels, which is linked to heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and high
cholesterol, reports Medical News Today.
6. Going on a juice
cleanse. Proponents of the juice cleanse claim that
going on an all-liquid diet of pressed vegetables, fruits and a small amount of
nut milk for days or even weeks will clear your body of toxins, help you drop
weight and make your skin glow.
Don't believe the
hype, warns the Mayo Clinic. Despite the
appearance of hip juice bars in your city and the popularity of juice cleanses
among some celebrities, long-term juice cleanses are one of the worst things
you can do to your body if you want to shed pounds for good.
The reason? While
long-term cleanses will make you lose weight, it's mostly water weight that
will boomerang back once you resume your normal eating habits. And it could
trigger other health problems, as well, including an out-of-whack metabolism and irritability.
If you genuinely like
the feel and taste of liquified vegetables and fruits, then juice away for a
meal here or a snack there. But don't juice exclusively for long periods of
time, and remember that juicing strips many foods of their fiber and
nutrient-rich skins while concentrating the sugar in fruit, warns Glenn D. Braunstein, M.D. of
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
5. Filling up on diet
soda drinks. It makes sense. Fizzy drinks make you feel full, which could help
quell the need to snack. But if you're turning to diet soda drinks for your
fix, then you could actually be sabotaging your weight loss.
Drinking diet soda and
other artificially sweetened beverages could be linked to weight gain, Type 2
diabetes, heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure, according to a2013 analysis of recent studies on
artificial sweeteners by Purdue University.
The reason? Your body
might be confused by artificial sweeteners, according to lead analyst Susan E.
Swithers, Ph.D., a Purdue professor of psychological sciences and a behavioral
neuroscientist. Swithers' research suggests that your body's natural ability to
manage calories based on tasting sweet things is being seriously toyed with,
thanks to the artificial sweeteners in diet sodas. Instead of diet drinks, try
plain sparkling water for that fizzy full feeling.
4. Completely cutting
out entire food groups. Gluten. Carbs. Sugar. Meat. There is no magic
bullet to weight loss, but for some people, elimination diets seem like a quick
and easy way to feel in control of their bodies. Unfortunately, for those at
risk for disordered eating, some elimination diets can actually just be a mask
for eating disorders like anorexia and orthorexia, according to Yahoo! Shine.
The Mayo Clinic defines orthorexia nervosa as an
obsession with "eating foods that make them feel pure and healthy,"
by avoiding things like artificial additives, pesticides, genetic modification,
and unhealthy amounts of fat, sugar and salt.
But wait a second!
Aren't all those ingredients good things to avoid? Yes -- but some people with
the orthorexia could become so obsessed that they eventually "isolate
themselves and often become intolerant of other people's views about food and
health." Even worse, they could be missing out on key nutrients,
especially if they fling themselves into gluten-free or vegan diets by focusing
on the foods they can't eat, instead of doing research on the nutritious foods
they can eat.
Of course, people who
have diagnosed celiac disease must avoid gluten because itdamages the small intestine and prevents the body from
absorbing nutrients. When people with celiac disease eat gluten, they can
suffer from chronic diarrhea, vomiting, constipation and weight loss, according
to the National Institutes of Health. But be warned: just because a food is
labeled "gluten free," doesn't mean it's healthy for you (check out MensHealth.com
for some gluten-free foods loaded with fat and sugar)./p>
3. Opting for low-fat
versions. Intuitively, it makes sense: If you want to get rid of body fat, stop
eating fat. But research shows that the fat you eat isn't really linked to
weight gain and disease, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Instead,
it's the total amount of calories eaten, as well as "bad" fats like
trans and saturated fats found in meat and processed foods, that seem to be
linked to health problems. HSPH notes that people who go on low-fat diets often
end up cutting out the good fats too, like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated
fats found in olive oil and fatty fish.
Not only is fat good
for you in moderation, but labels like "low-fat" and
"nonfat" actually trick people into eating more, according to a study
conducted by theCornell University Food and Brand Lab. Researchers found that
people who saw snack foods with a "low fat" label ate up to 50
percent more than those who ate from bags without the label. Eaters also underestimated
the calorie content of "low–fat" M&Ms and granola by 48 percent
and 50 percent, respectively -- especially overweight people. Instead of
assuming that low-fat or nonfat foods are automatically better for you, read
the nutritional labels first. You might just find that low-fat or nonfat
versions actually have more sugar or calories than the normal-fat foods.
2. Going hungry. For people who
want to lose weight fast, dropping too many calories could actually be an
exercise in futility.
A meta-analysis of 31
long-term diets that averaged 1,200 calories a day found that while people lost
weight, the vast majority regained it all back within four or five years, reports RealSimple.com. A better strategy
would be to estimate the total amount of calories you use in a day, and then
shave a small amount off that number.
"If you want to
lose weight and keep it off forever, you need a modest calorie restriction that
you simply continue and never stop," nutritionist Christopher Gardner told
RealSimple.com. For example, if you figure out you need about 2,500 calories a
day (using this formula), simply cutting out 250
calories a day could result in more successful, permanent weight loss over the
course of a year than if you had plummeted down to 1,200 calories a day and
could only stand to deprive yourself for, say, four months.
1. Thinking about it
as a "diet" in the first place. This is the medical truth some
weight loss professionals are scared to admit: The vast majority of people who
lose weight won't be able to keep it off for good.
But for people who
prioritize lifestyle changes over diet, there is hope when it comes to longterm
weight loss, according to obesity expert Sherry Pagoto, Ph.D. of the University
of Massachusetts Medical School. Pagoto recently published an editorial calling
for an end to the diet wars in the Journal of the American Medical Association,
pointing out that no diet is better or worse at helping people shed pounds.
"The 'diet' used
within a lifestyle intervention can be low-fat, low-carb, etc. It doesn't
matter," Pagoto told LiveScience. "Adherence
is key, and the way to destroy adherence is forcing foods on someone they do
not like, do not know how to prepare, or can't afford."
The faster you
understand this, the better your chances are of making small, realistic and
sustainable changes that you can carry on for the rest your life, as opposed to
adopting dramatic, short-term diets that can ultimately result in an unhealthy
cycle of losing and gaining weight.