Diets for many of us have become a way of life. For some of us, we just want to eat healthy for the environment and our bodies, some want to lose weight or get toned, and others may have a particular health restriction. Surprisingly, nearly 45 million Americans report dieting each year and spend $33 billion on weight-loss products in hopes of slimming down. Did you know you could be sabotaging that diet with unhealthy practices?
Skipping meals
We cannot emphasis this enough. To diet, don’t skip meals. You should not be missing breakfast or lunch because you want to be thinner. This is not a healthy way to lose weight. When you skip meals, you can run low on nutrients, you increase your risk of getting sick, your body is more tired, and it will play catch-up on the next meal.
Don’t just exercising
Our society tends to put a huge emphasis on working out to achieve an ideal body image, but working out is not as important as eating healthy. Don’t get us wrong, exercise has a number of benefits, but calorie, sugar and carb intake can play a huge role in weight-loss.
Binge eating on cheat days
We all have cheat days on our diet, but those cheat days could have detrimental effects to the progress we’ve made throughout the weeks of our diet. As all of us are probably guilty of, we tend to overeat on our cheat days with that entire jug of ice cream. Instead of a full on cheat day, try a cheat meal or healthy alternatives that are still in your diet, but feel like a cheat sweet. Plus, a recent study showed that yo-yo dieters weigh 18 percent more than healthy eaters.
Dehydration
It’s extremely important to stay hydrated – especially when dieting. Hydration plays an important role in weight-loss and could be the simple solution to losing weight. Dehydration tends to make people feel hungry when in reality, the body is thirsty. This will make you eat more calories when actuality, you weren’t hungry to begin with. A shortage of water and alkaline minerals can also lead to digestive disorders such as acid reflux and ulcers. Dehydration can also have harmful effects on the body depending on its severity. It can make you sleepy, it can make your skin dry, cause dizziness, muscle cramps, and even delirium.
Remember to keep hydrated and healthy when following your diet. It’s important to understand that we are not created the same. There is no ideal body image that we as women or men should aim to achieve. As long as we are healthy and confident in our bodies, then that’s all that should matter.
