There is so much health and fitness information out there that most of us know what we should do to lose weight and stay fit.
Or do we?
Some of the most enduring diet tips out there will actually hurt your weight loss efforts. Here are 7 diet tips you can safely ignore!
Bad Diet Tip 1: Fat makes you gain weight. Not all fat is created equal. The fat in processed foods like cookies and chips won’t help with your weight loss efforts, but fat in nuts, avocados, and fish help you feel full and support overall health as you lose weight.
Bad Diet Tip 2: Skip breakfast to cut down on calories. Skipping breakfast sets you up to overeat the rest of the day. Make time for a morning meal to keep your weight down.
Bad Diet Tip 3: Never eat red meat. Lean, grass-fed beef is actually a healthy source of protein, iron, and B-vitamins. Pair it with healthy whole foods and it can be part of a healthy diet.
Bad Diet Tip 4: Cut out snacks to drop pounds. While you won’t lose weight munching on a bag of chips every time you get behind the wheel, healthy snacks like fresh fruit and nuts can keep your hunger from hitting the danger zone. A bonus? Healthy snacking can help you maintain even energy levels and stay more alert while you drive.
Bad Diet Tip 5: Switch from regular soda to diet. You might save calories, but all of those artificial sweeteners trigger insulin release — which causes your body to store fat. One of the fastest ways for a truck driver to lose weight is to drop all sodas and switch to water or unsweetened teas.
Bad Diet Tip 6: You have to eat perfectly all the time. Always requiring perfection of yourself sets you up for failure. If you let yourself fall into the trap of all or nothing thinking, one candy bar isn’t just a small setback — it becomes an excuse to abandon healthy eating altogether. Try to adopt a more realistic attitude about healthy eating to establish patterns you can live with long term.
Bad Diet Tip 7: The scale is the ultimate measure of success. If you’ve been eating healthfully and exercising and you don’t see the scale moving much, it can be tempting to throw in the towel — but don’t! The numbers on the scale don’t always move down as fast as we’d like or tell the whole story of our fitness. If you’ve been eating well and lifting weights, the scale may stay the same because you’re replacing fat with muscle. Pay attention to how you feel as your ultimate gauge of fitness success.
Sources:
Women’s Health Magazine
Health Magazine
Cooking Light