Guest Post: How to Ruin an Otherwise Ideal Diet

How to Ruin an Otherwise Ideal Diet – Are You Shooting Yourself in the Foot?

 

The thing about dieting is that for all the professional advice, guidance and research in the world, each and every person trying to shed a few pounds has their own idea of what works. The problem here is that most of these ideas are fundamentally flawed and regardless of all the dedication in the world simply won’t work. Well, some of them might work but then see the weight lost making an appearance once again and bringing along a few additional kilos just for good measure.

However, even those that are nigh-on perfect when it comes to the basis and principles of the diet are at risk of shooting themselves in the foot with any number of all-too many diet-killing mistakes. So if it seems like you’re making all the right moves and your self-punishment is getting you nowhere, here are a few points to consider:

Poor Hydration

The number-one diet-killer that’s still overlooked by millions across the nation is poor hydration. There isn’t a single process in the body that can work as it should unless the body is given the adequate amount of water each day, which should of course be upped when exercising. Too little water leads to inefficiencies of the digestive system, the heart, the lungs, the skin, the muscles and so on and so forth – all of which stand to put the biggest roadblock imaginable in the progress of an otherwise ideal diet.

Eating Too Little

Next up, calorie cutting is very important but this does not mean going from the recommended 2,000/2,500 a day down to say 1,200 straight away. All you’ll do is send your body into a state of shock where it will hold on to ever calorie you put in and find itself unable to function as it should – hence the reason weight-loss will come to a grinding halt.

Missing Meals

And in a similar vein to the above, missing a meal can in most instances be infinitely worse for a weight-loss regime than eating something rather unhealthy. The lack of food sends the body into starvation mode which means that the next meal you eat will be stored almost in its entirety. By contrast, keeping things moving with anything at all rather than a glaring gap is always preferable.

Insufficient Sleep

There are few that genuinely comprehend how important sleep can be when it comes to losing weight. The body and every single one of its processes is dependent on plenty of sleep in order to function efficiently and healthily, which means that too little sleep slows things down and thus can wreck weight loss efforts.

Not Enough Movement

And finally, most will swear bling that there are making enough effort when it comes to exercising and generally getting up and about, but most are doing no such thing. Sure it makes a difference if you start taking the stairs instead of the lift and walk around the office three times every lunch break, but exercise must be gradually increased in steady increments in order for it to keep having any long-term effects at all.

 

By Lisa Morton

Lisa Morton has been interested in personal training for a long time and now she shares her fitness findings (with the help of Tim Hayes Fitness) to the UK public.