10 Daily Habits That Are Hurting Your Weight Loss
Originally published at lmt-lss.com on March 25, 2016.
Your habits could unknowingly be sabotaging your attempts to get fitter.
Do the scales refuse to budge, despite all your dieting and exercising? Are you just the same as ever, after months of trying to lose weight? Your habits could have something to do with it.
1. Choosing the most convenient option.
How easy is it to reach for that bag of chips or those instant noodles when you are hungry, but too tired to cook. This happens more often than you realize, and can take away from your efforts. Instead, keep healthy, easy to put together snacks at hand.
2. Being too tired to workout.
If you workout at the end of the workday, you will be too tired to do it, on most days, and will keep putting it off. Workouts are best done early in the morning when you are fresh and energetic.
3. Skipping breakfast.
Skipping breakfast is one of the worst things you can do to your weight loss attempts. Not only does being hungry mean you tend to overeat, skipping breakfast also makes your body go into starvation mode. Which means that it stores all calories it gets instead of burning them.
4. Missing out on sleep.
It might seem like the contrary, but sleeping less causes weight gain, not weight loss. Get eight hours of peaceful, undisturbed sleep to keep your metabolism on the right track.
5. Indulging in sugary drinks.
Sodas and packaged juices have massive amounts of calories, and often get overlooked as part of your diet plan, because they’re just drinks. But beware; packaged drinks are a major deterrent to weight loss.
6. Not drinking enough water.
When you’re dehydrated, your body interprets it as hunger, and manifests itself in the form of cravings. When you feel a craving coming on, try having a glass of water first. If you’re still hungry, make yourself a healthy snack.
7. Going grocery shopping on a hungry stomach.
When your tummy is growling, you tend to reach for the most fattening of snacks without thinking. Make sure you are well fed when you shop for groceries and carry a list with you, so that you only buy what you had planned to buy.
8. Keeping unhealthy snacks around.
Out of sight is out of mind. When you see unhealthy snacks lying around the house, they are bound to go into your mouth. Whether those snacks are for guests, or for someone else, stop buying them now. Keep your home stocked with healthy snacks so that you don’t turn to junk food when hungry.
9. Ingesting hidden sugar.
If you’ve cut out sugar from your diet, you should know that a lot of packaged foods contain hidden sugars in various forms. Always check the label of any packaged food you consume.
10. Eating out.
When you’re eating a meal prepared by someone else, it’s hard to know what’s gone into it. If you do eat out, make sure you make sure your dietary restrictions clear before ordering. Or go for a nice, home-cooked meal as a healthier alternative.
These niggly little habits can add up to a lot of extra calories. You may not realize it, but they could be stalling your weight loss.
