Posted by evens

You are not alone in your journey to lose weight and knowing where to begin can be a daunting task. So here are a few things to avoid which will assist you in your journey. Avoiding them, even at the most difficult of times, will help you reach achieve diet success and reach your weight loss goals.

* DO NOT check the bathroom scales everyday!!
We’ve been told over an over again that weighing ourselves daily is never in our best interests, yet many of us can not resist stepping on that scale every morning. If you just can not bring yourself to toss the scale in the trash, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the factors that influence readings. From water retention, to glycogen storage and changes in lean body mass; daily weight fluctuations are normal. These are not indicators of success or failure.

* DO NOT let emotions drive your eating
In our first few hours in this world we begin to learn to associate food with love, nurturing and warmth. With that said, it’s not surprising why many people confuse hunger for food with their hunger for emotional fulfillment. Take a moment and think about your eating patterns. Do you eat when you are anxious, frustrated, bored, angry, sad, and lonely or even when you want to celebrate something? Often during these emotional times, eating increase and the foods that are chosen are not always in our best interest (fatty, salty, sweet and/or high in calories). Food should only be used to nourish the body, not the soul.

* DO NOT loose site of reality
Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is important for good health. But a healthy weight is not necessarily the one that is suggested based on a height/weight chart! There are many techniques for estimating a healthy weight. We recommend that you get your goal for the lowest weight you have been able to maintain for at least one year, and then set your milestones to be 10% of your current weight until goal weight is reached. This will allow you to keep all goals within reach and allow for times of celebrations as milestone are achieved.

* DO NOT skip meal
Skipping meals is like skipping out on sleep, just as your body slows down and becomes tired so does your metabolism. And when you are dieting, you really want focus on keeping your metabolism revved up. You do this by eating consistently and regularly and not skipping meals. Skipping meals also sets you up for failure at your next meal. You will be so hungry, and eat so quickly that you will eat far more then your body requires and/or really wanted.

By Jessica Gragg