Common Diet Mistakes That Can Make You Fat

April 2017 | Reading time: 2 minutes

Have trouble losing weight? Do you stick to your workouts and eat clean, but your efforts are in vain? If any of this sounds familiar, you might be doing something wrong. Small diet mistakes, such as eating hidden sugars, skimping on fats, and waiting too long between meals, can slow your progress. Believe it or not, you can reach a healthy weight without depriving yourself or skipping meals.

Here are some common diet mistakes that make you fat:

Not Eating Enough Protein

Protein and weight loss go hand in hand. High-protein foods, such as beef, chicken, fish, eggs, and cottage cheese, keep you full longer and boost your metabolism. Yet, many dieters go on a juice diet or ditch the meat. To slim down, eat protein at every meal. If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, use quinoa, legumes, nuts, and seeds to get this nutrient in your diet.

Eating Too Much

Most dieters mistakenly believe that they can eat as much as they want as long as they avoid sugar, trans fats, and carbs. However, things are not that simple. Just because you’re on a low-carb diet or training regularly, it doesn’t mean you’ll drop pounds. Healthy foods contain calories too. Regardless of what diet you’re on, eat mindfully and watch your portions.

Loading Up on Diet Foods

Diet foods are packed with artificial flavours, hydrogenated fats, and hidden sugars. Most times, manufacturers replace sugar with fructose or high-fructose corn syrup to enhance their flavour. These ingredients may increase your risk of liver disease, cardiovascular problems, type II diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. For instance, sugar-free chocolate has just as many carbs and calories as regular chocolate.

Waiting Too Long Between Meals

When you’re skipping a meal, your blood sugar drops. This leads to fatigue, low energy, and hunger pangs. Later, you’ll end up eating more or craving sugary foods. If you’re too busy to eat once every few hours, keep some healthy snacks at hand. A handful of walnuts, a homemade protein bar, or a serving of berries will do the trick. Just make you avoid high-sugar treats because they’ll cause insulin spikes.

Don’t make diet mistakes

Our news page provides information on a range of diet and health topics. If you have undergone one of our fat reduction treatments we recommend that you review this information to find a diet and lifestyle that works for you.