How to Fix Common Diet Mistakes and Boost Weight Loss

You watch what you eat, exercise regularly, maybe even have a personal trainer, but your clothes still feel snug and you haven't lost a pound! When you were younger, you had no problem losing that weight but, now your metabolism just isn't cooperating like it once did to give you the weight loss you desire. Here are a few simple fixes that can help boost your weight loss...

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• will power

1. Mistake number one is relying on that scale! A typical scale cannot tell you how much of your body weight is muscle and how much is fat. You need to keep track of your muscle mass because your muscle will burn up to three times more calories than fat. A person with more body fat will also put on weight at a faster rate than a person with more muscle. Go to a local gym and ask for a body fat reading to get a good estimate of your actual body fat percentage. Anything over 30% body fat should be a wake up call that you need to make some major changes in your lifestyle. Have it repeated every three months or so in order to evaluate your progress.
2. Mistake number two is crash dieting! When you slash your calories, you also slash your metabolism and put yourself into starvation mode. To correct this, you need to monitor your weight loss and lose SLOWLY. Every little bit you cut can also lower your metabolic rate. The trick is to find that range with your body that allows you to lose the weight without sabotaging your metabolic rate.
3. Mistake number three is to avoid strength training. Many women avoid strength training because they are afraid that they might "bulk up" and become even bigger than they feel they already are. WRONG! The primary benefits for women and strength training include better bone health and density, less muscle wasting with age and INCREASED METABOLIC RATE! So pump that iron ladies if you really want to shape up and lose the weight!
4. Mistake number four is doing the same routine and the same exercises day after day after day! It's a concept called muscle memory. Your body has learned how to do this and now knows how to do it so efficiently that you DON'T burn the calories that you should. To trick your body into working harder, all you have to do is change it up a bit. You can change your exercise or change your intensity. Speed up for a few minutes or go running instead of swimming. Give your body some variety and it will reward you.
5. The fifth mistake is to skip breakfast. I know you have already heard this one but, it bears repeating. Eat a big breakfast to fuel the rest of your day. It has also been proven in extensive research that eating breakfast will often cause you to eat as much as 200-300 fewer calories throughout the rest of the day WITHOUT TRYING TO DIET! That should say it all...
6. Another mistake is to not get enough sleep at night. None of us have time to get eight or more hours of sleep, but you need to get as much as you can. Sleep deprivation has been proven to increase your appetite. Anyone who has had late night munchies can testify to that fact. It can also increase your stress levels which in turn also increases your appetite. Thirty to sixty extra minutes of sleep can reduce your appetite by 30% or more, so go to bed early!

Tips & Warnings

• Write down what you eat throughout the day to keep track of your eating patterns. You'll notice that you actually eat more when you skip breakfast, or don't get enough sleep.