So, yes, there is ACTUALLY a part 2 to my first take on Losing Weight: 5 Reasons You Suck At It, Part 1. Unlike the first take, however, this one will be more generalized and discuss more the science behind your diet and losing weight rather than the psychological and exercise part. So If you're still struggling with losing weight and dread facing the scale, here's 5 more things you could possibly be doing wrong.
1. You Overeat On Healthy Foods
Yes, broccoli is better for you than a candy bar, but that doesn’t mean eat 6,000 calories worth of broccoli because, shocker, that’s not healthy. Do NOT believe those videos on YouTube or nutrition websites that tell you that as long as the food is healthy, you can eat as much as you want because you CAN’T. Those are LIES. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie, and despite what ANYONE TELLS YOU, your body only needs a certain amount to burn during the day. The rest is stored. Your body doesn’t care if it was from a cupcake or a carrot stick, it’s still a calorie and counts against you if you inhale too many.
2. You Graze…Like A Damn Cow
So, the actual definition of grazing when it comes to eating healthy is…well, mindlessly eating. Cows graze, or eat, all day long, which is where the term came from, and this could be a reason why your love handles love ya so darn much. Yeah, yeah, DUH, right? Wrong. You’d be shocked to discover how many people don’t know how detrimental grazing is to their diet, even if they use apps like MyFitnessPal or have a personal trainer. And the worst part? Most people don’t even know they DO IT. You’re overeating, and not even realizing it. You count all three meals, but conveniently leave out those two brownies a coworker brought to the office that day. Stop grazing!
3. Your Sweet Tooth Controls You
Even though it is the thing people watch the most in weight loss, calorie intake is not the only thing you need to worry about. Now, I’m not stranger to sugar. I mentioned in my first weight loss Take how much soda I used to drink before I kicked the useless habit, so trust me, I understand that the struggle is really real. But sugar is just as important as calorie intake, and it’s EVERYWHERE. Literally. The bread group is a huge culprit. Why? Bread, all bread, don’t care if it’s white, rye, or wheat, needs yeast to rise and to activate the yeast, you need butt loads of sugar.
Two teaspoons of sprinkles will exceed your daily recommended sugar intake and that’s not even counting what’s in the buttercream or the cake. And artificial sweeteners? Yeah, sorry, but those aren’t any better. Also, please remember, “No Sugar Added” is not the same as “Sugar Free”. Sugar Free means no sugar (but it COULD contain artificial sweeteners) and “No Sugar Added” means the ingredients have a natural sugar that cannot be removed. So read your labels people!
4. You Consume Too Much Sodium
Actually, this doesn’t impact as many people as you would think. Some people can consume salt all day every day and have no adverse effects. However, salt causes major water retention in others, especially women, and ESPECIALLY when they are on their period. And, just like sugar, salt is everywhere. Why? Well, because most savory foods don’t taste like anything without it. Soy sauce, hot sauce, butters, chocolate, steak sauce, dine out foods, cereal, pizza, burgers, soup, chili, fried foods, dressings, ketchup, even soda and salads…all have salt. And, unlike sugar, when you dine out, chefs don’t measure salt. Most taste test and add as much as they want until it tastes good. So I you eat out a lot, even if it’s a salad with chicken (I promise that chicken has salt on it), there’s really no way to know for sure how much salt is in it unless you prepare it at home yourself.
5. You Cheat Too Much On Your Cheat Day
Cheat days aren’t the best idea in the first place because it makes it harder for your body to become adjusted to eating healthy all the time. But your Cheat Day doesn’t actually mean throw your diet out the window. It means replace your meals with foods you like, but still consume the proper amounts of calories, sugar, salt, and other things you see on the label. No, a slice of pizza won’t kill you, but the whole damn pie will. And adding extra cheese, extra pepperoni, extra sausage…more fat and more calories. Your body, biologically, doesn’t understand a cheat day. It understands fats and calories and sugar and will still hold on to whatever you put in it, probably even more so now that you cut it off some its favorite foods. So make sure you still pay attention to what you shove down your gullet, even on your Cheat Day.
Yes, weight loss is a pain in the ass. I know it is in mine. But you can do it! Just be diligent, strict, and determined, and you’ll definitely reach your weight loss target!
In terms of sugar, I think it also makes a big difference where you buy your groceries. This is particularly true for America. Luckily, here in central/northern Europe, it's very easy to get a very good quality bread at a normal supermarket. In the US, all you get is some disgusting, soggy, soft white toast bread. Good bread and good cheese were by far the two things I missed most while living in America. So if you're American and you've got the possibility to do so, it certainly helps a lot already to pay a bit extra and buy your bread at a small bakery where it's handmade. That bread will still contain yeast but it's a thousand times healthier than the crap you get at Walmart. Plus, local bakeries actually do sometimes have breads without yeast (at least here in Switzerland or in Germany).
I think my personal problem with sugar is twofold: first of all, I live in Switzerland. Swiss people loooove chocolate and I'm surrounded by the best chocolate in the world every day. I know that's a crappy excuse but you know how it goes... the spirit is strong but the flesh is weak as the bible says ;-). Secondly, - and this is the more important reason -, I use chocolate and sugary stuff as a reward or comfort food. I know that's very stupid but I still do it. I think most other guys would rather get drunk when they're lovesick or when they have some kind of personal problem. At least for my guy friends that's true. Personally, I don't smoke and I don't enjoy alcohol, so I would just eat a cupcake. It's a terrible habit but it's very hard to get rid of it. I need to find some kind of other way to compensate the chocolate in situations where I'm unhappy or worried...
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1. It is impossible to overeat on mainly vegetables. Vegetables tend to have a lot of dietary fiber, which is essentially indigestible sugars. This can regulate the digestive system and satiate you. You'll be full, by the time you even get halfway of eating an insane amount of calories of broccoli. Also, broccoli is nutrient-dense and calorie-low, so you have to eat a lot of broccoli - way more than fullness, probably - to gain weight in broccoli. A calorie is NOT a calorie.
2. If you are eating something very bitter, then it's extremely difficult to graze on the food. You'll be paying attention to the bitterness.
3. I'd avoid ALL processed food. That way, you can control the amount of nutrients and eliminate toxins (added sugar, preservatives, food coloring, additives, flavor enhancers, anything on the Ingredients label that you can't pronounce or don't know of).
4. Food does not have to be about discipline or suffering. Instead, food should be interpreted as a source for nourishment.
2. That's assuming the person is eating something bitter, which isn't the case most of the time because not many people eat anything bitter even intentionally. Most people who graze tend to just eat whatever is around them or in the cabinet, thus why it's called grazing.
3. This was mentioned in my first Take already which was linked at the top of this one.
4. Interpreting food as a source of nourishment is a discipline.
2. That's assuming that everyone will eat non-bitter things. I personally intend to eat slightly bitter things, so I become more aware of my food while I'm "grazing".
3. Yeah, I know. I am not disagreeing with you on that one.
4. Ay. I suppose you can call it that way. My philosophy is that you need to eat to survive. You don't need to eat things that are mainly for entertainment or pleasure. If you cook your own food, control the amount of nutrients and portion sizes on the plate, and detoxify former toxins, then you are allowing your body to heal. The body is always ready for healing; it just needs the right conditions.
Excellent stuff. Great advice and knowledge in here.
A sweet tooth can be real killer, as can grazing. You can so easily lose track of just how much you're eating with a grazing mentality and unfortunately, much of what we graze on simply isn't good for you.
I would like to add, however, that it would be quite the feat if someone managed to consumer 6,000 calories worth of broccoli in a single day. ... that's a lot of damn broccoli. ;) The point, of course, is that a calorie is indeed a calorie (which is true), but calories from fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and other things certainly matter. 200 calories worth of broccoli is a whole lot better for your body as opposed to 200 calories of chocolate.
I don't like discipline. I eat when I get hungry, 4-5 times a day, but I write everything down and I make sure to stay within my calorie limit. I try to eat a variety of mostly healthy home cooked food, I have some low calorie snacks and fruits on my fridge at all times. I don't have a cheat day. I try not to exceed 1000 extra calories per week. Some days I eat more calories than I should, say 500 calories more, which I then try to take back by limiting the calories the following days. I loose weight slowly, sometimes the scale gets stuck for months, but I believe that if I 'm too strict with myself, I'll give up. I don't like dieting, I 'm trying to change my eating habits. I know I 'll reach my goals however long it takes.
I just eat too many fruit in order not to eat funk food ıt may not be good for my body but ıf I dont eat too much fruit I will eat lots of junk food and eating fruitsounds healtier to me ı need help ı can't stop eating sweat things
Fruit isn't any better because of all the sugar in it. In fact, it's maybe a bit worse than eating too many vegetables because vegetables have more nutrients in them.
Definitely over-indulging on fruit is better than over-indulging on candy and cake. Because fruit comes with vitamins and fiber (in addition to sugar), and these two ingredients alone will help A LOT in curbing your hunger and craving for artificial sugar. Cutting out candy and cake is the best way to start! One step at a time! Keep up the good work!
Hey apple, you will think this is insane (well, actually I think so too) but some people have managed to do this in the past. Don't ask me how. So, there a Canadian lady who DIED a few years ago because she poisoned herself. What was it she poisoned herself with? Beta carotin. This woman ate so many carrots (and probably very little else) every day for several weeks that her body got an overdose of beta carotin. Now, that's a new level of dumb...
@BlueCoyote I am talking about normal people. I know you can drink your vegetables. But if we are simply talking eating than that would be quite hard. You would just puke and hate veg. Just like with any food.
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