6 Diet Mistakes That Are Wrecking Your Weight Loss

Are you working hard at the gym, watching your diet, but feeling frustrated with your lack of progress? Do you feel that your weight loss has stalled? If you’re getting to the point of giving up on your weight loss efforts, there may be a few habits that you’ve formed along the way that are hurting your progress. Read on to discover how cooking with olive oil, vegetarian meals and artificial sweeteners can hinder your weight loss!

Skipping Meals

Sarah-Jane Bedwell, RD, LDN, host of Cooking with Sarah-Jane warns, “While skipping meals might seem like an easy way to eat less, it will most likely actually cause you to eat more later on.” She also explains, “Plus, skipping meals slows down the metabolism because your metabolism is like a fire, and as you know, if you don’t put wood on a fire, it will start to burn out. Same is true of your metabolism if you don’t fuel it with food every four or five hours or so, it will begin to slow down.”

Cheating On Your Diet

Cheat days have become a built in part of many weight loss and nutrition plans, but it’s important to remember that cheat days can slow down your weight loss progress. If you’re cheating on a daily basis, cheating in between meals, or treating your cheat days as an excuse to binge, you may never see your desired weight loss goals.

You Cook Everything With Olive Oil

Olive oil is a heart healthy fat that’s a common staple in the fat burning Mediterranean diet. While olive oil may be a tasty, nutritious way to cook your meals, too much of this oil isn’t necessarily a good thing when it comes to losing weight. Lisa Hayim, registered dietitian and founder of The WellNecessities and TWN collection explains, “Olive oil is definitely a ‘healthy fat,’ meaning it has heart protective properties and can lower the ‘bad’ cholesterol. However, all oils are fat, and fat will always be calorically-rich. Even though these calories are ‘healthy and good for your heart,’ a small amount can calorically add up fast! Use olive oil mindfully; instead of cooking all your food in olive oil, choose one food out of an entire meal to complement its taste, and use alternative cooking methods like steaming or blanching [which just require water!] for the rest of the food you prepare.”

You Rely On Artificial Sweeteners

Hayim states “Artificial sweeteners have been accepted as the solution for adding taste and sweet flavor without the calories for the last couple decades. For a long time we, as health professionals, promoted these products and embraced them…Now we know their risks and their undeniable link to obesity”. Instead of loading up your coffees and teas with artificial sweeteners, try alternatives like vanilla extract, cinnamon or nutmeg to give you a hint of sweetness without the harmful chemicals!

Switching to a Vegetarian Diet to Lose Weight

The Nutrition Twins state, “When done correctly, a vegetarian diet can lower cholesterol, decrease your risk for heart disease and cancer, and even help with weight loss,” A vegetarian diet can do wonders for promoting weight loss however it can also cause unintentional weight gain. “People often adopt a vegetarian lifestyle and then don’t control their portions and eat a lot of heart-healthy nuts, seeds, and their oils. But the calories add up quickly and contribute to weight gain,” explains the Nutrition Twins.

It’s also common for new vegans and vegetarians to feel lost when they have to find nutrient-dense alternatives to meat. This can lead to a dependency on carbs. The Nutrition Twins explain, ”People are not sure what else they can eat or they justify overeating snack foods because they don’t eat meat, which also both result in calories adding up and leading to weight gain.”

Adding Cheese To Every Meal

The Nutrition Twins state, “Cheese is a good source of protein and calcium, but cheese lovers add it to their sandwiches, salads, wraps, burritos and omelets and the calories really add up…If you add it to your meals, stick to every other day and limit the portion to the size of a pair of dice or opt for low-fat options.”