The science behind the diet blunders that you probably don’t even realize you’re making.
Dieting can be downright frustrating. Even if you aren’t trying one of those eccentric fad diets, it can seem like eating healthy and exercising is simply making no difference.
However, there are a few common mistakes that you might be making without even realizing how much they’re sabotaging your diet:
1. Yo-yo eating
If you stick to a healthy diet and exercise routine during the week, but then binge on junk food over the weekend, science has some bad news for you: when it comes to gut health, yoyo-dieting is basically just as bad as a diet of consistent junk.
It’s important to keep our guts healthy because our gut cells influence important body functions like metabolism, nutrition, immune function, and even mental health. In fact, scientists are testing out freeze-dried poop pills to help people lose weight by transferring the gut bacteria from healthy, lean people to obese people. Yeah, let that one sink in…
2. Too much protein
Protein is absolutely essential for a healthy diet, but if you’re going overboard with it, it can result in excess weight gain.
"Protein is important, but if you have too much, the excess gets stored as fat," Felicia Stoler, a registered dietician, told Health. "And high-protein shakes and bars tend to be sugary and fatty."
SEE ALSO: These are the Best Diets of 2016 Ranked by Nutritionists and Psychologists
3. Skipping breakfast
If you’re skipping a meal, you might be eating less calories during the day, but this doesn’t translate to an easy weight-loss trick. You need to kickstart your metabolism for the rest of the day by eating a healthy breakfast.
According to WebMD, research shows that breakfast skippers weigh more than breakfast eaters. Plus, if you force yourself to go hungry, you’re much more likely to give in and chow down on whatever you can get your hands on — healthy or not. "Breakfast is a must," says Dr. Holly Wyatt of the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR). "Otherwise, you'll end up wanting to eat everything you see."
4. Get some sleep!
Getting enough sleep influences both mental and physical well-being. If you aren’t sticking to a healthy sleep schedule, your body will be negatively affected.
"Appetite and hunger hormones are greatly influenced by how much sleep you get," Pamela Peeke, a nutrition expert, told Health. "Skimp and you're more likely to eat everything that's not tacked down."
5. Using working out as a free pass to eat junk
We’ve all been there before: “Well, I ran 3 miles today, so I’m going to eat this pint of ice-cream and not feel guilty about it!”
In a perfect world, our bodies would respond well to that, but unfortunately that’s not the case. Getting exercise is certainly something to feel good about, but not so good that you’ll give yourself a free pass to stop at McDonald’s for a sundae on the way home from the gym.
Intriguingly, research by the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab found that people who were told walking a mile was for exercise were more likely to choose an unhealthy snack afterwards than those who were told it was for fun (chocolate bar vs. cereal bar).
Keep in mind that working out is not a license to eat junk.
SEE ALSO: Personalized Diets Based on DNA Could Be the Future of Weight Loss
6. Sticking to one exercise routine
"You can't perform the same exercises over and over and expect the same benefits," Stoler says. Switching up your workout routine makes you much more likely to see results. To get better results, switch up the frequency, intensity, or time (FIT) of your workout.
7. Ignoring liquid calories
Many people focus on eating healthy and exercising, but overlook the fact that drinks can contain a significant amount of calories. On average, a regular 5-ounce glass of wine contains about 125 calories (red has slightly more calories than white), and a regular 12-ounce beer has about 153 calories. If you go out and have a few drinks, it adds up. Plus, the more you drink, the more likely you are to binge on unhealthy, greasy foods the next morning because, well, hangovers.
Alcohol aside, drinks like soda, sugary juices, and coffee with cream and sugar can rack up the liquid calories.
