Assess how your attitude to eating measures up. Do you:
1. Binge eat before then going on a diet? Hint - the two will cancel each other out (or worse)!
2. Fast or drastically cut calories to lose weight? This sends your body the message that you are starving and your metabolism will slow down to preserve the fat you are trying to shed!
3. Expect to lose more than one to two pounds a week? Any more than this is simply the result of lost body fluids and valuable muscle tissue.
4. Skip meals (especially breakfast)? Eating regular meals prevents the dangerous “famine-then-feast” syndrome.
5. Skip smart snacks? "Smart snacking" keeps your metabolism high and your appetite in check.
6. Substitute coffee, tea or fizzy drinks for energy-producing meals, snacks or water? The stimulant illusion! It's just not sustainable.
7. Go to a salad bar and stacking up on cheeses, meats and pasta AND globs of fatty mayonnaise or salad dressings while thinking you are choosing the healthy option?
8. Having an “on a diet” or “off a diet” / all-or-nothing mentality rather than simply eating wisely? Better to substitute positive dietry behaviours for negative behaviours over a period of each day/week. Always think long-term.
9. Think of any food as “bad” or “forbidden?” Food is food - anything in excess is bad for you.
10. Not exercise for at least 20 minutes, five times a week? Appropriate exercise is crucial for boosting your metabolism to more effectively burn calories, both during and after exercise.
11. Lose weight to look good… for someone else? Your motivation is bound to wander!
12. Believe that when you shed the weight, you’ll be a different, better person? You already ARE a great person.
13. Rely on diet pills, shakes or other products that promise miraculous weight loss? Remember, if it sounds too good to be true…
14. Think of weight loss as something you have to do, rather than something you want to do?
15. Focus on foods to avoid, rather than foods to include?
16. Buy, prepare and eat your meals on the run? A hectic lifestyle prevents you from enjoying and feeling satisfied with the many good foods you eat.
17. Consider losing excess weight as an end in itself? Rather than a means to an end: a healthier body and a happier out-look.
18. Not watch your fat intake? Calories consumed as fat are converted into fat on the body more readily than the same number of calories consumed as protein or carbohydrates.
19. Not read and understand food labels? Just because it says '95% fat-free' doesn’t mean that it is healthy. It COULD mean that it’s 95% sugar!
20. Fail to take charge the moment you discover you weigh in two pounds over your desired weight? Don’t just buy the next size up!