Bad Habits That Are Keeping Your Weight On
Bad Habits That Are Keeping Your Weight On
A lot of people struggle with weight; that’s why the weight loss and fitness industry is potentially capable of single-handedly saving our economy. Despite the influx of weight loss solutions and diet products matching the rampant (and growing) demand, the problem still persists.
That is, most people who take these weight loss products manage to shed a few pounds only to find themselves gaining them back with no apparent explanation.
Well, from my years of experience in the industry, I came to learn that no amount of diet programs or extreme exercise can help you if you have bad habits that are keeping your weight on.
Here are some bad habits that you may be doing unnoticeably that are keeping your weight on. It goes without saying that you need to kick these habits if you want to lose that lingering weight.
Taking Healthy Foods Too Far
Not surprisingly, a lot of people are health-conscious enough to know and eat healthy food. Even if healthy foods tend to be more expensive and less tasty, more and more people would sacrifice price and taste for health.
However, this puts people in complacency mode. That is, most people think that they are eating healthy food and therefore don’t need to worry about the amount. They develop this notion that you can’t have too much healthy food.
Not surprisingly, a lot of people are health-conscious enough to know and eat healthy food. Even if healthy foods tend to be more expensive and less tasty, more and more people would sacrifice price and taste for health.
However, this puts people in complacency mode. That is, most people think that they are eating healthy food and therefore don’t need to worry about the amount. They develop this notion that you can’t have too much healthy food.
Upright Eating
Upright eating, also known as eating while standing up, can actually make you fat. Here’s why. If you eat standing up on a counter or near the refrigerator, it becomes easier for you (no matter how minute it seems) to refill your plate; which, in turn, can cause you to overeat unexpectedly.
While sitting down, we are relying on universal laziness to sap our motivation to refill our plate because standing up and walking all the way to the refrigerator or counter takes a lot of perceived effort.
Yeah, we can all laugh at how it sounds. But you won’t be laughing if you are starting to gain a pound or two, would you?
You Walk Too Much
Actually, that’s only the first part of the story. You walk too much and go on to believe that walking can replace your afternoon exercise. The statement “oh I walked a long walk today, I don’t have to go to the gym” occurs on people’s minds a lot more often than most people care to admit.
We have those “walk to save gas and improve your health as a benefit” and “take the stairs, ditch the elevator” tips and slogans out there to blame. People come to interpret it as “if I walk, I’m healthy” and “if I take the stairs, I’m healthy.”
This is clearly not the message. Walking is contributory for your health, not the end-all-be-all of excellent health. Nothing replaces proper exercise and eating right.
The Whole is Not Greater Than the Sum of Its Small Parts:
That’s a little bit cryptic I know, but what I want to say is that cutting your food into small parts can produce an overall greater perception of satisfaction than eating larger portions of the same amount of food.
Studies have indicated that people actually find “more small portions” a tad more satisfying than “less large portions”, overall satiating your hunger better and preventing you from overeating.
It may seem like counter-intuitive, but in this case the sum of the small parts can produce a more satisfying feeling than the whole.
Less on the Main but Excess on the Addons:
Your main food choices might be healthy, but if you go excess on the toppings that sort of negates the health benefits.
Take for example salads. There’s no denying that having salad is good for your health; but if your salad is topped with addons like bacon bits, cheese, nuts, and other processed food madness then you’re just neutralizing the health effects of the main salad course.
Therefore, take it easy and be aware of the toppings, condiments, and addons of your main course. Just because it says salad in the menu doesn’t mean it’s completely made of basil leaves.
Exercising on Empty:
Most people think it’s a good idea to exercise on an empty stomach. Basic logic dictates that if you can lose fat while working out with food on your tummy, you can lose more fat quicker if you work out on an empty stomach.
Not really. Working out on an empty stomach harms you in two ways.
First, you won’t have the energy to complete your workout; or if you manage to complete your workout chances are you have done some routines half-heartedly or with shortcuts. We all know that feeling if we’re tired, we just want to get things over and done with.
Second, and much more harmful, effect of working out on empty is you’ll burn calories from your muscles instead of fat. It’s a silent killer since you’ll get the illusion that you’ve lost weight (which you actually did in terms of muscle mass), but you’ve also just become a less efficient fat burning machine. You see, muscle burns more calories than fat so it’s in your weight loss interest to keep the muscles and burn the fat.
Kick Those Habits Off and Lose Weight:
If you have been working hard to lose weight – religiously going to the gym, following your diet to the calorie, and keeping an active life – but still can’t seem to lose those unwanted weight, check to see if you are doing these bad habits.
These bad habits may seem like simple things, but kicking them off can go a really long way towards your weight loss goals.