Losing weight is hard enough; you don’t need setbacks due to bad advice. Here are 5 common mistakes that you can easily avoid.
1) Avoid Juice for Breakfast
The sugary drinks are pure evil, but even green juice can set you back. First of all, most of them contain sugar in the form of fruit. It might be natural sugar, but it’s still sugar. And because the fiber is mostly stripped away, there’s nothing to slow down the shock to your system, otherwise known as an insulin hit and a direct road to obesity. The other problem is that you’ll be hungry within an hour. Unless you have a proper meal planned almost immediately after your juice, you’re better off starting with food (see #5 for a decadent idea).
2) Avoid Counting on Willpower
Just admit it right now, it’s stronger than you, it will always be stronger than you. It’s not your fault; humans are hard-wired for survival, which comes in the form of food. Don’t fight willpower; you’ll lose every time. After your weight loss surgery, instead of depriving yourself of foods, find healthy versions, like baked vegetable chips raw cashew cheesecake, or zucchini lasagna. When you adopt totally delicious foods that are made from pure food, you’ll never need willpower.
3) Avoid Telling Others About Your Diet
Does this sound familiar: “Dieting again? Are you going to last longer than the last 10 times?” Nobody needs to hear that. Unless you’re in a buddy system with a friend and you’re both encouraging each other, helping each other find healthier foods and working out together, just don’t tell anyone. Let them tell you in the form of “You’re looking amazing lately, what have you been doing?”
4) Avoid Diet-Pressure
Don’t worry about time limits or how much weight you’re going to lose and by when. Forget the numbers and what your scale says. Forget what the calendar says. You don’t need the pressure of “oh no, I only lost 1 pound, and my goal was 3.” Just focus on adopting a permanent lifestyle, not a temporary diet. When the changes are permanent, the weight loss will be too. Let it happen in its own time, just keep making the right changes.
5) Avoid Stereotypical Meals
Some food combinations might seem odd. Consider spinach salad with raw avocado for breakfast or a mushroom omelet for dinner. Your bariatric team can help you with ideas. Your focus should be to eat what you want and to make your choice a power food every time.
No matter what your greatest food weakness might be, there’s probably a healthy version of it. Your job is to find that version. Once you’ve replaced your very favorite food, go to number 2. Before you know it, the weight will be melting off, and you’re not even technically dieting; you’re just re-discovering the foodie in you. Now that you have a plan, the hard part is done. Welcome to the healthier, skinnier you! You just got a step closer
