We all know all too well the magic formula to a nice healthy body is a good combination of right diet and exercise (as painful as hitting the gym is in our insanely hectic lives). Yet even the most dedicated and determined amongst us often make some poor diet choices that undo the countless hours we slug away on that treadmill or elliptical. Here are three of the biggest diet mistakes many of us are making and don’t even know it.
Numero Uno: Skipping Meals
This is pretty much the worst thing anyone watching their diet can do. Your body needs food and it needs it regularly in small portions throughout the day. Skipping meals (especially breakfast) is actually counter effective, and your body is forced to compensate in ways that counteracts all of that working out and calorie counting.
Numero Dos: Not Fulfilling Cravings
Temptation is all around us at home, work. school, and just about everywhere. While it’s good to fight it most of the time, there’s nothing worse than fighting it all of the time. It’s important to have a cheat day in the week where we don’t deny ourselves that slice of cheesecake or slice of pizza. The golden word is – moderation – as long as you don’t binge eat on your cheat day (and pretty much undo all that hard work from the week) it’s actually a great way to keep you on track in the long run. Granting yourself a weekly cheat day is just about as essential as regularly taking a break from your workout routine to rest your body.
Numero Tres: Your Biggest Meal Is Dinner
With our hectic schedules a good number of us end up skipping on meals throughout the day and then compensating with a massive dinner. In reality your biggest meal should be early in the day – preferably breakfast – with dinner as the lightest of your meals. A good breakfast fuels you for a large part of the day while a heavy dinner is nothing more than excess fuel for when you sleep. Your body simply does not need it.
Are you guilty of any of these?