Weight loss saboteur How to avoid these common pitfalls

Lack of planning

Planning is your key to weight loss success. Without a plan it is all too easy to get caught up in day-to-day life and never get around to fitting in exercise or making those dietary changes you were aiming for. So plan your meals for the week, make time for shopping, set aside an afternoon to cook up some meals for the week and schedule exercise in your diary like you do other important commitments. Also consider cooking and freezing extra batches of meals like soups, casseroles and curries, so you have back-up for busy weeks or those nights when you just don’t feel like cooking.

Confusion about what to eat

If you’re unsure about what to eat, you’re certainly not alone. There’s plenty of confusing and conflicting information out there about good nutrition, particularly when it comes to losing weight. Yet, there is no evidence that one diet regimen leads to more weight loss than another. Instead, several studies have found that how well you can stick to a particular diet, rather than the diet itself, is the best predictor of weight loss. So, forget the latest ‘diet’ and find a healthy eating plan you can adopt and maintain for the long term.

Family and friends

Whether intentional or not, family and friends can often sabotage your efforts to lose weight. This might be by bringing less healthy foods into the house, serving large portions at meals, insisting that you eat something they have made at a family gathering or refilling your glass a few too many times.

It’s much easier to change your habits when you have the support of those around you. So, whether it is your partner, kids, friends or work colleagues, speak to them about how they could help rather than hinder your weight loss efforts. And consider encouraging them to join you in making healthy lifestyle changes.

Overlooking portion sizes

Even if you follow a healthy eating plan, if you eat more than you need, it will be difficult to manage your weight. Yet increasing portion sizes of packaged foods, fast foods and restaurant meals, alongside bigger bowls, plates and glasses, makes it easy to eat more than we need. To avoid overeating, consider using smaller plates, bowls and cups. For packaged foods, choose smaller serving sizes. And when eating out, choose entrée-size meals or stop eating when you are satisfied, rather than feeling the need to clear your plate.

Forgetting about fluids

Many people think about what they eat but forget about what they drink, yet these can really add up in terms of calories. Juices, smoothies, milky coffees, sugarsweetened drinks and alcohol can provide a significant number of extra calories if consumed regularly. Make water your main fluid. Sparkling natural mineral or soda water, tea and herbal teas are also good choices.

DL mag dietitian and diabetes educator, Dr Kate Marsh, discusses the factors that often get in the way of weight loss success. Knowing these, and making plans to address them, can

help you on your weight loss journey.

Mindless eating

Many of us have lost touch with our appetites. We eat for many reasons other than hunger, including boredom, stress or just because the food is there or someone else around us is eating. Learning how to recognise genuine hunger and when you are satisfied (but not overly full), is an important part of managing your weight, alongside making healthy food choices. Start by making time to sit down, relax and enjoy meals rather than eating on the run or while involved in other activities.

Misleading food packaging claims

While the claims made on many food packages can make you think you are making a good choice, many of the seemingly ‘healthy’ foods on our supermarket shelves are actually ultra-processed foods. These are foods that have been through many processing steps and which commonly contain colours, flavours, emulsifiers and other additives, often added to make products more palatable. Eating ultra-processed food is associated with high body mass index, overweight and obesity, abdominal obesity (carrying weight around the middle) and weight gain, independent of energy (kilojoule) intake. So ignore health and nutrition claims and read the ingredient list instead. Choose foods with a minimal number of ingredients and ingredients that you recognise as food.

All or nothing mentality around food and exercise

When it comes to making lifestyle changes, the ‘all or nothing’ approach is unlikely to be sustainable in the long term. Losing weight and improving your health doesn’t mean you need to cut out all of your favourite foods or go all out with exercise. So if you love chocolate then rather than cutting it out, set some limits on how often and how much you will have. And if you are struggling to find a spare moment to exercise, then don’t start by trying to go to the gym for an hour each day but instead begin by getting up 15 minutes earlier each morning and going out for a short walk, with a longer walk or gym session on the weekend.

Unrealistic goals

For most people, it took many years to gain excess weight, so you can’t expect to lose it overnight. Setting realistic and achievable goals means you are less likely to get frustrated and give up if results are slow at first.

Weight plateaus

Plateaus (when you temporarily stop losing weight) are an inevitable part of your weight loss journey and often the point where things become unstuck. So, expect to hit plateaus but stay focused on your goal. Just continuing your new habits or making slight adjustments is likely to help you break through the plateau, rather than giving up.

Poor sleep

Getting enough sleep is important for your weight and your health (including blood glucose and insulin levels). Lack of sleep can influence hormones that affect our appetite and weight, and studies have shown increased hunger in those who don’t get enough sleep. A review of the research found the lowest risk of being overweight in those who slept 7 to 8 hours per night and almost a 10% increased risk of obesity for each 1-hour decrease in sleep below 7 hours. So make sleep a priority, aim for 7 to 8 hours of good-quality sleep each night and build good sleep habits.