New year, new you! Avoid these 6 diet mistakes to get fitter and leaner

A new year is all about making new promises to become healthier, especially when it comes to weight loss. Unfortunately, a majority of people do not even stick with it for a week. Why? Well, because many of us make the mistake of setting unrealistic goals for ourselves. Instead of focusing solely on weight loss, you can begin by eating a healthy diet. To maintain a healthy diet, you must avoid certain diet mistakes. Come, let’s find out what these are.

Diet mistakes you must avoid for weight loss

You may believe that you are leading a healthy lifestyle, yet you’re not seeing the desired results. That clearly means that you may be making mistakes. Rihana Qureshi, a certified sports nutritionist and strength coach, spoke with Health Shots about diet mistakes to avoid in order to stay on track with your goals.

Here are 7 diet mistakes that you should stop making in 2023

1. Setting unrealistic resolutions

Make no New Year resolutions involving your diet because the majority of them have a short shelf life. Instead, concentrate on developing healthy habits. Habits tend to last longer than resolutions. Take it easy. You don’t have to meet all of your health goals in just January. Set realistic goals for yourself and develop healthy habits to help you achieve them.

2. Consuming too many liquid calories

Take extra care with what you drink. Most drinks (aerated drinks, energy drinks, and even fruit juices) contain a lot of sugar. Even a single drink can throw your diet off. This applies not only to readymade drinks but also to your daily chai or coffee. Having 2 cups of tea with 2 spoons of sugar is equivalent to having 15-16 gms of sugar in a day. So, try to avoid liquid calories.

Also read: It’s time to STOP eating these 10 foods with hidden sugar content

3. Eating outside food regularly

Nowadays, it’s quite easy to order your favourite food. Everything is available with the click of a button. However, this convenience comes at the cost of your health. We don’t know about the ingredients used to make the food, the cooking oil, or the overall hygiene. This is true not only for fast food but also for some of the ‘healthy options’ available. So, as much as possible, cook your food at home, and you will notice a significant improvement in your health.

4. Missing meals

Skipping meals is not a healthy eating habit. This should change because skipping meals can lower metabolism and cause fewer calories to be burned. Which can eventually lead to weight gain. Furthermore, you may experience fatigue and a lack of energy throughout the day. So, avoid making this mistake.

5. Relying too much on readymade packaged foods

That ‘healthy’ option isn’t always the best option. Our bodies require real food. Fruit, for example, is a far superior snack to ‘healthy digestive biscuits with extra fiber.’ Reduce your reliance on ready-made packaged foods and replace them with real, natural, wholesome foods.

Also read: 5 innocent diet mistakes that can make you gain weight insteading of losing it

6. Ignoring hidden calories

Not everything that appears to be healthy is not necessarily healthy for you. For example, you may think a bowl of salad is healthy, but the dressing and sauces that are added to it have a significant impact on its ‘health’ quotient. So be mindful of what you eat.

7. Snacking too often

Constant snacking, more due to a habit, without feeling hungry can actually overload your digestive system and disrupt your hunger hormones. Eat only when you’re hungry, not when the clock tells you to.