6 Common Pitfalls of Weight Loss

Are you trying to lose those extra pounds but no matter how hard you try you don't seem to be making any real progress? You aren't alone and you might be making one of the 6 common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight! Dr Sally Norton For Mailonline from Daily Mail revels them common mistakes.

Most Common Weight Loss Mistakes

Losing weight is an uphill battle, and one that far too many of us are fighting.

Our waistlines are getting bigger and bigger, but that's not to say we're not trying to lose weight.

Most of us will admit to having been on a diet at some point.

The problem is, it's often a continual yo-yo diet that ends in little weight loss - especially in the long-run.

I've seen it all too often in my surgery – men and women who've been on diets constantly throughout their lives and are baffled as to why they just can't lose weight.

Well, I'm afraid to say there's no one-size-fits-all answer.

However, there are a number of reasons why your weight loss attempts may not be working.

Here, I reveal the common the pitfalls...

Most women seem to continually yo-yo diet, that ends in little real weight loss. Long term lifestyle changes lead to sustained weight loss, Dr Sally Norton, a weigh loss expert, argues

Common Pitfalls of Weight Loss: YOU'RE IN DENIAL ABOUT YOUR EATING HABITS

Putting yourself on a quick fix diet may work in the short-term, but if you're not addressing the real reasons.

If you overeat, or eat the wrong foods, then those issues will only end up resurfacing in the long-term, and you could end up putting back on the weight you've lost – and even more.

So, instead of thinking about what you eat, think about when, where and why.

Do you tend to eat well at home, then lose all restraint at the vending machine in the office?

Or perhaps you have a habit of reaching for a mid-afternoon sugary treat to give you an energy boost, or comfort eat when you're stressed?

Figuring out where your problem lies means you can start working on these issue to create a long-term change in your eating habits.

Many of us may not be addressing the real issue of why we are overeating, Dr Norton says. Looking at where and when we overeat - such as at the vending machine at work - could help identify patterns

Common Pitfalls of Weight Loss : YOU'RE NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER

We naturally lose muscle mass as we get older.

It's called sarcopenia and we may lose around eight per cent of our muscle mass per decade.

This reduces our metabolism and can make it harder for us to lose weight.

Women, in particular, simply don't realise how much ensuring a good protein intake and muscle-building exercise could help us to drop the pounds.

We think of protein as something that will bulk us up, when in fact, increasing our protein and exercise levels helps to tone our muscles, leading to a more svelte frame.

Common Pitfalls of Weight Loss : YOU'RE NOT GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP

Sleep can have a bigger effect on your weight than you might think.

In fact, research has shown that a poor night's sleep has us eating a few hundred more calories the next day as we reach for high sugar, high fat foods in our attempts to get an energy boost.

We just can't be bothered to make those healthier choices when we are tired, and our will-power is snoozing quietly in the corner.

So make getting a good night's sleep a priority and your weight loss could be boosted as a result.

Muesli bars, fruit juices, granola cereal, salads drenched with dressing are just a few of the common culprits - they appear healthy but are, in fact, loaded with calories and sugar

Common Pitfalls of Weight Loss : YOU'RE FALLING INTO THE 'HEALTH HALO' EATING TRAP

With so many of us striving to eat more healthily, food companies and marketers have picked up on this, and use it to help sell their products, by labelling them as healthy alternatives.

This is all well and good if they are, but more often than not, healthy terminology or imagery will be used to make us feel like a product is super-healthy, when it may not be the case.

It may be packed with sugar and calories.

Muesli bars, fruit juices, granola cereal, salads drenched with dressing are just a few of the common culprits.

The key is to making small, sustainable healthy habit changes that can become part of your life

You've got to have your wits about you when you're out shopping, to avoid being duped.

And if that's not enough, studies have also shown that if we think something is healthy, we tend to eat more of it. Not a good combination.

Common Pitfalls of Weight Loss : YOU'RE STRESSED

We all admit to reaching for fatty and sugary foods when we are under stress, simply because they trigger those pleasure zones in the brain and make us feel better.

What's more, cortisol (one of our stress hormones) encourages weight gain around our waist which is very bad for our health.

And yet, we seem to be under more and more stress, struggling to meet deadlines, juggling roles such as parent, spouse and bread-winner, and working longer and longer hours.

Of course, I know that eliminating stress from our lives entirely is near impossible, but simple steps to help minimise our stress levels could be key to helping us to lose weight.

Eating protein and carrying out muscle-building exercises will promote weight loss, Dr Norton says

YOU WANT QUICK-FIX RESULTS

I've seen it time and time again.

Women come into to my surgery, desperate to lose weight, after struggling for years with diet after diet.

Every time they fail at yet another crash diet or quick fix weight loss plan, they end up feeling depressed and disappointed in themselves, as if it is their fault, their own willpower that has let them down again.

I've said it before and I'll say it again... quick fix diets simply don't work.

Real, long-lasting weight loss doesn't happen overnight.

Instead, it takes time, hard work and a change in your habits and mentality.

Remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT?

Losing weight doesn't have to be all about finding a quick-fix diet to drop the pounds overnight – that simply doesn't work.

Instead, it is about making small, sustainable healthy habit changes that you can enjoy, and looking after your body and mind so that you're in the best position to make these changes long-lasting.

A further bit of good news is that you can train your brain to enjoy healthier foods more, so it becomes even easier to make those healthy habit changes.

And remember, habits can take anything from 18 to 254 days to become entrenched so a bit of persistence may be required but will reap numerous benefits in the long-run.

If you want REAL results you need to make REAL lifestyle changes. People say you are what you eat so why don't you try to be "fresh, natural, and healthy" with these great recipes!