Diet Pitfalls

by Rosie Kaloki

Christmas is yesterday’s newspaper and with the residue of the festive session still clinging to our hips we eagerly leap through the latest diet magazine to fall off the shelf.

Flicking through the first few pages of it, I am amazed at just how patronising they can be.

I’m sure we are all capable of knowing what is and isn’t good for us.

What I look for aren’t the dos and don’ts but the handy little tid-bits, those that have successfully gone before me and can pass down.

Indeed, dieting can be a minefield of pitfalls, So heres my top seven that you should look out for.

Excessive fruits intake:

Packed full of vitamins, low in fat and less calories than most other foods, fruit is seemingly the perfect food to gorge on to your hearts content right?

Wrong!

Contrary to popular beliefs, Fructose, the natural sugar contained within fruit, although nutritious, eaten in excess will spike your blood sugar levels in the same way chocolate or ice cream will, thus limiting fat release.

Top tip: Stick to fruits like watermelons and grapefruits that are low in sugar and calorie content; use them to take care of your mid-morning cravings but try not to eat fruit after 6pm .

Trying to get the quick fix

As all dieticians and beauty magazines alike will tell you, one of the biggest reasons diets go askew is the demand for the quick fix.

Starving yourself into those size 10 jeans is just not a viable option.

Pace yourself, aim to lose 1-2lb a week and you will stay slim and svelte for as long as you want to.

Top tip: Eat five smaller meals a day, that way you don’t feel like your over-eating and will avoid that super full up feeling you can get from eating three larger meals.

Loading up on the black coffee:

A top tip I once heard from a girlfriend of mine.

“Drink lots of black coffee, not only will it suppress your appetite but it contains next to no calories thus making weight-loss that much simpler.”

I’m sure we can all agree that this fact is nonsense but here is why you shouldn’t rely on this particular technique.

Studies have shown that caffeine contributes to insulin resistance making it harder to physically shift the weight, as well as contributing to food cravings.

Top tip: Intake caffeine just before a work out to give you that added boost in performance but try and avoid or cut down on its regular consumption

Over doing it on the exercise:

Little exercise is good for us and will help to lose the unwanted excess blubber we have stored, however, most of us want too much too soon and as a result over train and over-do the initial foray into the world of fitness.

The only way to sustain a sensible work out is to gradually build up your exercise and fitness level at a comfortable pace, remember it’s not the quantity of time that you spend exercising but the quality of the work out.

Top tip: Try and limit your work out to 90 minutes a session. That way you will leave yourself wanting more and looking forward to the next session.

Bacardi breezers, how many calories!

Whilst mixing alcohol with diets seems like an impossible combination, having a couple of drinks will not make you stagger off the yellow brick road of success.

Just bear in mind that some beverages aren’t actually worth the amount of calories that are crammed into the tiny glass bottles.

For instance, a Blue WKD contains approximately 228 calories, the equivalent of four Gin and slimline tonics, or two medium glasses of white wine.

Top tip: Try to make your beverage choices as informed as possible. Switch the Breezers and lager for a small white wine or a shot of vodka.

Know you can do it:

As basic as this is, eliminate the word ‘try’ out of your weight loss dictionary.

Allowing yourself the element of self doubt is to allow yourself the possibility to fail.

Be certain that you will succeed and you will.

Top tip: Create a daily mantra that you can recite to affirm your belief that you can and will defeat the flab.

Inadequate amount of sleep:

Finally, it’s a well-known fact that part of being a normal student includes those late night study sessions to finish the essay that’s due in the next day that you should have started weeks ago.

However these late nights could considerably grind your weight loss ambitions to a screeching halt.

Chronic sleep deprivation may actually cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite.

Top tip: Each individual requires a different amount of sleep according to your own particular body clock, and whilst Margret Thatcher may famously have only needed 4 hours of sleep a night, the majority of us need between 6-9 hours.