Mistakes to Avoid While Dieting

After the cold and long winter season, the sun started to show its face. From now on, thin clothes will replace the thick clothes worn in winter, and the weight gained will become more visible. For this reason, as the summer approached, the rush to lose weight began to surround almost everyone. However, due to some mistakes we make during the diet without realizing it or thinking that it will be good, the weight loss process may be prolonged or we can regain the weight we lost when we return to our normal eating habits. Moreover, we can encounter many health problems while trying to lose weight. Acıbadem Bakırköy Hospital Nutrition and Diet Specialist Ezgi Hazal Çelik stated that especially very low calorie diets affect our health negatively and said, “Even though we see the disadvantages reflected on the scale, we should not forget that this is a temporary weight loss and due to malnutrition, muscle loss, headache, hair loss, constipation. We should know that it brings with it many problems such as deterioration of blood sugar balance, skin dryness and concentration problems. We should avoid very low-calorie diets and ensure permanent weight loss by eating a healthy and balanced diet. So what mistakes do we make most often during the diet process? Acıbadem Bakırköy Hospital Nutrition and Diet Specialist Ezgi Hazal Çelik talked about 8 mistakes you should avoid while dieting; made important suggestions and warnings!

Error: eating very low calorie diets

We need a certain number of calories per day for our body to function in a healthy way. We get these calories from the foods we eat/drink during the day. Although making very low-calorie diets makes you feel good with the numbers reflected on the scale at the first stage, we see that these numbers are not real results after a while. Nutrition and Diet Specialist Ezgi Hazal Çelik stated that since these diets, which are usually in liquid form or containing a single type of food group, result in more fluid and muscle loss, the lost weight is regained at the same rate, "Besides, the body's energy expenditure is very high as it adapts to this level. "Low-calorie diets slow down the metabolism, which results in slower weight loss," he says.

Actually: Avoid very low-calorie diets, as they do not provide long-term weight loss and are not sustainable. You should advance this process with a nutrition plan that suits your needs without haste. Although it varies from person to person due to individual differences, ideal weight loss should be between 0.5-1 kg per week.

Error: eating fat free

In order to provide a calorie deficit during the diet process, fat intake is somewhat restricted, as is the case with all nutrients. However, cooking meals without oil to reduce the amount of calories causes you not to get healthy fats such as olive oil, which is rich in omega 9 fatty acids and vitamin E, as well as negatively affecting the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. This situation, which negatively affects health in the long term, can cause weight loss to stop or slow down after a while during the diet process.

Actually: While dieting, you can eat healthy fatty acids by consuming oil seeds such as olive oil, avocado, walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts, which are approximately 45 kcal per serving, in accordance with your needs. However, do not forget the energy content of these foods in the fat group and add them to your diet by avoiding excessive consumption.

Error: Drinking mineral water instead of water

With the effect of warmer weather in spring and summer, we are thirsty more often and our desire to consume an acidic, cool drink increases. The first choice of dieters is usually mineral water, as it is calorie-free. However, when water, which is essential for many metabolic processes in our body, is not consumed enough during the day, or when different liquids such as mineral water are given instead of water, the weight loss process may slow down.

Actually: Although the drinks we consume support fluid intake, the best source of fluid is water. Therefore, make it a habit to drink an average of 2-2.5 liters of water during the day. In addition to your water consumption, you can drink up to 2 bottles of low sodium (Na<100mg) mineral water per day.

Error: Drinking lots of lemon water

Drinking lemon water helps increase your daily fluid and vitamin C intake, but contrary to popular belief, it does not burn fat during the diet process. Nutrition and Diet Specialist Ezgi Hazal Çelik also points out that squeezing a lot of lemon into all the water consumed during the day can cause stomach problems and damage to tooth enamel in the long run.

Actually: If it makes you feel good to start the day by drinking lemon water and you do not have any stomach problems, you can consume a large glass (about 300 ml) of water in which you have squeezed half a lemon.

Error: not consuming enough carbohydrates

One of the most common mistakes made during the diet is to completely exclude carbohydrate-containing foods such as bread, rice, pasta and legumes from the diet. However, the complete elimination of carbohydrates, which are the main energy source of our body, from the diet due to the fiber, B-group vitamins and minerals they contain can lead to slowing weight loss in the long term, disrupting intestinal regularity and increasing your need for sweets. This can cause your diet to fail or cause you to consume too much restricted foods.

Actually: Do not cut foods containing carbohydrates while dieting. "The most important point here is the type of carbohydrate consumed," says Nutrition and Diet Specialist Ezgi Hazal Çelik, and continues: "You should stay away from processed foods containing added sugar, fructose syrup and white flour. However, it will be beneficial to consume whole grain products, grains with high fiber content such as bulgur, buckwheat, and legumes by providing portion control.

Error: Protein-rich diet

High protein diets, which are frequently used for rapid weight loss, increasing muscle mass or shaping the body, negatively affect kidney functions and cause high animal fat intake. Protein requirement is individual and protein intake above the requirement is also a risk factor for kidney functions, intestinal problems and heart diseases. Unplanned protein-based diets that are not specific to you can prevent weight loss due to their high calorie content, as well as negatively affecting your health.

Actually: Protein requirement varies according to age, gender, body weight, activity status, presence of chronic disease. If you are not a professional athlete or do heavy resistance exercises, your daily protein intake should not exceed 1-1.2gr per kilogram.

Error: Not paying attention to sleep patterns!

Another important factor that can prevent you from losing weight is the decrease in work tempo in hot weather, the activity of social life and the sleep pattern that hangs into the late hours due to holiday processes. Inadequate and poor quality sleep can both increase your appetite by affecting the levels of hormones that manage the processes of satiety and hunger in the body, such as leptin and ghrelin, and cause you to turn to foods with high calorie density.

Actually: Adequate and quality sleep while dieting will enable us to manage the process more comfortably. Although more individual times have been mentioned recently, studies show that we need to sleep less than 6 hours and more than 9 hours.

Error: be constantly weighed

After we start dieting, we may want to be weighed frequently and see the results of the diet as soon as possible. However, body weight changes during the day due to many reasons. Many factors such as the foods you eat that day, your fluid intake and sleep patterns affect the result reflected on the scale. Therefore, there may not be regular weight loss every day during the diet process. Not seeing the result you want on the scale can also reduce diet motivation.

Actually: It will be a more accurate choice to measure once a week, on the same scale, in the morning on an empty stomach, after defecation and without clothes.