With Halloween candy, Thanksgiving turkey, and xmas cookies in the rear view, you may have set yourself a healthy diet goal for your New Year's Resolution. That's fine by itself! However, it can be tempting to yo-yo diet during this particular season – be honest, most of us are guilty of binge-eating a tray of warm, gooey brownies on the cold and dreary day after which spending the entire week punishing ourselves for it.
There's no inherent problem with aiming to eat healthier and lose just a little weight in the process, but it's simple to take things too far. Try to avoid these common methods of unhealthy dieting.
Fad Diets
This new diet fad or that new diet fad is simply that – a fad. The fundamentals of eating well don't change every couple of years and are well-supported by decades of research.
Some of the current diet fads include cleanses, anything that helps you detox, and keto diets. Many of these can have a place in your diet, but they should be seen as supplemental to some diet based on real foods. Diets don't have a tendency to work in the long-term, so the only thing these fads really end up lightening is your wallet.
Skipping Meals
Sometimes when people want to lose weight, they start trying to skip meals altogether. This is both dangerous and can backfire on you. If you skip exactly the same meal every day, your body will adjust. Rather than continuing to lose weight, you'll plateau at best, minimizing your metabolism at worst.
Pills and Drugs
These babies can be quite dangerous. Diet pills are not regulated by the FDA, which leads to a lot of potential problems. They fall under the same jurisdiction as homeopathic treatments. They can come with all kinds of negative effects, including everything from headaches to seizures. Laxatives easily fit in here as well; with overuse, they can lead to dependency and issues with bowel movements, fluid retention, and vitamin deficiencies.
Overexertion
Exercise is good for you. But just like everything else, taking it to an extreme is unhealthy. To begin with, your body has a limit to how many calories it can burn in a day, and the harder you work out, the more likely you are to overeat. Give your body time for you to adjust to a workout routine and make from there.
Losing weight can be a positive thing, but how you go about it is much more important than actually losing it. Setting realistic goals is essential. Doing things the right way may take longer, but the results will even last a lot longer. Yo-yoing isn't sustainable – so no more yo-yo diets in 2021, please! And don't forget that you don't have to punish yourself for enjoying some chocolate-chippy fun every so often.
