1. Not eating fats: your body needs sources of fat to gain, maintain or even lose weight.
2. Post and pre-workout meals: exercising regularly comes hand and hand with dieting, in order to get results you must be constant and do it regularly. Eating before and after a workout is essential when dieting as well, a good meal should include carbohydrates, protein and a some fat, this benefits the muscles it repairs and builds them.
3. Low calorie intake: Starving yourself or skipping meals is not the key to a healthy diet, any extreme diet, will make you lose a lot of weight at first, then your metabolism will slow down so that when you go back to a normal diet your body will gain the weight back.
4. Hitting those happy hours: drinking your calories is one of the worst mistakes made while trying to maintain a healthy diet/ lifestyle. Alcoholic drinks are loaded with calories, for example those cocktails you like so much, they are loaded with sugar, one can of beer has close to 200 calories and 1 serving of wine has 123 calories.
5. Not eating breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of all, its what gets your metabolism running to start your day off full of energy. Eating breakfast also improves concentration and performance.
6. Drastic change in your eating habits giving up your favorite foods when you start dieting is a big mistake, you can easily fall back and give up. This is a gradual process, you should eliminate those unhealthy foods you like one by one and then having a healthy diet will become a permanent habit.
7. Not eating frequently. You should eat five or six small meals or snacks per day to keep your metabolism running strong and your energy level consistent.
8. Eating too much healthy food. We all know how fruits and vegetables benefit our health but some of these can make us gain weight when consumed in excess. Some fruits are loaded with sugar and some vegetables are starchy and we should watch the portions of these when trying to loose weight.
9. Not consuming carbohydrates. Every diet should include high-fiber carbohydrates like brown rice, beans and lentils in order to lose weight, what eliminating carbs does is to take away water weight, not fat. Once you return to your old eating habits, the water weight returns and so does the weight you lost.
10. Bad portion sizes: people think that by eating only salad and right sources of fat and protein will help them lose weight, forgetting that eating with the right portions is what makes a balanced and successful weight loss: your plate should be 1/3 veggies 1/3 protein 1/3 whole grains.
Sources:
http://www.eatingwell.com/diet_nutrition_health/weight_loss_diet_plans/diet_reports_information/3_easy_ways_to_balance_your_di
http://angrytrainerfitness.com/2010/10/top-10-biggest-diet-mistakes/
http://walking.about.com/od/sportsnutrition/tp/dietmistakes.htm
http://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/804813/top-diet-mistakes-that-prevent-women-from-losing-weight
http://www.joybauer.com/food-articles/starchy-vegetables.aspx
