Avoid Fad Diets and Fitness Trends to Lose Weight in 2021

If your goal is to lose weight, it is important that you understand what you don’t eat is equally important as what you choose to eat. Different foods prompt the body to store fat in different ways. Setting a New Year’s resolution comes from ancient Romans who would promise their god Janus that they would be better in the coming year. Regardless of how much planning you put into your New Year’s resolution to lose weight, you will have good days and bad days. Your resolve should be to never give up and remain committed to your end goal. If you avoid the fad diets and fitness trends that end in self-sabotaging behaviors, you can set realistic goals to lose weight and improve your health in 2021. Nonetheless, consider seeking professional weight loss guidance to jump start your resolution.

• Identify Culprits for Overeating - Food cravings can lead to an overindulgence of food, usually the overeating of carbohydrate and fat-rich foods that often prove to be harmful for the person’s health.
• Avoid Foods with Added Sugars - Added sugar is obvious in candy and soft drinks, but it is often hidden processed meats, pre-packaged foods, ready-to-eat foods, and baked goods. If eating prepared foods check the Nutrition Facts Label.
• Include Extra Protein in Diet - Eating more protein during the day can lead to major reductions in cravings and the desire to snack late at night without restricting caloric intake, portion sizes, or consumption of fat.
• Eat More Fiber to Feel Full - Consume more fiber. This will help you feel full longer after meals or snacks. Foods high in fiber include lentils, lima beans, artichokes, green peas, and broccoli.
• Include Good Fats - As strange as it might sound, you can lose fat by eating fat if you consume good fats in the right amounts. Dietary fat provides key benefits regardless of your weight loss goals.
• Limit Liquid Sugar Intake - Alcoholic beverages are metabolized to sugar, and cocktail mixes can contain large quantities of added sugars that boost total caloric intake.

It doesn’t matter which month you choose to set your weight loss goals. Being overweight puts you at greater risk for developing health problems and losing even a small percent of fat gain can reduce or even reverse the risk. Never get discouraged if you are not seeing the results on the scale as quickly as you had hoped. Since goals need to be attainable, your resolution may need to be tweaked a little bit to change things that aren’t working well for you. Even if you don’t lose the number of pounds selected for your New Year’s resolution, eating healthier and being more physically active is good for your health and will likely lead to attaining a realistic weight at some point. Sometimes your goals are based on other factors than improving your health. If you want to fit back into your pre-pandemic clothes, there is nothing wrong with setting vanity goals, as long as you really need to lose the weight.