The 6 Biggest Weight Loss Mistakes
by Dr. Stephen Chaney, PhD

While most of my material for "Health Tips From the Professor" comes from scientific journals, I do read the popular nutrition magazines as well. And every so often I find an article that is so useful, that I feel that I just have to bring it to your attention. The February issue of Environmental Nutrition had just such an article. It talked about the 6 most common eating mistakes that trip up almost everyone trying to lose weight. Here they are (with my comments, of course).

Mistake #1: Going too long without food. Many of the overweight people that I know skip breakfast and really eat very little until dinner time. They can't understand why they keep gaining weight when they are skipping all those meals early in the day. The problem is two-fold. You need that breakfast meal first thing in the morning to rev up your metabolism. In addition, the nagging hunger resulting from not eating early in the day leads to poor food choices latter on. Little known fact: 100% of people who have lost significant weight and kept it off 5 years or more eat breakfast!

Mistake #2: Banking Calories. You know the routine. You know that you've got big party coming up tomorrow, so you'll just eat a little less today to "even it out". That comes under the category of wishful thinking. The calories that you save today almost never equal the calories that you consume at the party. The key is to employ healthy eating strategies at the party: eat a little bit of high-protein, low-calorie food ahead of time so you don't go to the party hungry; consume alcohol sparingly - it has lots of calories and it revs up appetite; eat small portions. The bottom line is that those strategies work. Skipping meals beforehand so you can eat whatever you want at the party doesn't work. It's that simple!

Mistake #3: Skimping on protein. Protein is metabolized more slowly, which keeps those hunger pangs at bay. One study showed that people who started the day with two eggs consumed 300 calories less during the day than someone who started the day with a bagel suppplying the same calories as the eggs. Adequate protein also helps preserve muscle mass. Of course, when we talk about preserving muscle mass Cinch is the all time champion because of its added leucine.

Mistake #4: Drastically cutting calories. You can lose weight fast on a very low calorie diet, but you make yourself so miserable in the process that you are almost certain to go back to your old eating habits. In addition, the very low calorie diets almost always lead to a loss of muscle mass, which lowers metabolic rate and makes it almost inevitable that you will regain all of the lost weight - and then some. Experts tell us that slow and steady weight loss is best. They also tell us that it is important to follow a "diet" plan that you can stick with for the rest of your life. The Cinch Inch Loss Plan excells on both of those points. If you make those delicious protein shakes and healthy eating plans a permanent part of your life, you will not only loose the weight, you'll keep it off too. And, don't forget that the Cinch protein shakes help you preserve your muscle mass.

Mistake #5: Denying yourself treats. You will almost never succeed at giving up your favorite foods forever - so don't set yourself up for failure. If you've got a favorite snack just divide it up into reasonable severing size packets as soon as you bring it home. Enjoy your favorite foods, just enjoy them in moderation.

Mistake #6: Taking weekends off. The reasoning here is essentially the same as the advice not to "bank" calories in anticipation of that big party. The problem is that some people are very good during the week and then treat the weekend as one big party. If you overeat on Saturday and Sunday, you're overeating 29% of the time. It's almost impossible to make up for that by sensible eating during the rest of the week.

Well, there they are. Six common mistakes to avoid if you want to control your weight. Some of them are just common sense, but others may not be so obvious to the average dieter. Avoid these six deadly mistakes and make the Cinch Inch Loss Plan a part of your daily life. That's a winning combination for permanent weight loss.

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